Bella, bellissima

Bella Terra ? formerly the Huntington Beach Center that was a go-to place in the late 1960s until it fell into decay ? is back in the limelight.

Anchor tenant the Cheesecake Factory is set to open a 10,000-square-foot restaurant space in June, with local seafood restaurant chain King’s Fish house and a Huntington Surf & Sport’s working museum store opening throughout this year.

Officials at Calabasas Hills-based Cheesecake Factory said they would be hiring 200 people from within the community to staff the new restaurant.

“We become a part of the community very quickly,” said Howard Gordon, vice president of marketing. “The key for us is since we don’t advertise, we want to make sure we give customers the best service.”

With the closest Cheesecake Factory located at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, opening the restaurant at Bella Terra would stem Huntington Beach’s loss of sales tax dollars, said Lindsay Parton of Bella Terra owner, DJM Capital Partners.

“It’s a major coup ? Cheesecake Factory is considered to be the No. 1 tenant in America for lifestyle centers like Bella Terra,” she said.

The Cheesecake Factory, renowned for its 18-page menu, is putting finishing touches on its restaurant at the northeast corner of the outdoor mall across from Century Theaters and Barnes & Noble. The restaurant will be visible from the 405 Freeway.

“They’ll be building out both the exterior and interior of the restaurant,” said Eric Sahn of DJM Capital. He added the modifications involved more than $5 million. “That’s a lot to consider since we’re delivering a completed building,” he said.

Gordon expects the restaurant to do business of at least $11.2 million per year. Besides the restaurant space, Cheesecake Factory also has 2,800 square feet of patio space.

“It’s going to be a beautiful spot for a beautiful city and we look forward to becoming part of the community,” said Dewayne Mitchell, a senior project manager for the Cheesecake Factory.

Another local seafood chain King’s Fish House plans to take up 8,000 square feet of space on the west side of the shopping mall. King’s, part of Costa Mesa-based King’s Seafood Co., is also spending about $4 million to customize its building. Besides its flagship King’s Fish House restaurants, the company also owns high-end restaurants such as Lou & Mickey’s, Ocean Avenue Seafood, and Water Grill.

King’s Fish House occupied the last significant restaurant space at Bella Terra with only retail space left to be leased.

“They’re going to bring a ton of people to the property and they’ll make the rest of the tenants successful, too,” Sahn said.

Tenants such as local business Huntington Surf and Sport had been eyeing Bella Terra for a long time. For owner Aaron Pai, getting a 6,000-square-foot space at the shopping center was a dream after seven years.

“We thought it would be perfect for our customers so in summertime they didn’t have to drive all the way to the beach,” Pai said. And customers could easily find parking at its new inland store.

The surfing gear store will display memorabilia from the International Museum of Surfing in Huntington Beach, about 13 of their most precious surfboards. The collection of surf culture memorabilia from the 1950s to the 1970s is valued at more than $100,000, Pai said, and will be showcased on the walls and roof of the new store.

Pieces include an early ‘50s surfboard made of redwood, some hollow boards from the California surf craze of the ‘60s, and a board by Randy Lewis, a local foam shaper, Pai said.

Pai said they would be filling about 45 positions at the new store from department managers to people working the floor. The store is set to have a soft opening in May and the grand opening in July coinciding with Bella Terra’s opening ceremonies. hbi.13-bellaterra-CPhotoInfoHF1PS95120060413ixkzkzncKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Cheesecake Factory, in the background under a tarp, takes up some of the last available space at Bella Terra mall.