City readies cash registers

June Casagrande

On the one hand, the city has completed more than $6 million of

improvements here. On the other hand, some of the most

visitor-pleasing improvements are still to come.

The economy is getting better, but the weather’s been ugly.

At first glance, one might guess that all the factors that affect

business in this quaint village would cancel each other out. But a

closer look reveals that the scales are tipped strongly toward a

retail upswing.

“We had a really great summer,” said Yvonne Mithrush, owner of

Mithrush Fashions on Main Street. “Business is definitely improving.”

Gay Wassall-Kelly, board member of the peninsula’s business

improvement district, said that the parking lot at the Balboa Pier

filled up pretty regularly over the summer, despite the unrelenting

haze that might have kept beach goers away.

“It never used to be full before, and now it’s redone with about

70 more spaces than it used to have and we see it full to capacity a

lot,” Wassall-Kelly said.

MORE TO COME

It seems the surge in business could be just a hint of things to

come. Businesses such as the Harborside Restaurant, the Balboa

Theater and the renovated Balboa Inn are poised to help make the

village a tourist destination and a bigger draw for locals, as well.

The Harborside Restaurant is under construction at the site of the

former Tale of the Whale, which closed about a year ago. The new

business could open as soon as December and will offer steaks and

seafood in an upscale waterfront atmosphere.

“It’s really going to be a fabulous restaurant with an

unbelievable banquet facility,” manager Scott Wilhelm said.

The upstairs banquet facilities have been open throughout the

restaurant renovation and have been doing a good business, Wilhem

said.

The opening of the Balboa Theater is farther off on the horizon,

having encountered a seemingly endless course of obstacles over the

years. But when it finally opens, it’s expected to bring a huge

influx of business. Planners for the live performance venue are

getting permits and approvals from government agencies, including the

city and the Coastal Commission. Once they have those approvals in

hand, they’ll shift their focus to fund-raising.

The Balboa Inn expansion now underway is also expected to boost

the area.

EMPTY NO MORE

New businesses are opening in a number of properties that have

long sat empty, Wassall-Kelly said. The city and the business

district do not track retail occupancy rates for the area.

The city still has two phases of improvements to complete, even

though not all the funding is in place. Moving utilities underground

along Bay Avenue and a few other places should begin before the end

of the year. The idea is to pretty up the place even more by moving

unsightly wires and poles underground.

The final phase of improvements will include roadwork on Bay,

Washington and Palm avenues on the harbor side of Balboa Boulevard.

Decorative benches, planters and other aesthetic perks throughout the

village will top off a look that city officials and merchants hope

will turn this year’s upward trend into a long-term boon for the

entire village.

“Once all that’s complete, we’re hoping that the businesses down

there as well as the business improvement district will be able to do

some marketing to get not just the tourist market but also the

residential market down there,” said Dan Trimble of the city’s

Community and Economic Development Department. “Combine that with

theater and restaurant and the pavilion, and we hope get a nice

synergy for supporting a good mix of businesses down there. That’s

our goal.”