Want Indian food for dinner? How about Cajun cuisine? Or maybe Japanese, Syrian, Thai or Mexican delights?
You can get those and more at the Anaheim Packing House, the retro-modern food hall located in a historic 1919 citrus packing warehouse within Anaheim’s Packing District, an area that includes four historic landmarks with a variety of dining options.
The Packing House, which features more than 20 restaurants, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The nearly 42,000-square-foot food hub is considered one of the main forces behind the revitalization of the area around Anaheim’s city hall over the past decade.
Sadeghi’s Vision
The Anaheim center isn’t its developer’s first big local retail success story.
The visionary behind the Packing District is Shaheen Sadeghi, the same man responsible for creating The LAB Anti-Mall in 1993 and The Camp in 2002, both in Costa Mesa and both boasting an eclectic mix of restaurants and shops.
“The LAB was the first project I worked on,” Sadeghi said during an interview this summer at his office next door to his Costa Mesa properties.
“The LAB stands for Little American Businesses. At the time, I had just come out of the action sports industry. I recognized that we had built these local small brands, and they would become international brands, so the idea for The LAB was to create a place for like-minded small companies to gather.
“I recognized that the next-gen customers are not ‘mall people.’ It’s not cool to take your girlfriend to a mall on a date,” he said. “This generation was smarter than my generation. They are into clean oceans, into politics, into technology. Such a dichotomy going on with this next generation.”
Retail Makeover
Sadeghi noted that The LAB project, which opened in 1993, was an experiment that was different and probably ahead of its time, meaning more of a financial risk. However, the onetime executive at Quiksilver and other surf-oriented retail brands saw mall anchors such as Broadway, Buffums, I Magnum, Bullock’s and others going out of business.
“The American landscape was going through dramatic times. The economy was okay, but people started slowing down on department stores, and that is still going on today,” Sadeghi said.
“I believed that small companies, innovation, entrepreneurship and risk came from small companies. And 32 years later, I feel the same. I don’t see any national brands innovating. I believe small businesses are the backbone of America.”
When The LAB was created, there were several restaurants including the Gypsy Den and Habana, plus shops such as the alternative Tower Records and Urban Outfitters.
Today, the center counts one of Orange County’s few Michelin-starred restaurants, sushi spot Hana re.
The concept took hold and became popular, so eventually Sadhegi looked at opening a second collection of restaurants and shops, albeit something a bit different than The LAB. Thus, The Camp, across the street from The LAB, was born.
“What was going on with the younger generation? They wanted to cure AIDS, climb Mount Everest, save the Redwoods. They were into nature and giving back—they were philanthropists in a sense,” said Sadeghi.
“The Camp project came from that inspiration. It was a cool project about the body and the mind, not just about consumption. We thought it would be cool to make it sustainable.”
Food Culture Changes
Sadeghi also recognized that there was a revolutionary food culture blossoming. He spent time in Portland, which was one of the first cities to allow food trucks.
“All of a sudden, young people that could not afford to sign a lease for 15 years and build a half million-dollar kitchen could buy a food truck back then for 50 grand, and they could work any days they wanted. All of a sudden, this food truck revolution happened. We looked at that and said there’s something here culturally, so we tried to add as much food as possible.”
Eventually came the idea of launching a food hall. Sadeghi and his team traveled the world looking at food halls and how they were part of the fabric of their communities and started to create a concept that would work locally.
Sunkist Spot
After doing what he calls archeology on Anaheim, Sadeghi became fascinated with the history of the area and purchased an old Sunkist factory building that had been virtually abandoned for 30 years.
“When we first started, this area was not well known, so when we opened, we had to reintroduce this location to the community. We were inspired by young chefs and food trucks. There are many chefs who crushed it with food trucks and were ready for the next level but could not open a million-dollar restaurant.”
Sadeghi came up with a plan he called “plug and play.” He built the infrastructure for every restaurant and shop and even offered a free in-house design program to help with logos.
“Let’s say you are a Japanese sushi maker. All you need to show up with is the equipment you need, and you are in business. It was an instrument designed to get an unsophisticated but great chef to come in and open a restaurant because opening a restaurant can be daunting, particularly in Orange County,” Sadeghi said.
“We did a lot of upfront work and made it easy for them. Many of the operators we brought in because of their story.”
One of those stories came from Gretchen Shoemaker, who came to Sadeghi’s office and said she had heard he was doing a food hall in Anaheim and wanted to open a restaurant there.
“I asked her if she had a restaurant. No. Did she ever have a restaurant? No. Had she ever worked in a restaurant? No. Why do you want to open a restaurant?”
Shoemaker’s response: her husband had passed away, and he was the best chef she knew. She wanted to honor his legacy and Southern cooking. She returned a few days later with her daughter and son-in-law, whom she said would help run the business.
“Thiry minutes into the conversation, I had to do the deal,” said Sadeghi. “They had so much passion. Now they have three restaurants. That is a good story.”
Shoemaker’s soul food concept, Georgia’s Restaurant, recently opened its latest outpost at the Irvine Spectrum Center, a short walk from the second spot for Habana, which got its start at The LAB.
Sadeghi has no lack of success stories, whether it’s his prolific fashion and action sports career or the many chefs and restaurateurs whose careers he helped launch.
Another sign of his success: during the pandemic, only two restaurants within his properties closed.
“Every other one came back, and they all had lines out the door.”
