Banana Republic Flagship Store Closing?

Banana Republic, along with Barnes and Noble, has long been considered the northern flagship of the Promenade, but according to several sources the GAP-owned company is looking to sublease its current space at the corner of Wilshire and 3rd Street. Though the 1200 block of the Promenade has always been quieter than the rest of the street, it still managed to attract many prominent retailers such as Mango, Apple, and J. Crew. At this point, it is not clear whether Banana Republic is leaving Santa Monica altogether or whether they are simply moving to a higher traffic space in the newly remodeled mall.

Check out the new Santa Monica Place Website

Macerich just launched a new website for Santa Monica Place. The new site is very well designed and much easier to navigate than the previous one. Also, the website includes some snazzy new renderings of the mall that includes more recent design changes. The Third Street entrance, for example, has been redesigned quite significantly and now features a much darker and more elaborate design for the Nike store. Similarly, the 4th Street entrance, future home of CB2, has also been slightly redesigned. Also, don't miss the renderings of the dining deck and "The Market."

Santa Monica Place

Poquito Mas Replacing Sizzler on Wilshire

"The Original Taco Stand" Poquito Mas was will soon open its first Santa Monica location at 2025 Wilshire Blvd. Though I am personally not familiar with this fast food chain, it seems to be getting pretty decent reviews on yelp. The former Sizzler space is currently being remodeled and will be divided into two spaces. Though the other tenant has not been announced, the remodel will add outdoor seating along Wilshire which will hopefully bring some foot traffic to this rather bland stretch of Wilshire.

Cotton On Coming to Promenade

Australian Fashion retailer Cotton On will be opening their first store in Santa Monica later this year. The chain is moving into a recently vacated space between Broadway and Santa Monica Blvd. The space was formerly occupied by the FCUK chain. While the Cotton On has other stores in Southern California, the Third Street Promenade store is being advertised as a "megastore."

SMP Bloomingdale's Finally Under Construction

All winter long, I was wondering why construction on the new Bloomingdale's hadn't started while the rest of the mall was being remodeled. As the months went by I started worrying that there might be delays with permits or that the department store was backing out of the deal but finally over the last couple of weeks construction has started. Finishing this remodel in time for the grand opening of the mall should be quite a challenge, considering that Nordstrom at the other end of the mall started remodeling their space months ago, in addition to having a later opening date.

Johnny Was at SMP

In just 4 short months we will see the grand opening of the new and improved Santa Monica Place. We've just heard that LA-based women's clothing company Johnny Was will be part of the revamped mall. The company has several showrooms in Europe and the US (including Downtown Los Angeles) and designs clothes for "urban bohemians."

Bike Effect Coming to Broadway

The mixed-use building on Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets is finally getting a new tenant for one of its ground floor retail spaces. While the website is still under construction, Bike Effect advertises itself as "Southern California's Premier Bike Fitting Studio." Sounds promising. Also, check out the company's twitter feed.