In an interview with the Signal Tribune on Wednesday, Cohn said the Bixby Business Center is nearly at capacity, and a local broker is in the process of filling up the tower at 3711 Long Beach Blvd.
“We want all the offices to be filled because we want everybody to come out and have lunch or shop or take their dry cleaning in,” Cohn said, adding that more than just retail and eateries are filling up the business corridor, but also various types of services, such as medical care.
At the northern end of Bixby Knolls, Aldi Market will eventually fill the now gutted former post office. Cohn said it is expected to open in October. He added that the owners are implementing façade improvements on that building as well.
Just south of that retail space, Smart & Final Extra will take over the site that Orchard Supply Hardware had occupied. Nearby is the newly opened Massage Envy and also where the new post office is expected to open this summer.
Immediately to the south of those spaces, a Yogurtland will be moving in.
“The long list of wishes, since I got here, has been, ‘We need a yogurt place,'” Cohn said, referring to surveys in which the BKBIA has participated over the years. “Now they’re asking for steaks and seafood, specifically. Any new entrepreneurs, we tell them, ‘Look, here’s the voice of the neighborhood.'”
The new Yogurtland will take over the former Quizno’s site.
Cohn also mentioned that the nearby California Plaza has undergone façade improvements and the parking lot will soon be resurfaced. There are also still vacancies there to be filled.
Cohn then moved his attention westward, to the former Ralph’s property on Long Beach Boulevard.
“Trader Joe’s opened with a bang,” he said. “Pet Food Express is there. Jersey Mike’s [Subs] is there. Crunch Fitness and Chipotle opened last week. Next is Mod Pizza, and, I was told, even a Verizon store [is coming]. So, it’s packed.”
Cohn mentioned that although parking availability in that shopping center had been problematic, it seems to be leveling off as customers familiarize themselves with where to park.
Right across the street from those retail establishments and eateries is a Hof’s Hut restaurant that had been a staple in the neighborhood until a kitchen fire forced its closure in January 2015.
Cohn said the owners are still buried under insurance issues.
“The Hofman Group is just maintaining the property, but there’s nothing in the clearing yet,” he said. “It’s still going to be closed for a while— for the foreseeable future.”
He said Long Beach Creamery is “going gangbusters. And that’s in the center with Bundts on Melrose, and [Bundts is] doing hardy business, as is Handy Smoked Meat. For the carnivore, it’s hard to resist, just by the smell alone.”
Cohn said the BKBIA just found out that Aunty Lucy’s Pet Feed is going to close, but The Merchant will soon open next door.
“The Merchant is going to be a bakery of artisinal breads, sandwiches, jams, jellies— all fresh,” Cohn said.
He then mentioned the opening of The Pan restaurant, which is also on Long Beach Boulevard, and he said that eatery has been consistently busy. In the same center is Liquorland, which is undergoing interior renovations. Also nearby will soon be The Green Olive, which serves Mediterranean cuisine. That entire center will soon be repainted, Cohn said.
Also coming to the boulevard is Steelcraft, a company that leases out refurbished shipping containers for retail and dining establishments.
“They’re developing the corner,” he said. “They’re getting all the underground utilities put in for the cargo containers. The containers are painted and fabricated and ready to be brought over. Now it’s just a matter of getting all the utility lines in. So, we will literally see them in the next couple of weeks.”
Cohn added that a film crew from New York is documenting the process of the shipping containers coming to Bixby Knolls.
The owner of Luann’s dress shop, which had long been located on the boulevard, retired last year, and Cohn said that space is ready to be leased out.
“It looks nice,” he said. “And the brokers are out hunting for a new tenant.”
Another longtime business in the area has been Melinda McCoy’s Flowers, 611 E. Carson St. The store will be celebrating its 32nd anniversary during the June 3 First Fridays Art Walk.
The shop often participates in First Fridays and this week will host the Sultans Car Club, music by Rock for Vets and an Elvis impersonator.
“Melinda is always a go-to for the BKBIA,” Cohn said. “Whether we need an arrangement delivered for us, flowers donated for an event or a bucket full of flower petals for an art piece, Melinda never hesitates to drop everything to help us out.”
At 33rd Street and Atlantic Avenue, the southeast corner will soon be the site for a Chik-Fil-A restaurant.
“From what I understand, there are easement agreements and contracts still in the works between Target and Signal Hill Petroleum,” Cohn said. “They’re putting the ducks in the row before they break ground.”
On the northeast corner, where a Fresh & Easy market had been located for a few years, Island Pacific, a Filipino specialty market, will move in. Cohn said he is not sure of an opening date for that store yet.
Hashtag Burgers is set to open at the former site of the Mustard’s hot dog eatery, which recently closed. That restaurant is supposed to open Monday, June 6.
Opportunities for Learning, a school currently located at 3939 Atlantic Ave., is moving to 3500 Atlantic Ave.
Dutch’s Brewhouse, which will allow customers to brew their own beer and root beer, will soon open in the 4200 block of Atlantic Avenue.
Cohn also said there is a new tenant for the former site of The Factory restaurant, but, at press time, the new owner was not ready to be announced. Cohn said it will be a family-friendly restaurant.
As for the former Trader Joe’s property on Atlantic, Cohn indicated that he knows what the intended use is but the lease has not yet been signed.
Cohn said local residents sometimes mention the plethora of Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood, but, he said, whether it’s Baja Sonora, El Pocho Grill, Lola’s, Patricia’s or La Casita Rivera, each one has unique offerings.
Cohn expressed enthusiasm for his association’s upcoming summer events, including Concerts in the Park(ing Lot) and the Father’s Day version of the Kidical Mass bike ride, for which participants are asked to wear neckties.
He noted that there have been a few date changes for some of the events. For more information, visit bixbyknollsinfo.com/events .
