The assortment of shiny nuts and bolts in candle bowls gives it away,Crevier Classic Car Co. in Costa Mesa is a manly place.
It was quiet when I recently stopped by. But it’s easy to imagine a gaggle of men,suit jackets tossed aside,sipping scotch, playing cards and shooting pool.
H. Hendy Associates of Newport Beach designed the 28,000-square-foot club, car storage and sales center, giving the vast, high ceiling warehouse next to John Wayne Airport a 1940s look.
Manager Jim Clark said “the guys” indeed had a hand in picking out the decor.
1940s music plays on satellite radio. The flat-screen TV fits into the ambiance with black-and-white movie classics. There is wireless Internet service for people who want to use their laptops.
Masculine flair aside, Clark said everyone is welcome to the “club.” Women own two of the prettiest cars stored there, he said, a 1937 Packard limousine and a 1958 Alpha Romero.
Crevier Classic Car is an offshoot of Santa Ana-based Crevier BMW. Both are owned by Don “Donnie” Crevier, a car lover.
“He just has a real passion for old things,” Clark said.
Crevier’s got about 22 cars in his collection. Many of them are housed at the car club. About six of the cars there are for sale, including three of Crevier’s.
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Crevier Classic Car in Costa Mesa: Campbell’s Corvette |
Some for sale: a pink convertible Cadillac that goes for $84,900, a 1953 baby blue Packard Clipper for $37,900 and a 1956 Chevy for $74,900.
The oldest car in the house is a 1925 Chevrolet Model K.
Ellis Communications Inc.’s KDOC-TV in Irvine keeps its promotional surf mobile, a 1951 Ford Woodie Wagon, at the club.
Crevier Classic Car also buys vintage cars and assists others in buying and selling. Clark is pursuing a 1909 Cadillac to add to Crevier’s collection.
The operation charges $400 a month for storage. But it’s not the kind of place that blankets its cars. Crevier is a place to show off your ride.
Congressman John Campbell, a Corvette enthusiast, has three of his cars stored there, including a 1963 “split window” Corvette. His red and white Corvette is up front with a big sign that says it’s his car.
Cars are dusted and inspected daily. They are treated with tender loving care, Clark said.
The car club, originally conceived as a place to store cars and for car lovers to congregate, has stumbled on another way to pay the rent,events.
“We didn’t anticipate events,” Clark said. “We found Orange County needs more places for events.”
Crevier Classic Car has hired an outside coordinator to bring in more events. One of the members had a birthday party there. Campbell held an appreciation dinner at the club for some of his fund-raisers. Freedom Communication Inc.’s SqueezeOC magazine hosted a party for about 400 people at the club. Donnie Crevier plans to host his various charity fund-raisers at the club, too.
“People love mixing it up and congregating with cars,” Clark said.
On event nights, the cars are moved closer together and are roped off.
In addition to some of the vintage cars there are a few ordinary cars by comparison,a Lamborghini, Mustang and a few other newer luxury and sporty autos.
“You don’t need to be old to get in here. What you have to be is pretty and you have to have some class,” Clark said.
He’s talking about cars.
Clark, who’s known Donnie Crevier since he was 14, has been in the car business for 35 years, including sales at Crevier BMW. Clark’s passion for cars is deep.
“Sometimes, late at night, I’ll turn off the lights and just wish I had somebody to dance with. I’ll tell them all good night,” he said of the cars. “No fighting.”
British Invasion
Britain’s Tesco PLC plans one of several mini supermarkets later this year at Galleria L’Orange shopping center in Orange.
The company’s Tesco Stores West Inc. leased 16,332 square feet of space for 20 years, according to the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis Co., which represented landlord Galleria Orange LLC of South Pasadena.
Financial terms of lease weren’t disclosed. Strategic Retail Advisors represented Tesco.
Other tenants at the 55,000-square-foot center include Starbucks and Cal National Bank.
Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer with $73 billion in annual sales, is spending $490 million on a U.S. expansion, which includes several stores in OC. Stores also are planned for Fullerton and Laguna Hills.
The company’s local stores are set to focus on groceries and convenience foods. Tesco sells everything from Internet service, books and CDs to car insurance.
