Students can say “sayonara” to yet another Westwood
business, as Circuit City, located on Gayley Avenue, leaves the
Village this Sunday.
Circuit City will do its best to offer its Westwood employees
work at alternative locations, but this trend of business closures
makes students concerned about local work options.
“I always worry that maybe my boss is going to close this
place, but I don’t want to think about it,” said Miri
Sason, a UCLA Extension student and employee of Footnotes, a
Westwood shoe and apparel store.
“You never know what other stores will close or not
close,” she said.
Other students expressed difficulty in finding Westwood jobs to
begin with.
Fourth-year mathematics student Kevin Hood was recently hired at
Corner Bakery Cafe, but he attributes it to the business being new
in Westwood.
“It is pretty difficult to find work at pre-existing
stores, at least in the restaurant business,” he said, adding
he had looked for a job before with no luck.
Little job security and the rarity of new jobs make for hard
times for students.
“Obviously (the loss of nearby jobs) will make it more
difficult for students needing extra funds to attend
college,” said Shelley Taylor, president of the North Village
Improvement Committee.
Students will be forced to commute to jobs outside the Village,
which will create more traffic, or they will have to rely on
inconvenient public transportation, Taylor said.
“I would commute somewhere else if (Footnotes)
closed,” Sason said, acknowledging that few local work
opportunities exist.
A renewal of Westwood would halt business departures and bring
in attractive new stores; jobs, shoppers and a healthy economy
would follow.
Right now the local economic situation is grim, causing stores
like Circuit City, among many others, to leave.
“When we located the store (in October of 1994), we felt
it was the best place. Since that time, the trade zone has
shifted,” said Circuit City spokesman Steve Mullen.
The store was kept open through the holidays to fully evaluate
the situation.
But Circuit City concluded there was not a “reasonable
expectation of positive cash flow” in the near future, Mullen
said.
The Westwood store is one of 19 Circuit City stores closing. Its
average revenue of roughly $8 million for 2003 was significantly
lower than the national Circuit City store average.
“(The store) was kind of dead a lot of the time,”
said Brady Davis, a fourth-year biology student and Westwood
Circuit City employee.
Though Circuit City is leaving Westwood, a new one is planned to
open in Santa Monica by mid-April.
Davis will take a month off to study for finals during the
interim between the Westwood closing and Santa Monica opening.
He looks forward to working at the new Santa Monica location,
which won’t be too inconvenient because he has a car for the
short commute, he said.
Davis expects a lot more foot traffic at the new store, as it
will be located near Third Street Promenade.
While Circuit City frequently chooses to relocate, not remove,
struggling stores, it is a matter of finding an attractive,
affordable location, among other things, that is lacking in the
Westwood area, Mullen said.
“The Village has many ills, and it will be several years
before we see a turnaround,” Taylor predicted.
Once projects such as Palazzo Westwood ““ a $100 million
residential and commercial development on both sides of Glendon
Avenue, south of Weyburn Avenue ““ and a commercial
entertainment structure on the lot behind Jerry’s Famous Deli
are in place, Taylor said she believes things should pick up a
bit.
“But I have my doubts that the Village will ever be as
vital as it once was,” she said
Part of her doubts stem from her belief that people today have
so little spare time
“A leisurely stroll through a shopping district such as
the Village is rare. It’s so much easier to go to
malls,” Taylor said.
“It will take dedication, fortitude and lady luck for
those who wish to remain here to keep plugging away at
improvements,” she added.
And only improvements will bring prosperous times and job
opportunities back to Westwood.
Until then, students are probably best off looking elsewhere for
work.