YOU ARE HERE : Shopping Mall Plays to Upscale Community

A decade ago, Manhattan Beach was well along in its transformation from quaint beach town to affluent community. But one thing that affluence demands--a convenient shopping mall--was missing.

So in 1981, part of a Chevron USA tank farm gave way to the Manhattan Village Shopping Center. With its Mediterranean architecture, lush landscaping and emphasis on upscale stores, it deliberately played to the moneyed community around it.

“This is a nice area. People have disposable incomes and they spend it,” said John Burns, the mall’s general manager.

In 1989, the mall’s 89 stores recorded taxable retail sales of almost $91 million and ranked 23rd among Los Angeles County’s 45 largest malls.

From the start, Manhattan Village has had no regrets about not being the South Bay’s biggest mall. It has sought shops that have few other outlets and has created an inviting, low-key atmosphere with an architecture marked by skylights, interior trees and a fountain populated by ceramic sea animals.

Regular shopper Christine Seltzer said there is a feeling of being welcome. “The clerks know who you are and they respect you,” she said. “You’re not a number.”

Although chain stores such as Miller’s Outpost clothing and B. Dalton books are a part of the mall, Manhattan Village also has Lucy Zahran, a fine china and crystal shop, and Seaport Unique Gifts, which has the South Bay’s largest collection of Lladro ceramics and draws customers from as far away as Riverside.

The mall also boasts St. Estephe, a four-star restaurant that utilizes French sauces and Southwestern ingredients such as red and green chilis and blue corn tortillas. With such delicacies as mushroom-filled chili rellenos in a garlic goat cheese sauce, the restaurant has established an international reputation, said manager Chris St. Marie.

Although Manhattan Village is aimed at the affluent, Burns said its customers also include secretaries and white-collar workers in the nearby aerospace industries. Most customers come from within a mile of the center, he said. TRW shuttles employees to the center between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on workdays so they can have lunch and shop. Hughes does the same thing during the Christmas season.

“Our lunch business is stronger than our business evenings and weekends,” Burns said.

The first phase of Manhattan Village opened in 1980 with a Ralphs Market and Sav-On Drug Store as major tenants. A year later, in October, 1981, the enclosed mall opened with Bullock’s and Buffums as anchor stores. Rounding out the complex are restaurants, movie theaters, banks and offices.

Some shoppers say this kind of diversity makes the center a one-stop dining, shopping and entertainment location. “There’s a good selection here,” said Shirley Lochner, who frequently visits the mall to “shop, walk and just see what’s around.”

The center also lacks the frantic pace of larger malls, according to shopper Diane Christofferson. “It’s never that overcrowded. If it were mobbed, I wouldn’t like it.”

MANHATTAN VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER, MANHATTAN BEACH

Year opened: 1981

Retail square footage: 430,000

Anchor stores: Bullock’s, Buffums

Number of stores: 89

1989 sales tax paid to city: $909,840

% of city’s sales tax revenue: 27%

Memorable feature: St. Estephe Restaurant, a four-star restaurant serving Southwestern Nouvelle French cuisine.