Costa Mesa’s retail landmark Triangle Square to be featured on Travel Channel

Costa Mesa’s iconic Triangle Square will soon take a turn in the national spotlight, as a handful of tenants at the 200,000-square-foot retail complex will be featured in a segment airing on the Travel Channel Friday.

Hosted by Holly McDonald — a Costa Mesa resident and agent in Compass Real Estate’s Newport Beach office — the roughly 5-minute segment is set to air at 7 a.m., spotlighting upscale Western-themed steakhouse Westwood Coast along with other restaurants and entertainment destinations at the center.

Real estate agent Holly McDonald, right, films a segment on Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square at Prince Street Pizza.

(Courtesy of Holly McDonald)

Since last fall, McDonald has produced a string of episodic features on area neighborhoods, cultural institutions and hot spots as a Southern California host for “American Dream,” a national real estate and lifestyle show streaming on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Roku and other outlets.

Past installments have focused on trendy milkshake bar the Straw and Costa Mesa’s South Coast Metro Area, while McDonald is working on another show about an upcoming push-ups for charity event to raise money for veterans.

“They deal with a variety of different things, but they’re all positive and uplifting sides of the area,” said McDonald, a former producer of HGTV’s “House Hunters.” “I scout out the stories and the locations — I’m pretty much doing all of it.”

The segment featuring Triangle Square, McDonald’s first to be picked up and broadcast on the Travel Channel so far, came out of a desire to explore a place that is familiar to many but has gone through some changes since it first opened in 1992.

Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square, on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and 19th Street.

(Courtesy of Triangle Square)

“Obviously, Triangle Square is a landmark here in Costa Mesa. And it’s kind of undergoing a renaissance right now,” McDonald said. “[But] if people just drive by, they may not know what’s going on inside. It’s more than just nightlife, but I don’t think people realize that.”

In a sit-down interview, Westwood Coast General Manager Michael Ruiz explains the increasing popularity of Western-themed entertainment in Orange County, particularly country line dancing, and why Costa Mesa was an ideal spot for the San Francisco eatery’s sister restaurant.

Westwood Coast, a steakhouse and upscale lounge with country line dancing, was recently featured on a TV segment on Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square.

(Courtesy of Triangle Square)

The segment also depicts scenes from Prince Street Pizza, La Vida Cantina, Cafe Sevilla and Tavern & Bowl, giving viewers a taste of a now fully-occupied retail space.

It’s a great way to showcase the progress that’s been made at the center in recent years, according to Charity Dahlke, a property manager for Cannon TTM, which purchased Triangle Square in 2017.

The owners had big plans for the property and were making major upgrades just before the COVID pandemic hit, changing consumers’ shopping behavior and impacting the center’s progress. Only now is that bigger vision starting to come to life, Dahlke said Wednesday.

And the added exposure from McDonald’s “American Dream,” which focuses on the different kinds of elevated experiences visitors can have at the center, only serves to further that cause.

“Triangle Square has definitely gone through a bit of a metamorphosis lately,” the property manager said. “This used to be a crown jewel in Costa Mesa, and now the owners are dedicated to getting this jewel back to where it was.”

Westwood Coast General Manager Michael Ruiz, left, speaks in an interview with real estate agent Holly McDonald for the show “American Dream.”

(Courtesy of Triangle Square)