> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Local developer to revitalize Brentwood Country Mart - URL: https://www.smdp.com/local-developer-to-revitalize-brentwood-country-mart/ - Published: 2003-08-06T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T02:40:30.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Business, Brentwood, #archive-import *Santa Monica’s first post office to re-open Friday* ASanta Monica developer recently purchased the Brentwood Country Mart, hoping to bring the once-thriving retail center back to life. James Rosenfield plans to attract more owner-operated businesses and re-open the Bristol Farms market with up to a dozen small grocers. The gourmet food hall will include fine cheeses, a seafood market, a butcher and other specialty items. Rosenfield, who also owns the Aero Theatre and is a member of the city’s historic preservation commission, bought the complex in January from John E. Anderson, the namesake of UCLA’s Anderson Business School. Rosenfield wouldn’t say how much he paid for the property, except that it was a multi-million dollar deal. The 30,000-square-foot mall — located at 26th Street and San Vicente Boulevard, with a distinctive red barn design — had been all but abandoned in recent years. Its anchor businesses, like the food market, post office and candy store, had closed, while current tenants barely hung on because business was so slow. Rosenfield plans to spend about a year restoring the center at a cost of about $2 million. The aging retail center is currently about 35 percent empty, with about 45 merchants operating. The idea is to bring the mart back to a community-serving shopping destination, featuring Santa Monica’s oldest post office, a shoe repair shop, a barbershop and many original tenants who have been at the center since it was built in 1948 when Brentwood was first developed. Rosenfield hopes to persuade some of the old tenants to come back, as well as bring in high-end shops like a fine women’s clothing store and unique offerings to create “the ultimate shopping environment.” He said about six spaces still need to be filled and the 9,000-square-foot food market will be ready by next May. The country mart borders Santa Monica and Brentwood, which is attractive for many residents who live in the affluent neighborhood where the average median household income is more than $250,000 a year. Brentwood Hills resident Elsa Schlundt said she used to regularly meet her friend at the country mart but when certain shops left, she stopped coming. But she was back on Tuesday with her friend, Cato Roos, who lives in Westwood. “We missed the post office,” Schlundt said. “We haven’t been here much lately.” Rosenfield said he’s been trying to buy the shopping center from Anderson for 15 years, but Anderson, who bought the property in 1971, didn’t want to sell. “John is a buyer, not a seller,” Rosenfield said. “I never asked the right question before which is, ‘Can I lease it?’” Anderson owns the land, and Rosenfield owns the buildings and has a 60-year ground lease. Rosenfield’s fondness of the country mart dates back more than three decades, when he went there daily for barbecue chicken at Reddi Chick, which has been in business at the center for more than 50 years. Rosenfield, 41, took the beach bus with his friends from Sherman Oaks to Santa Monica every day, passing the country mart. If it was cloudy, they would stop for chicken in a basket. “I fell in love with the experience,” he said. “It’s sort of a dream come true for me... It’s rewarding on two levels because of the dream and hope of preserving it and I make money at the same time. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” Despite that, the country mart’s condition and vacancy was at an all-time low when he bought it. Rosenfield’s vision is similar to those who built it. Anderson originally bought the country mart to turn it into a Vons grocery store, but neighborhood protests shot the plan down. Market operators rotated in and out, but eventually it lost its attraction. Bristol Farms was the last to occupy the space, which takes up one third of the entire property. “I think the market leaving was a blow and I think the post office closing was a blow,” Rosenfield said. “There wasn’t a clear direction of where it was going but we are very specific in our vision.” Rosenfield, who is president of J.S. Rosenfield & Co., buys retail centers all over the country and renovates them. Somewhat of a history buff and a preservationist, Rosenfield couldn’t think of a better retail center to renovate than the country mart because of its distinctive New England village style and its rich history. “I do want to bring it back to its original state,” he said. “The bones of it are so cool and what’s so charming about the country mart is its human scale.” > “I do want to bring it back to its original state.” — — JAMES ROSENFIELD Santa Monica developer Hansel & Gretel, a children’s clothing store that opened at the country mart 30 years ago suffered when the grocery store closed three years ago. “It was dead,” employee Jackie Dickstein said. “(The closing of the market) definitely cut back on traffic through here.” Although the post office has been open again for about a month, Rosenfield plans to celebrate the re-opening of Santa Monica Substation No. 1 on Friday by kicking off the country mart’s first annual “Rodeo Day.” The day will consist of old fashioned activities like pony rides, a cookie bake-off, a visit from Nickelodeon’s “Sponge Bob,” and an evening jazz concert. The festivities will begin at 9 a.m. and last throughout the evening. The 100-square-foot mailroom served the neighborhood for nearly 55 years before closing in 2002 and is Santa Monica’s first post office. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/080603-01_02.jpg) Re-opening the post office was one of James Rosenfield’s first steps at old market. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/080603-01_03.jpg) of James Rosenfield The patio of the Brentwood Country Mart hasn’t changed much since the shopping center was built in 1948\. (Photo: Photo courtesy) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/080603-01_04.jpg) The old food market at the Brentwood Country Mart has been closed for three years. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 6, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/080603.pdf?ref=smdp.com)