SM PLACE — Macerich Co. this week announced it has leased space at Santa Monica Place to three new shops that will help round out a diverse mix of restaurants and food purveyors the company hopes will make its top-story “dining deck” a major attraction at the new mall.
With a view of the ocean and the Third Street Promenade, the company is aiming to create a signature food destination on top of the new mall, which is expected to begin its soft opening in August.
The three latest tenant announcements are: King’s Road Cafe, a Los Angeles-based coffee house; The Curious Palate, a market and cafe that is expanding from a single location in Mar Vista; and San Francisco-based chocolatier Coco-luxe Confections.
The stores are all part of a section of the dining deck Macerich is calling the “The Market at Santa Monica Place.”
“Think a slice of the Ferry Building in San Francisco or a wedge of Chelsea Market in New York. The Market will be a smaller version of this kind of experience,” Michael Guerin, an assistant vice president of leasing for the property, said in a news release.
The Market is the third component of a dining area that will include “fast casual” options as well as more formal sit-down restaurants.
The three tenants announced this week are the first lessees announced for the market, which is expected to have about 20 shops, Guerin said. The market is expected to open in late 2010 or early 2011.
In leasing the rest of the spaces Guerin said Macerich is looking to sign stores that will provide a range of foods including meats, fish, cheeses, breads, fruits and vegetables, in addition to gourmet ingredients and prepared foods.
He said the market, though, won’t replicate offerings at the popular Farmers’ Market held in Downtown Santa Monica.
“It would accent the Farmers’ Market, it wouldn’t compete with the Farmers’ Market,” he said.
nickt@www.smdp.com
