A lavishly designed, Latino-oriented furniture and electronics...

A lavishly designed, Latino-oriented furniture and electronics store will open Thursday as a new anchor retail business at Panorama Mall in Panorama City.

With striking Mayan statues and colorfully illustrated pillars, the new La Curacao department store, the second in Los Angeles, will target the Latino population in Panorama City, said Oralia Michel a spokeswoman for the company.

The 22,000-sq. foot store is located at the north end of the mall, filling a void left by the closure of the a Robinsons department store in 1987.

The La Curacao store will hopefully help revitalize an area that has lagged behind, economically, in recent years, said Louise Marquez, marketing director and manager of the mall.

“La Curacao is the mall’s second largest store, after the Broadway,” Marquez said. “It’s a beautifully designed store that focuses on families.”

In addition to a children’s play area, where parents can leave their children while shopping, the store includes a small stage for performances.

La Curacao owners Ron and Jerry Azarkman opened their first department store in Pico-Union in 1979.