Businesses always come and go – markets change, consumers wane – but right now it feels different in Laguna Beach.
As landmark locations remain shuttered like a forgotten strip mall, downtown Laguna clings desperately to its charming village reputation.
The reality is Laguna is at a crossroads.
The pandemic’s impact has hammered many organizations. From north to south and everywhere in between, favorite shops, businesses and restaurants have closed: Andree’s Patisserie, Buy Hand, Coast Highway Laundromat, The Soul Project, Laguna Brisas Hotel, Verizon, White House restaurant, Watermarc and several others.
What will replace them? With rising rents and continuing economic uncertainty, who can afford coastal spaces? Off the record, some business owners say they are weeks away from bankruptcy or closure. More than a few operate at a significant loss but can survive because of other investments.
One prominent downtown restaurant is losing a half million dollars a year.
The only ones who can weather these risks are well-heeled chains or people with money to burn. But it’s not sustainable.
As a result, Laguna leaders will have to decide: Do we want this constant, debilitating churn or do we acquiesce to the bigger chains?
Heidi Miller is a longtime Laguna business owner and has a good pulse on the day-to-day activity downtown. She is concerned. Unlike other rough patches, the depth of this one cuts more deeply.
“When building vacancies happen, more than just an empty storefront happens,” she said. “Traffic patterns change as people who frequented that business no longer come around. So the surrounding businesses suffer.”
At her Tight Assets store across from Main Beach, Miller has had to endure significant parking changes, road construction and the closure of Forest Ave.
“A once thriving corner becomes an afterthought when two national tenants close,” she said, referring to Johnny Rockets and Starbucks. “The thousands of customers they served now go elsewhere, and the remaining businesses now must change accordingly.”
There’s no hiding the vacancies, and there’s no easy way to cover them in lipstick.
“Empty storefronts are a blight on the local landscape, often keeping people from visiting these areas,” Miller said. “Fenced-off buildings, papered and boarded up windows are not welcoming to our locals and tourists visiting our beautiful town. The landscape is changing and our town needs revitalization. We need change, vision and energy.”
City leaders are saying new revisions in the Downtown Specific Plan will help, but the changes seem tepid given the enormity of today’s business challenges. In a recent press release, Mayor Sue Kempf said there is hope.
“We are pleased the Coastal Commission approved these revisions to the Downtown Specific Plan, which will enable us to attract high quality retailers with fresh and innovative businesses, fill our empty and run-down storefronts and also provide more flexibility to our long-time retailers,” Kempf said. “These revisions support rapidly changing resident and visitor needs and will enhance the city’s vitality, while maintaining the special qualities of our downtown.”
For Miller, all of that sounds good but she’s not holding her breath.
“I’ve owned businesses downtown for 42 years. Many of the problems I had 42 years ago I’m still having today,” she said. “We are all part of a vital downtown and beyond. We need to re-energize our town, support those with the vision to do so and fill our vacancies. I see too many recent business closures and worry about this repetitive trend.”
Some vacancies are natural, but not this – not when significant chunks of Laguna’s business districts are barren.
Waiting in the wings are the Chipotles of the world, hoping to get into the old Tommy Bahama location. And why not? If Subway is allowed downtown (adhering to a list of compromises with the city), then Chipotle should be allowed to follow the same rules.
And so it goes, down the corporate slope. The stores are no longer shuttered, but our souls are fighting for light.
