A tea house? A computer repair store? A wine shop? A linen store? An organic coffee shop? A Mexican restaurant? While none of these new businesses have yet to find a home in the Pacific Palisades, their prospective owners have been exploring the possibility for months, scouring our commercial districts for suitable retail space, which is currently leasing for up to $4 per sq.ft. While there were some first-quarter changes in each of the five business areas (the Highlands, Marquez and Sunset, PCH and Sunset, Santa Monica Canyon and the Palisades Village), only about six storefronts are currently available for lease. Even more difficult for prospecting business people, according to Coldwell Banker agent Gregg Pawlik, is finding a landlord who will actually rent to them. ‘Owners are being very cautious these days,’ said Pawlik, who has been leasing commercial property in the Palisades for 25 years. ‘Basically, they want a business that will complement all the other retailers on the street.’ Pawlik said a prime example of that is the former Emerson LaMay Cleaners site at 1045 Swarthmore, which has now been vacant for a year. ‘Here you have 1,600 sq.ft. of prime village space which the owners, representing four different family trusts, don’t seem to be in any rush to lease. I’ve put in at least a half-dozen proposals, including one for a bakery, a computer store, a linen store, and various kinds of clothing shops, including a jeans store. Since they also own three-quarters of the buildings on the street, I guess they really are looking for the perfect mix. What I do know, though, is they are not interested in putting a restaurant in the Emerson LaMay space. There have been numerous proposals, ranging from Thai to Chinese to American-style eateries, and they have simply said no.’ Also available for lease is the former 2010 Video store at 1022 Swarthmore, owned by the same group (which includes the John R. Wilson Trust, the Whittier Trust, et al.). The Palisadian-Post has learned that another prime location on Swarthmore’the former Il Sogno eatery’will have a new restaurant opening soon. However, we could not confirm that it will be an Italian restaurant, as is widely rumored, as we could not reach the new owner before going to press. o o o Since the new year, four new businesses have opened in the Palisades, two have changed hands, and two have closed down. ”In late January, the venerable Yamato Nursery on the corner of La Cruz and Alma Real closed to make room for Village School’s new performing arts/gymnasium/playground annex, which is expected to open in the fall of 2005. Demolition has already begun. ”The Haagen-Dazs ice cream store near the corner of Sunset and Swarthmore (in the historic Business Block building) quietly shut down sometime last month. Starbucks has already subleased the space for a Quizno’s Sandwich Shop, expected to open in the next few months once renovations are complete. A national franchise, Quizno’s is known for its submarine sandwiches, which are made with toasted specialty breads. ”Jiva Yoga Studio opened on January 2 in the 2,200-sq.-ft. space on Sunset formerly occupied by Kids’ Universe toy store. The town’s only studio dedicated exclusively to yoga offers a wide range of classes, including yoga for seniors and babies. Instructors William and Patty Asad’ s two-month-old daughter, Gabriella, is a participant in the weekly baby class. Patty taught kindergarten at Marquez Elementary from 1998 to 2000. ”In late January, Body Aligned officially opened in a space above Starbucks, offering Pilates exclusively, unlike other fitness studios in town which offer a range of (Continued on Page 3) services, from healing workshops to physical therapy. Partners Margaret Freiberg and Andrea Hackin, who both worked at the former Gym ‘n Tonic on Sunset (now called The Pilates Studio), offer private lessons, group sessions and courses for instructors. ”Pinocchio In Cucina, an Italian take-out deli located on the main level of the business building at 970 Monument between Contentment and Blockbuster, opened in mid-February to rave reviews. Palisadians Theresa and David Whitworth, who own La Luna in Larchmont Village, are partnered in this venture with La Luna chefs Guiseppe Barravechia and Robertino Giovannelli, who run the day-to-day operations in the former Cloud 9 space, which has been extensively renovated. Most popular are the pizzas, so much so that the owners will soon be upgrading to a larger-capacity pizza oven to accommodate home deliveries. For Easter they recommend one of their signature dishes: lamb shank braised in a Cabernet sauce. ”The town’s first tanning salon, Heat Boutique, also opened in mid-February in the lower Highlands Plaza in the space formerly occupied by veterinarian Dr. Henry Pasternak. Besides two regular tanning beds, the salon offers sunless tanning with a Mystic Tanning machine ‘which is UV free,’ said owner and manager Alle Tithof. ‘All you need is 14 seconds on the front, 14 seconds on the back, and you’re done.’ ”In March, Cafe Misto changed hands. David Williams, president of the Palisades Chamber of Commerce, sold his restaurant in order to concentrate on Mogan’s Cafe, which he opened last July and which is just three doors away. Starting this July, in addition to serving breakfast and lunch, Mogan’s will add a dinner menu. The new owner of Misto, which serves dinner only, will keep the Italian menu. Both eateries are located in the lower Highlands Plaza, off Palisades Drive. ”HiLites hair studio, located on Antioch, also changed ownership in March. It was bought by employee Lisa Simon, who got her hair dressing license in her native Ireland. After spending some time in New York, Simon moved to L.A. where she worked at Michele International for 13 years before leasing her own station at HiLites three years ago. She currently has one other hairdresser working for her, and is looking forward to expanding her business in the coming months. ”Contentment, which occupies one of the largest retail spaces in town at 970 Monument, recently shifted its focus. While owner Vicki Middleton still sells orchids, she now has only a limited selection of religious articles (role-model dolls, spiritual CD’s and DVD’s) and has opened the space for use by local groups. A prayer group meets there once a week and a grief group will begin meeting on April 22. Whether Middleton, who for three years has been subleasing the space from Kinko’s, will continue her business when her lease is up at the end of July, depends on whether the owner of the building, Equity Pacific, signs a major tenant to anchor the space. While there are rumors that there are plans to replace Contentment with a restaurant, Taryn Rudon, who manages the building, told the Post that while ‘we have had all kinds of inquiries, everything from Italian to Greek to Indian to Asian to Mexican’you name it’nothing is definite.’ o o o Anticipated in the coming months is the opening of Chefmakers, a new kitchen retail store and cooking school at 872 Via de la Paz, the former site of Sheila May, who plans to relocate her permanent makeup studio somewhere in the village this June. Soon to close is Anna Marie’s clothing boutique at 857 Via de la Paz (see story, page 7), and at the end of this month, Palace Fireplace is moving two blocks away to a larger space next to Emerson LaMay Cleaners, now located at 15333 Sunset. Emerson owner Helen Campbell, who relocated to Sunset after she lost her lease on Swarthmore, has apparently subleased some 700 sq.ft. of her store to Palace, which has been in business in the Palisades for 12 years and is currently having a half-price sale. Who will occupy the coveted Palace Fireplace space, located between Coldwell Banker and Philips French Cleaners? ‘Someone talked to me about wanting to open a running shoe store, someone else wanted it for a tea house’ said Palace owner Armond Vartanian, who also sells mailboxes and barbecue grills. He said he was moving because the landlord is raising the rent from $5,000 to $8,000 a month, ‘which is too much for a business this size.’ Meera Cho, owner of Philips French Cleaners with her husband Jeff, said Tuesday that they are in negotiations to lease the Palace space to expand their business. They plan to invest in some new equipment to provide more ‘environmentally-correct dry cleaning services.’ Cho did emphasize, though, that the lease has not yet been signed.