A prominent promenade

Christine Carrillo

Another premier Orange County retail center has opened in

Newport-Mesa this fall, the third development in the area for the

Irvine Company Retail Properties.

The Crystal Cove Promenade, like Fashion Island and Corona del Mar

Plaza, will provide coastal community shoppers with another outdoor

source for retail shopping, restaurant dining and community

gatherings reflective of the neighborhood.

“Every time we do a new center we try to draw on the body of

knowledge we’ve acquired,” said Keith Eyrich, president of the

company. “[This center] will draw from a significantly broader

customer base and will compliment the other coastal communities. It

will provide a real well-rounded selection of merchandise and a

similar but unique shopping experience.”

The promenade, with the terra cotta tile roofs, decorative columns

and olive tree groves of 1920s mission-style architecture, sits on

125,000 square feet of land on East Coast Highway, taking in

panoramic ocean views.

Laura Stearn Cruciano, owner of Novecento, a Laguna Beach boutique

specializing in women’s apparel, said the center’s location will

benefit her business.

“I have customers that will follow me, and I think they’re going

to prefer shopping there because the clothing is going to be more

exclusive and I think people will want to go to the new place in

town,” said Cruciano, who will open her second store at the promenade

by the end of the month. “This center is going to attract more of our

Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and Newport Coast customers.”

Cruciano, who designs a clothing line exclusively sold in her

store, holds high expectations and doesn’t feel threatened by the

well-known retail stores that will share the promenade with her.

Stores such as Williams Sonoma, Banana Republic, The Gap -- which

includes a Gap Kids and Gap Body -- and Starbuck’s, which opened its

doors to the public on Friday, are expected to attract a strong

clientele. But the center will be filled with smaller, independent

businesses.

“One of the criticisms in our industry today is a lot of our

consumers don’t like seeing the same stores in the same centers all

the time,” Eyrich said. “We’ve engineered our tenant mix so they hold

together very well ... a lot of national tenants that everyone

recognizes, but also smaller boutiques. We’re real particular about

our tenant mix.”

By bringing in the independent businesses, many of the tenants

believe the center will hold onto its neighborhood feel.

“Even though it’s a little fancier location, what we like about it

is it still has a lot of neighborhood stuff,” said Gina De Michael,

owner of Pacific Whey Cafe Bakery & Coffee Company, due to open in

March 2003. “I think that what they’ve done is created a really

diverse group of people that are somewhat different, but add to each

other. Nobody really does what we do.”

Despite the mix of independent and conglomerate businesses

appealing to similar consumer groups, the potential for competition

among them doesn’t appear to be an issue.

“I’m not concerned at all for competition, and I think it’s great

having other stores in the area,” said Cruciano, who has owned her

business for nine years. “The coastal communities are obviously a

very special place because of the environment.”

Other stores scheduled to open at the promenade are Trader Joe’s,

Millie, Juxtaposition Home, Acanthus Gallery, The Yellow Cottage,

Crystal Cove Surf & Sport, Pink Wasabi, Dansk, Z Pizza, Cassis,

Jennifer Croll & Croll Sport and La Diva. About 70% of the center is

expected to open by spring.

“I’m just really excited and not just as a business owner but as a

consumer as well,” Cruciano said. “It’s going to be beautiful.”