Restaurants, Shops Planned for Miramar Theatre Site

After sitting vacant on North El Camino Real for years, the historic Miramar Theatre, one of the first cinemas built in Orange County, may be reopening soon.

Real estate developer Left Coast Inc. is negotiating to buy the 66-year-old building from the owner, Home Investment and Loan of San Diego.

The potential buyer wants to convert the Spanish-style structure into an upscale promenade with shops, a restaurant and a nightclub whose entertainment would be carried on local cable TV.

Escrow is expected to close next week, said Allen F. Smith, president of Left Coast Inc. “We’re trying to get the whole property as an entertainment center there,” Smith said. “The location is perfect.”

Under Smith’s plan, the complex would also include a bar and grill, shops, an espresso bar, gourmet restaurant, a courtyard and a major restaurant on the second floor with an ocean view for diners. The firm is in talks with the Ruby’s restaurant chain, Smith said.

The theater, built in 1930, has had a series of bad breaks in recent years. Several attempts have been made to reopen it, the most recent in 1994, when the owner proposed to turn the single-screen cinema into a three-screen movie house.

That plan fell through after the California Coastal Commission required further analysis of parking at the site, said Bob Goldin, acting city planner.

For Smith, the historic building holds much potential and is the key to revitalizing the north end of town. “Something needs to anchor this part of town,” Smith said. “It’s the gateway to San Clemente.”