Destination Downtown

It’s 7:19 p.m. on a Friday and downtown is in the middle of a transformation.

Motorists pull out of the parking structure after a day of work. Others pull in for a night of fun.

A few of Ventura’s shops are still open, but most merchants have locked their doors. Folks on the sidewalk peer through the windows.

And as the sun goes down beyond the Century 10 theater, a short line of couples and families forms for an early movie.

Ventura’s Main Street is no Sunset Boulevard, nor is it State Street in Santa Barbara. Still, downtown has come alive, some merchants and boosters say.

“We see a vitality that, having lived downtown for 15 years, didn’t exist past 5 o’clock five years ago,” said Doug Halter, a downtown shop owner and president of the Downtown Community Council. “It’s a city that’s awakening and recognizing the potential that it has.”

Fifty projects--ranging from a microbrewery to hi-tech offices-- have permits to open in the near future, Halter said. Those projects represent an estimated $70 million in private investment.

Yes, rents have gone up, but range from as little as 30 cents a square foot to as much as $1.80, said Halter, who owns the Laurel Theatre and Villa Tasca, a home and garden store.

“Quite honestly,” he said, “30 cents a [square] foot is unheard of. It’s appalling that we ever let our downtown degrade to the point that we could get 30 cents a square foot.”

Despite what some merchants say, Ventura is not selling out to outsiders, Halter said.

“There may be people there that are truly speculating, but most are home-grown people,” he said.

Critics worry that Ventura may lose some of its small-town charm.

“It’s like a hokey-pokey town to me,” said store manager Shoshanah Finegold, explaining why she moved from Seattle. “With all this growth, which is inevitable, it’s losing a little bit of that flavor. And that’s sad.”

The store Finegold manages, Times Remembered, is the kind Ventura is known for. Crammed with knickknacks, the shop sells antiques and collectibles ranging from grandma’s wedding china to vintage lunch boxes. Unlike its second-hand brethren, Times Remembered stays open until 9 p.m. on Fridays.

“It’s not a huge moneymaker, but because we’re the only one, we’re kind of known for that,” Finegold said. “It would be great if everybody stayed open a little later.”

Downtown merchants say the Century 10, which opened in October, has been the key to bringing people downtown, particularly at night.

“It’s just a magnet down here,” said Ed Warren, who opened his Busy Bee Cafe 12 years ago.

At 7:53 p.m. on a Friday, fish-and-chips and macaroni-and-cheese are on special and the jukebox is playing oldies at his ‘50s-style diner. Last year, the restaurant extended its hours on summer weekends until 11 p.m. It closes at 10 on weeknights.

“I don’t know where the people are coming from,” Warren said. “Last night we had a party of 30 come in.”

The surge in business created by the movie theater and other downtown improvements still falls short of his restaurant’s early days, Warren said. Chain restaurants that have since opened in other parts of the city have brought him competition.

“A Friday night 10 years ago, we’d have had a line outside,” he said.

But Warren is quick to say that he is not complaining. Even though his restaurant no longer annually takes in the $1.25 million it once did, he thinks downtown is better today.

“I think everybody’s doing well down here now,” Warren said. “I see a real future for downtown Ventura that’s probably more solid than it has been in years.”

In fact, Warren is so confident in downtown’s potential that he plans to refurbish the Busy Bee.

“We’re going to make an investment in the future,” he said. “We think it’s worth it.”

Warren, who is active in the downtown merchants’ association, said shop owners are cooperating more and may agree to stay open later. They realize that many of today’s shoppers are not free to browse during the day.

“I think we’re getting some merchants in that are more aggressive,” Warren said.

Chains and franchises, such as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Quizno’s Subs, have moved in. And in some mom-and-pop stores, the only window dressing is now a for-lease sign.

Some of those businesses were antique stores where Paul Fitzmorris liked to browse, but now they’re gone.

“I guess that’s progress--that’s what they say. I’m not sure I agree with that,” said Fitzmorris, who stopped into Times Remembered on a recent Friday night with his wife and daughter.

Terry Bishop, who works in Ventura but lives in Ojai, has been pleased to see that the chains have not taken over downtown entirely.

“Some of the old standards are hanging in there, which is nice,” she said, after leaving with a party of six from the Busy Bee’s front booth.

Outside, at just after 8, a steady stream of cars cruises Main Street, many with stereos thumping. At the Bank of America, there is a line for the ATM machine.

The 8 o’clock hour is the busiest time at Jonathan’s, a Mediterranean-style restaurant that moved into the former Peirano’s grocery space almost a year ago. But by 9:27, a party of 12 is finishing its meal with tiramisu and cappuccino, and the patio, with its views of the Mission, has cleared out.

“Lately that’s been the favorite spot for most people,” said Sharon Enabnit, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Jonathan. The couple is thinking about opening a Yucatan-style restaurant up the street.

The movie theater and two new theater companies have helped fill the tables at Jonathan’s, Enabnit said, but she would like to see more offices downtown. Right now, her lunch business is “up and down.”

“Some residential wouldn’t hurt down here either,” she said.

For some folks, Friday evening will end at Metro Nite Club. A male-stripper revue attracts women, who, in turn, attract men to the club.

General manager Shaun Butler wouldn’t let a reporter and photographer into the club, but at 10:08, he said about 50 women were watching the men strip. Their whistling and whooping would grow louder the longer the bar was open, he said.

Butler has worked downtown for 15 years and said he has never seen the area so busy, particularly on Main Street’s 500 block, where the movie theater is located.

“I’ve walked out of there a couple of times and I’m like, whoa, I’m in a different time,” he said.

But the 300 block, where Metro is located, has not seen much change. Butler points across the street and says he thinks a food store, like Trader Joe’s, would be a good replacement for the large thrift store. Also, he thinks, more restaurants and events would benefit downtown.

“We need a few anchors,” Butler said. “I don’t believe in the total corporate scene, but the corporate people do spend money to get people downtown.”

The biggest challenge could come from the newly expanded Buenaventura Mall, which will reopen in the fall with more department stores and national retailers.

Unless more downtown stores extend their hours, some merchants fear that shoppers will prefer a night at the mall over a night on Main Street.

Ron Smith, who sells hot sauces and salsas at Smith & Smith on Oak Street, predicted that downtown’s appeal will fade.

“When they finish the mall,” Smith said, “it will just turn this section of Ventura back into a ghost town.”