Uncertain Feeling Along the Boulevard : More than two months after Jan. 17, some of the merchants and restaurateurs who hustled to reopen seem impatient over the slow progress of others.

“PANTY RAID!” screams the banner on Ventura Boulevard. Thus, shamelessly, Lingerie for Less promotes one of its deals. “Buy five panties, get one free!”

One good thing about frilly merchandise is that it doesn’t break when it crashes to the floor. Caltech’s Kate Hutton and Lucy Jones measure earthquakes by the Richter scale. Andja Vucurevic, who manages Lingerie for Less in Sherman Oaks, gauges quakes by the cash register.

To Andja, a 6.8 quake means you shut down for 2 1/2 weeks. A 5.3 quake is, by comparison, just a tease of a temblor.

“We lost our butts,” Andja said. Pardon me? Andja then pointed to the plastic, panty-clad derriere mannequins affixed high on a wall. After the shaking stopped, Andja said, business actually picked up a bit: “The malls shut down so people came to the Boulevard.”

Over on Ventura Boulevard, business people take their silver linings when they can. This is especially true in Sherman Oaks, where thousands of residents (read: customers) were displaced by damage to apartments, condos and single-family homes. Thousands of other potential customers were displaced by damage to office buildings.

Ventura Boulevard, for all its plywood, yellow tape and cracks, has a way of looking vibrant even when it’s hurting. There is always traffic and always a line at Starbucks. Tulanians fireplace shop has, of course, done well with homeowners in need of chimney and hearth repairs. The optometry office has been busy with customers who lost contacts or had spectacle damage in the quake.

But these are exceptions. The day after a big aftershock seemed like a good time to check in on the wounded heart of the Valley’s most vital commercial strip.

More than two months after Jan. 17, some of the merchants and restaurateurs who hustled to reopen seem impatient over the slow progress of others. The plywood, cyclone fencing and yellow tape are reminders of how long the recovery will take. Hidden from view are the fissures that separate the business interests--landlords and tenants, small business people and the big chains.

Now, it would be wrong to give the impression that every business is hurting here. This is not true. At Michael J’s Italian Kitchen, half the tables were taken. The proprietor, Michael Ourieff, seemed encouraged by his best lunch crowd in days. But before the quake, he said, “we used to fill out at lunch.”

Ourieff, who founded his restaurant 11 years ago, is one of the small businessmen who is trying to hang in there. I’ve written about him once before, in a column describing his participation in a meeting with Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown concerning quake aid.

Since then, Ourieff has been approved for two loans from the Small Business Administration. One to cover losses to inventory, another for “economic injury”--loss of sales--during the recovery period.

At 4% interest, it’s hard to find cheaper money. Then again, Ourieff has had to use his business assets and his home as collateral. If he defaults, “I think I get to keep my children.”

His biggest headache now is his relationship with a landlord who lives in Oklahoma. Four years ago, Ourieff signed a new lease when rents were at their peak. His landlord, he says, doesn’t seem to understand that the quake, apart from physical damage, has cut deeply into his lunch and dinner trade. After 11 years establishing his business at one location, Ourieff is considering a move.

This is one reason the walls in the dining room remain cracked. “I’m real reluctant now to put money into the landlord’s building. We may not be here.”

If Michael J’s leaves this stretch of the Boulevard, another reason would be the exodus of others. The quake put several merchants out of business and forced the temporary closure of others. Sav-On, The Gap and Banana Republic have left damaged buildings. Their absence has slowed foot traffic that businesses like Michael J’s count on to succeed.

Indeed, one of the big questions here is whether The Gap and Banana Republic will return to their location in La Reina Plaza.

Andja, over at Lingerie for Less, said she’s pretty sure the stores will be back in April. But Ourieff and Gary Huff, manager of Tower Video, fear the stores won’t be back at all.

When I got back to the office Monday afternoon, I hoped to resolve this question. When I called The Gap’s main office, a PR person said they’d get back to me with an answer. I informed the flak that I needed to know soon--that my deadline was approaching.

Well, deadline’s come and gone. Maybe they’ll get back to me today.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write Harris at The Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, Calif. 91311.