Plans to revamp the struggling Brentwood Country Mart inch forward
By GENEVA WHITMARSH Daily Press Staff Writer
26TH STREET — The long-cherished Brentwood Country Mart is suffering from an identity crisis.
And while developers hope to change the face of the 56-year-old, colonial-style mall, many longtime tenants and customers feel the shopping center has reached the end of an era.
The Country Mart, which has experienced a drop off in customers and longtime businesses, is expected to have several new stores by January.
In 2003, local developer James S. Rosenfield put down $30 million for the property with plans to fill the empty spots with unique retail stores and specialty shops, and restore some of the splendor of the early days. This week, he said that plan is on track.
“We’re searching all over the world for great stores Samohi entrepreneurs reboot used computers that are individually owned and unique to L.A.,” said Rosenfield, who heads J.S. Rosenfield & Co., Inc., a real estate company that specializes in renovating unique retail properties. Rosenfield also owns the Aero Theatre and the Waterworks building on Montana Avenue.
Some retailers, including the pharmacy, have moved to nearby locations, many citing increased rent as the deciding factor. But many stores, including the barber shop and shoe repair, remain on the premises. So does Reddi-Chick, a barbecue chicken stand that has acquired a loyal following.
“The idea is to have a contemporary version of the past,” he said, adding that increased rent at the mall is below what is being asked for in the immediate area and on Montana Avenue.
“We’re working with the stores on the rent,” said Dan Bercu, a partner in Rosenfield’s company. “We don’t treat it like a cookie-cutter thing. There’s more of a human element to it than that.”
Rosenfield’s vision, met with applause by those who would like to see the mall return to the glory of its heyday and criticism by those who believe high-end stores will eliminate some of the home town feel, have left some store owners confused: Do they fit into the landlord’s plan of what the Country Mart should be? “(Rosenfield) has a certain image of what he wants,” said Chana Firestone, manager of Mrs. Beasley’s, a bakery that has called the mall home for nearly seven years. “Basically, if your lease is up and you don’t fit into that image, he asks you to move out.”
Mrs. Beasley’s, facing a 200 percent rent increase, initially moved to a location on Montana Avenue but worked out a plan with Rosenfield that enabled them to return. The space the bakery previously occupied had already been leased by a high-end clothes retailer, so they moved into a smaller location.
“We’re glad to be back because we love this area, but it’s costing us a lot to move,” said Firestone, who is having to take orders from a small table outside the bakery’s former location.
“The new store has patio space, and that will be good,” she said. “We’re just trying to turn lemons into lemonade.”
Other tenants know they are going to have to leave. The American Cancer Society Discovery Shop initially had until January 2005 to vacate the space they’d occupied for the last nine years but were granted another year’s lease. The Discovery Shop sells high-end, secondhand items to benefit cancer research.
“We reached an agreement,” said Larry Meisner, vice president of Discovery Shops. “The landlord came back to us knowing we had a desire to stay but lacked the ability to find a new place.”
Meisner said the rent agreed upon is “somewhere in the middle” of what was initially asked for and what the organization could afford. Rosenfield had initially talked about raising the rent from $3.10 to $8 per square foot.
“The rent (originally asked for) was above and beyond what we could pay and still give money to the (American Cancer Society),” he said.
Rosenfield denies ever having asked a tenant to move out.
“I can’t blanketly say, though, that we’re keeping all the tenants,” he said. “It depends on the tenants. (For example), we might have to change out a children’s clothing store that isn’t doing enough business with one that is. We want the stores that are able to pay the market rent because they are able to do the business and pay the rent. But say we lose a toy store — if at all possible, we want to bring back a toy store.”
The aging retail center, built in 1948 with a stylistic nod to the Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles’ Fairfax district, features two courtyards, renowned eateries and such services as a barber shop, shoe repair and post office.
In its heyday, the 30,000-square-foot mart located at San Vicente Boulevard and 26th Street drew large crowds and top-notch celebrities, but now struggles to draw patrons. In addition to drawing a limited clientele, developers say the mall is more than 30 percent empty, having lost its food market and pharmacy, among other businesses.
Rosenfield initially said it cost more than $1 million to renovate the property and make it attractive to high-end tenants he wants to sign while still preserving the ambiance. The neighborhood does have an appeal to merchants — the average annual household income within a one-mile radius is more than $260,000.
New tenants have recently opened their doors, including Apartment Number 9, a men’s clothing boutique from Chicago, and Jigsaw and Jigsaw, Jr., a family owned and operated company from London that specializes in women and children’s clothing.
Rosenfield would not name the stores slated to move into the Country Mart before the start of next year, but sources at the mall say they include a sunglasses outlet, a children’s clothing retailer, a toy store and a New York-based shop specializing in pastries and gourmet food by the pound. Despite concerns, Rosenfield said there are no plans to draw designer outlets like Prada and Gucci.
“People in the community can distinguish quality on their own and are going to shop somewhere because it’s a good, high-quality place,” he said. “It’s not so much about the name.”
Steve McAdoo, a Santa Monica resident who comes to the mall weekly for breakfast or lunch, said he’d like to see more people take advantage of the mall.
“The place is empty,” he said, gesturing to a nearly empty food court. “There are some nice shops and good food here. As long as it doesn’t become pretentious, I’ll keep coming.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 19, 2004. Read the original PDF.