There’s a bit of shuffling happening on Larchmont – unfortunately, life on the Boulevard right now can be a bit of survival of the fittest. As happens everywhere, when leases come up they get re-negotiated at current market prices. And right now, the demand for space is high – Larchmont is more popular than ever.
Larchmont Buzz will focus attention on Larchmont Boulevard’s open spaces…what’s up on Larchmont?
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Three Spaces – Varying States of Change
238 North Larchmont – formerly Sonya Ooten (jewelry). This space is currently under construction – it’s being built out for new tenant (Malin+Goetz)Â – a family owned apothecary and lab that was launched in NYC’s Chelsea district in 2004. Â The Malin+Goetz products can be found in stores across the US – including Barney’s, Fred Segal, Bloomingdale’s – and our own beloved Larchmont Beauty! (It’s our understanding that Fred at Larchmont Beauty gave his seal of approval to their coming on to the Boulevard with a stand alone shop – Malin+Goetz is just one of many skin care products Larchmont Beauty carries. Very cool!)
236 North Larchmont – formerly Pinkberry.  BabyCakes Vegan Bakery opened on Larchmont on December 30th. This is the second LA location for the New York City based bakery. BabyCakes offers all-natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs.
234 North Larchmont – formerly Larchmont Village Florist. This space is currently available – but should be leased soon as several potential tenants have surfaced. The space is 900 square feet and the lease rate is in the $7 per square foot range. Check back for more information when we have it.
Larchmont Village Florist – New Location!
The final piece to this puzzle is the Larchmont Village Florist move…with the new year, comes a new location for this popular flower shop. They have moved to 420 North Larchmont Boulevard – a half a block north of Beverly Boulevard on the east side of the street. Do stop by! Parking isn’t so bad at that location so it should be easy access.
The space was formerly occupied by Great Earth Vitamin Company…they decided to close up shop.
I thought this website might be an interesting place for the exchange of ideas about Larchmont but today’s entry proves that it’s just a p.r. thing…how can you say that times are tough on Larchmont, but also say that it’s more popular than ever? We used to have really useful local businesses on Larchmont: a framer, a hardware store, a cleaner (and if you go way back, a grocer…) BUT now we have cookies, cupcakes, bagels, vegan cookies, a yogurt, a gelato place, an ice cream place and how many coffee places? what the heck? And how many clothes places where the inventory appears to have fallen out of the back of a truck? and a cafe that is there in blatant zoning violation? And I’m supposed to be happy about the loss of a good local business (the jeweler) in favor of a shampoo store (whose products you can already buy at Larchmont Beauty?) I don’t know, but it seems that there is something really wrong with the retail “ecology” of Larchmont these days. It’s sad.
I like the daily news feed from Larchmont Buzz; it complements the other local news available in other formats by providing another medium. If you want to discuss, well–here you are doing it, so thank you! Lots of people agree with your wish for the long-gone hardware store and other sorts of handy neighborhood services and stores. The Buzz points out that the survival of the fittest nature of commercial property leases affects the long-term viability of stores and restaurants we have loved. For more on the lawsuits involving the “cafe in blatant zoning violation”, see the other Larchmont Buzz update from Friday. See you around!
I don’t understand the “survival of the fittest” issue when we all know that Mizrahi upped the rents and threw what were viable businesses up until that point out. I know, I know that that’s what happens in a free market economy. But there are smart and innovative landlord/developers and dumb ones, & if Mizrahi was smarter he might have read the street in a better way and realized that with the limitations on zoning, parking, and store sizes, neighborhood services were what was most viable there. But they are now gone because he upped the rent beyond the point that those services could tolerate – he was aiming for fancier retail, pretending that it was Montana Ave., or something like it, I guess. So what we’ve got now is Larchmont as food court, heavy on the sugar. I’m glad he finally lost his lawsuit on the Bungalow, but the damage he’s done to the street as a whole is much worse.