New tenant goes round for Triangle Square

Andrew Edwards

The first business to take up shop in Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square

since Niketown left could be up and running as early as this week.

Pending a successful health inspection, a Kelly’s Coffee & Fudge

Factory franchise could be ready to sell lattes and smoothies to

Triangle Square patrons on Thursday, said Michael Wong, one of five

partners backing the franchise.

The new Kelly’s Coffee & Fudge Factory is set to open on the

mall’s upper level, an almost-deserted zone that used to be home to

Triangle Square’s food court. Bon Bon Sticky Fingers, a candy shop,

is still open on the upper level.

At his day job, Wong is an information technology manager who

holds a marketing degree from Cal State Long Beach. He said he and

his partners have already hired managers for the store, and view the

cafe as an investment, not a full-time job.

“We’re not going to depend on this for our livelihood. That’s why

we could take a chance,” Wong said.

Bon Bon Sticky Fingers’owner Paul Kim held out the possibility

that a new neighbor could bring more customers his way. However, he

acknowledged business has been slow and said he was considering

leaving Triangle Square around the end of summer.

“I don’t know if I’m leaving or not. I’m thinking about it,” Kim

said.

Wong’s entry into Triangle Square could be followed by the

addition of a new Mexican restaurant, Chronic Cantina. Triangle

Square spokeswoman Vanessa Showalter said the restaurant is slated to

follow Kelly’s Coffee & Fudge Factory into the mall’s upper level.

Chronic Cantina’s opening at Triangle Square is not yet a sure

thing. Keith Scheinberg of KSDB Inc., the corporation that would own

the restaurant, said Costa Mesa officials have not yet granted the

permits that would allow the restaurant to open. Last Thursday, he

applied for the Planning Commission to hear appeal of a city

staffer’s decision that the mall did not have enough parking for the

planned restaurant.

Scheinberg said he wants to establish Chronic Cantina as a

family-suitable alternative to Triangle Square nightspots like Sutra

Lounge and the Yard House. He said the company’s use of the word

“chronic” was meant to imply a continuous hunger for the restaurant’s

grub.

“You just want to keep coming back,” Scheinberg said.

Though Scheinberg seeks to open Chronic Cantina near where Kelly’s

Coffee & Fudge Factory is set to do business, he said Wong and his

team could face a stiff challenge at Triangle Square.

“It’s a gamble to be up there right now, for Kelly’s Coffee &

Fudge Factory especially. There’s no foot traffic right now,”

Scheinberg said.

Wong is not discouraged. He said the mall gets busier after the

moon comes out -- when potential coffee customers frequent Triangle

Square’s night spots and movie theater. He plans to keep the store

open late to draw late visitors to the mall.

“At night, it’s phenomenal,” Wong said.

Though Triangle Square’s food court could soon have new tenants,

Showalter said mall managers do not have a new tenant yet lined up to

replace Niketown. Nike Inc. management said there were too many

vacancies at the mall when they pulled the store from Triangle Square

in January.