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GardenWalk Mall Sees Summer Pickup

Summertime has brought tourists to The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk, a mall that opened a year ago and that only a few months ago seemed like it was on life support.

The mall across from Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center isn’t out of the woods yet.

But efforts to get the word out about the mall through hoteliers and the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau seem to be paying off with more shoppers and diners.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend “was really good,” said Ashley Belbeck, one of the managers of boutique White House Black Market.

Fireworks at neighboring Disneyland brought people to the top level of the mall, she said.

“Business with the summer has definitely picked up,” said Garrett Donaldson, assistant manager for Cinema Fusion, an upscale movie house owned by Newport Beach-based Sanborn Theatres Inc. and investors.

Business at the mall is up from last year, but GardenWalk still has a ways to go before it earns a return on investment, said William Stone, principal of San Diego’s Excel Realty Holdings LLC, developer and operator of the mall.

“The first year is always a struggle,” Stone said. “We’ve adjusted to what’s going on. It’s really a long-term play.”

A decade in the making, the 440,000-square-foot GardenWalk is made up of restaurants and shops with plans for hotels, including timeshares.

What was thought to be a slam-dunk,shops, restaurants and hotel rooms across from Disneyland, appealing to both tourists and locals,was thrown a curve by last year’s economic meltdown.

The mall’s high-profile restaurants lining Katella Avenue have fared well since the start. They include China Bistro and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

So too have entertainment hotspots 300 Anaheim Bowling & Entertainment Center and Heat Ultra Lounge.

But getting diners and partiers to venture into the mall’s shops has been a challenge.

The mall is about 80% full with stores such as O’Neill, Skechers and Tommy Bahama. One store,Manhattan Beach-based Robeks Corp.’s juice shop,has closed, according to Stone.

A couple of others could shut down, including Ann Taylor Loft this month, he said, but others are coming in.

Lush, a natural cosmetics store that’s part of Britain’s Lush Ltd., recently opened at the mall.

Corona-based Rebel Shop plans to open one of its Rebel stores selling clothes from True Religion, Ed Hardy and others.

The mall also is working on a possible bookstore deal, according to Stone.

Boston-based Fire & Ice Bar & Grill is expected to draw crowds when it opens later this month.

“Our brokers have done an excellent job in this economy,” he said. “To get any deal is amazing.”

The mall’s recent name tweak from Anaheim GardenWalk to The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk is one of several marketing changes made to let people know the mall is more than just its restaurants.

GardenWalk is spending $250,000 on signs that promote the mall, including ones at the front that seek to entice people to walk through it.

Anaheim’s Signage Solutions Corp. is making the signs.

The mall also has adjusted its hours to open later at 11 a.m. and stay open later until 10 p.m. after seeing more nighttime visitors.

About two-thirds of the mall’s visitors are tourists and convention goers.

GardenWalk has gotten the word out about the mall to local hotels and the convention center. That has made this summer livelier than last year’s weak June opening.

John McClure, associate vice president of convention sales for the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, said he’s been talking up the mall to convention groups.

Most of the mall’s shops are members of the visitor and convention bureau, he said.

But the mall can’t live on tourists alone, Excel’s Stone said.

Business between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. needs a kick, he said. For that, GardenWalk needs to draw more locals.

“The locals have been the toughest for us to get,” Stone said.

To reach them, GardenWalk has been hosting community events, including May’s 14th Annual Taste of Anaheim, a local job fair and an artwork display from Anaheim school kids.

On Saturday, the mall’s hosting an ugly dog contest.

“We realize it’s a slow process, but it’s continuing to come together,” Stone said.

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