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.”
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