Countywide : Small Is Sometimes Better Than Mall

By DANIELLE A. FOUQUETTE

Nov. 25, 1993 12 AM PT

If you are willing to forgo the standardized opening and closing times offered by malls, neighborhood shopping can be fun, leisurely and productive.

Alternatives to crowded malls can be found all over the county, from the shopping district next to the San Juan Capistrano Mission to Seal Beach’s Main Street to Fullerton’s historic district.

Perhaps the biggest attraction for those who venture off the mall path is being outdoors.

“I really sense a revolt against malls from people who like to be outside,” said Gary Hoisington, owner of a bike shop on Main Street in Huntington Beach. “Here we have the pier, the waves, beautiful sunsets. These are the best features of the downtown area.”

The city’s Downtown Business Assn. isn’t taking any chances on shoppers forgetting why Huntington Beach is called Surf City. Every piece of promotional material includes the city’s storied pier surrounded by crashing waves.

Rene Lyons, who owns a children’s clothing store on Main Street in Seal Beach, agrees that image is everything for downtown areas.

“We market Main Street as small-town community, with a real family theme,” Lyons said.

On a recent Saturday night, parents window-shopped or browsed in stores, children ran up and down the street, or played leapfrog over a fire hydrant.

Another benefit to neighborhood shopping districts is the variety of restaurants and coffee shops. Orange Circle boasts the oldest ongoing business in the county: Watson Soda Fountain and Lunch Counter on Chapman Avenue, which opened in 1880.

Many of the shops in downtown areas are locally owned and operated and customers often are helped by the owner or a family member.

“The one thing that separates us is what I call the Mayberry effect,” Lyons said. “If you are looking for something, merchants will help you find it even if that means sending you to another store. We’re more hospitable, have more at stake.”

Just about every customer who walks into Lorson’s Books and Prints on Wilshire Avenue in Fullerton will be greeted by owners Jim and Joan Lorson.

Mention a particular interest, and Joan Lorson leads you on a tour of the store, pointing out every book on the subject as if it were an old friend. The store offers an excellent selection of children’s books, including several all-time favorites in foreign languages.

For many stores in beach cities, summer is the busiest time of year. But this year, downtown and merchant associations are aggressively marketing themselves as a place to shop for the holidays.

Beginning two weeks before Christmas in Huntington Beach, Santa Claus will arrive nightly at the pier, after driving up and down Main Street in a lifeguard’s Jeep. The association plans to decorate a tree near the pier and will have strolling carolers to evoke a sense of nostalgia.

Steve Daniel, who owns a fudge store and gift shop on Main Street, said he hopes to see a downtown “where people will come to experience some of the traditions they grew up with. We’re getting better at it every year.”

Farther inland at Orange Circle, which has a great concentration of antique stores, merchants and the city put on an old-fashioned Christmas. Strolling carolers, a tree-lighting ceremony and extensive lighting transform the plaza area into a turn-of-the-century town square.

Mall-Ternatives: Street Culture

If avoiding the mall is an early New Year’s resolution, try shopping at one of Orange County’s many ethnic or artsy enclaves. From browsing galleries to noshing dim sum, shopping districts provide a social alternative to getting “malled.”

Ethnic Enclaves

1. Latino shops, eateries

4th Street

Main and 4th streets, Santa Ana

2. Mock European village

Old World Village

7561 Center Ave., Huntington Beach

3. Latino markets, eateries

Placita Santa Fe and Bradford avenues, Placentia

4. Southwestern artisans, shops, eateries

Mission District

Camino Capistrano and Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano