The Shops at Mission Viejo is touting an open air market as a shopping alternative with last month’s temporary order shuttering indoor malls continuing to remain in place.
The Mission Viejo mall, owned by Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG), is offering an outdoor marketplace in the parking lot on the P.F. Chang’s and Islands side of the center, running every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Sept. 27. The market operates from noon until 4 p.m. each day.
Retailers at the market include Macy’s, Athleta, Tesla, Socal Etsy Guild and J. Jill among others.
The indoor operations of malls were ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom to re-close July 13 as part of a rollback in closures that also included indoor dining, gyms and museums. The order was in response to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Shopping center owners have since gotten creative moving some operations outdoors where they can and providing designated parking spaces for curbside pick-up programs.
South Coast Plaza recently debuted its open-air shopping suites, which it’s calling The Pavilion.
The in-person shopping service includes more than 100 retailers from the center and is located in South Coast’s North parking structure.
Go here for more on how the OC business community is responding to COVID-19.
