Buena Park Downtown has three big stores arriving in 2006.
Tower Records is set to take 20,000 square feet at the mall near Knott’s Berry Farm. Steve & Barry’s plans to take 38,000 square feet. And 24 Hour Fitness is taking 28,000 square feet.
With the stores, Buena Park Downtown will be about 85% leased, according to Michael De Leon, general manager.
Anaheim’s Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. also has signed on for next year. De Leon said he wasn’t sure yet if the company plans to open a PacSun surfwear store or perhaps its new One Thousand Steps, a shoe and accessory store. Pacific Sunwear expects to open about nine of those stores, starting next year.
Never underestimate the power of a good hot dog. Portillo’s Hot Dogs, a Chicago icon, has been drawing big-time traffic to Buena Park Downtown, De Leon said.
For October, Portillo’s pulled in about $200,000 in sales,and it only was open for two weeks that month. That’s some hot dog.
Talk, Talk, Talk
Yakety Yak Wireless opened at Fashion Island.
Local entrepreneur Lisa Hatfield owns the seller of wireless phones and other products. There are 130 stores nationwide.
The Yakety Yak store in Newport Beach on Irvine Avenue is moving across the street to Westcliff Plaza. There, Crown Ace Hardware has opened its newly expanded store. Relax the Back and Hickory Farms also recently opened at Westcliff.
Barnes Bolts
Barnes & Noble is leaving Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square.
No word yet on who might take its spot at Triangle Square, which has lost several big stores in the past year or so.
Barnes & Noble is vacating 12,500 square feet at Triangle Square for a bigger space at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. That store is set to open next year.
Next year, Los Angeles-based American Rag is set to take over Barnes & Noble’s old Fashion Island space. It’s set to be American Rag’s first Orange County store.
American Rag sells jeans, shoes, housewares, music and books. The Fashion Island store is set to have a small cafe.
American Rag has stores on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles and on Van Ness Boulevard in San Francisco. The retailer’s products also are sold at Macy’s and others owned by Federated Department Stores Inc.
Furniture Francais
Ligne Roset, a contemporary furniture store, plans to open its first OC store inside the Atrium at Fashion Island in the spring.
The French retailer sells sofas, lighting and accessories, cabinetry and other items. Ligne Roset has five other stores in California, including La Jolla, Sacramento and San Francisco.
Deluxe Scooby Snacks
Stanton-based online dog biscuit retailer, St. Armour Doggie Bis-cuties, has teamed up with Laguna Beach artist Debby Carman.
Carman designed packages that feature dog characters such as Foofy Doo, Jilly Beanz and Tricky.
St. Armour’s dog biscuits are edible for people, too, the company said. The biscuits come in four flavors, including lamb and carrots and bacon and eggs. A case of 12 packages goes for $66. Carman’s FauxPaw Productions makes whimsical cat and dog art.
Designer Drop-in
Jewelry designer David Yurman made an appearance at his South Coast Plaza store last week.
Beyond Prius
We all know Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius is good for the environment.
But did you know that a BMW 325 is a California Air Resources Board-designated clean air vehicle? So are the Mercedes-Benz E350, the Volvo 240 and 260 models, the Chrysler Sebring, the Ford Focus and the Dodge Stratus.
“They are the cleanest available,” said Tina Cherry, spokeswoman for the state’s Clean Air Choice program.
The program certifies cars with the least emissions and then sends a consultant out to sign up dealers to participate in the program.
“I think it’s a good thing,” said Jim Miller, general manager at McCoy Mills Ford in Fullerton.
The dealership is part of the program.
Four other local dealerships are part of the voluntary program: North County Toyota/Scion in Anaheim, Renick Subaru in Fullerton, Sunset Ford in Westminster and Weseloh Honda in San Juan Capistrano. Dealers in the program put clean air stickers on certified vehicles. The program began as a pilot in 2000 and became permanent in 2004.
Miller of McCoy Mills said he’s not exactly overwhelmed by people looking for low emission vehicles. Typically, car buyers look for a vehicle that gets good gas mileage, he said. Low emission and economical gas mileage go hand in hand.
