Costa Mesa, Highland Park hit shoppers’ radar

The Scout, our feature on reinvigorated or overlooked shopping desinations, bounced from Long Beach to Claremont to Santa Ana this year. We walked a developing stretch of Pico Boulevard and checked out what’s new on La Brea Avenue. But the two destinations that arguably stood out the most: Costa Mesa and the Highland Park neighborhood of northeast L.A.

A photo essay on Highland Park’s York Boulevard mentioned that new home furnishings shops and restaurants were changing the vibe of a once-gritty thoroughfare and that more newcomers were on the way. Indeed, shortly after the article was published, the Pop-Hop, a bookstore that hosts printmaking and other DIY workshops, and the Highland Cafe opened their doors. So too did the graphic novel store Thank You and the vintage furniture shop K-York Studio. On the food and drink front: the Hermosillo bar and the ice cream shop Scoops. At this point, fashion and toy boutiques catering to urban parents and pet owners seem all but inevitable.

At the South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa, more tenants have moved into that inviting outdoor mall. Surfas Culinary District, the popular Culver City gourmet food and kitchen equipment store, opened its Orange County outpost Nov. 17. A couple of weeks later, modern home furnishings store Design Within Reach opened a 20,400-square-foot space. Burnham-Ward Properties, which operates the center, said high-end outdoor furniture maker Brown Jordan will open its West Coast flagship store on March 4.

The South Coast Collection’s funky OC Mart Mix, which is composed of smaller independent restaurants and retail stalls, has some new additions too, including Theorem by Portola Coffee Lab, Shuck Oyster Bar and Seventh Tea Bar for foodies, as well as Analog, which sells handmade design.

Just in time for those after-Christmas sales.

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