Closing up shop

Over the last couple of months, several retail stores have
closed up shop and left the Village forever. Many merchants in the
Village are facing dramatic rent increases, and under pressure some
have been forced to leave.

The Wherehouse, Monica’s on Broxton, Zone d’
Erotica, Breadstiks, Beyond the Wall poster shop and G.H. Optic
have closed recently, most due to lack of sales or rising rent
pressures.

Local merchants are continuing to blame the loss of retail
stores on lack of parking in the Village and a lack of a unique mix
of retail stores which would give shoppers more reason to come to
Westwood.

Gary Fieberg, owner of G.H. Optic, which closed late last year,
said his landlord raised his rent 50 percent, forcing him to
leave.

Fieberg said his landlord was frequently offered tempting offers
from various fast food or tea boutiques, and eventually succumbed
to the promise of greater profits. As a result another boba tea
house will move into the building, which already contains a similar
tea house.

“I don’t blame him for that,” Fieberg said.
“But the downside is that fast food places might only last
two to three years. We sacrifice long-term relationships for
short-term gains,” he said, adding that with the exodus of
long established retail stores, the Village seems to be loosing its
sense of community.

Others agree.

“There is a Gap on every block in America,” said Guy
Starkman, owner of Jerry’s Famous Deli. Starkman, who added
that he doesn’t believe people will come to Westwood for
chain retail stores and restaurants found in many other parts of
the city.

Fieberg and other Village merchants have noted that Westwood and
the way people shop have changed over the years.

Once a retail and pop culture mecca of Los Angeles through the
1970s and 1980s, Westwood used to be filled “wall to
wall” with patrons. However, shopping promenades such as
Santa Monica’s Third Street and the Century City Mall, as
well as the internet, have siphoned off many customers.

Starkman and others believe the Village is saturated with
restaurants, in particular fast food eateries, as well as corporate
retail, creating a generic, corporate-dominated shopping space
indistinct from anywhere else.

“(The Village) doesn’t have the unique retail where
a couple on a date can walk around,” Starkman said.
“There is no compelling reason to walk the streets of
Westwood.”

Much of the business that is moving out of the Village appears
to be retail or clothing stores, such as Beyond the Beach, which
closed last summer, and Monica’s on Broxton. Copeland’s
Sports, Robocat shoes and Pugz Records will soon follow.

But the loss of retail business in the Village is not
necessarily a result of a slow economy.

According to Tom Lieser of the Anderson School of
Management’s economic forecast, the national recession was
over a year ago.

Lieser said he believed the Village became too dependent on a
youth-driven entertainment economy, forcing long-established retail
stores out.

“They were overdoing it in the 1980s on the entertainment
side (of Westwood’s economy). Major retailers suffered.
People were not buying higher-end goods,” Lieser said.

Within the next few months a Chili’s, Corner Bakery, Whole
Foods and a CVS Pharmacy will be moving into the Village.

But many business owners said the foremost improvement to be
made in the Village is the addition of more public parking
spaces.

“Until the Village deals fundamentally with its parking
problem, the Village is never going to thrive,” said Steve
Sann, a Westwood real estate consultant.