Some Westwood residents and business owners are disappointed
with the imminent closures of two Village shops and the tenants who
may replace them.
Breadstiks market on Gayley Avenue is on its way out, due to
increased competition, and Copeland’s Sports on Westwood
Boulevard reportedly may be replaced by a CVS Pharmacy.
Locals are concerned about the stores’ possible
replacements: instead of what they see as much-needed apparel and
specialty stores, these prime locations could be occupied by
tenants who business owners say will further take away the glitz of
Westwood.
“One of the problems that Westwood has been facing for a
long time is that they create the same types of businesses in
excess, including salons, eating places, and drug stores,”
said Clinton Schudy, manager of Oakley’s barber shop, which
has been in Westwood since 1929.
Schudy said he would like to see a retail store, perhaps a
clothing store, replace Breadstiks.
Schudy would, then, be disappointed if one of the tenants that
could take over the Breadstiks location succeeds in doing so. The
Blood and Platelet Center was looking at the Breadstiks location as
one of two Gayley Avenue spots into which it could move, after it
failed to secure tenancy in other Village locations.
CVS Pharmacy, meanwhile, could be another addition to the many
drug stores in the area. There are six drug stores on Westwood
Boulevard alone, with CVS Pharmacy reportedly looking to become the
seventh.
“This area is getting saturated with pharmacies,”
said Lila Rioth of the Westwood Homeowners Board.
The Copeland’s Sports building is being sold by Madison
Marquette, who was Longs Drugs’ landlord at the time they
signed their leasing contract last winter.
Jason Cochran, a Copeland’s representative, said reports
that CVS is moving in are unconfirmed, but the Los Angeles Business
Journal reported that the 1001 Westwood Boulevard complex, in which
Copeland’s Sports is presently located, was sold to CVS in
September.
On November 6, representatives for CVS Pharmacy appeared before
the Westwood Community Design Review Board seeking approval for
three new signs and architectural modifications to the
Copeland’s building, said Steve Sann, Westwood real estate
and leasing consultant.
Sann attended the meeting as a member of the public and was not
present in any sort of professional capacity.
Though CVS’ possible move-in date is unknown since
Copeland’s Sports is still under contract through July 2004,
CVS Corporation is reportedly currently negotiating to buy it
out.
CVS Pharmacy has already ordered three signs for the building as
well as customized automatic doors, raising some people’s
speculation that they may be operating as soon as the first quarter
of next year.
“The Westwood Community Design Review Board recommended
approval for signage and facade renovation,” said Jae Kim, a
city planning associate with the L.A. City Planning Department. He
said the final approval was imminent.
The multitude of drug stores that have opened within the last
two years led to Breadstiks’ decease, said Bob Lippman,
co-owner of Breadstiks and UCLA alumnus.
“Rite-Aid had a small effect and Ralphs had a substantial
effect (on the demise of Breadstiks),” Lippman said.
Though Breadstiks was a fixture in Westwood for many years as
the sole grocery store in the Village, Copeland’s Sports had
never done too well in Westwood. The store went into further
decline when the chain opened another store in Ackerman Union,
siphoning off many of their student customers, Sann said.
Still, it has been the only sporting goods merchant in the
area.
“I’m sorry to see it go,” said U.S. National
Inline Downhill Champion and Westwood resident George Merkert.