Awaiting Construction, Harbor Retailers Contend with Rumors, Uncertain Future

BY BREEANA GREENBERG

Despite rumors of the harbor shuttering for construction, the Dana Point Harbor Partners is working to dispel misconceptions and bring more visitors to the waterfront with pop-ups, markets and live music.

Though construction on the marina began in August 2022, many harbor retailers are battling the misconception that construction on the land-side of the development is underway.

According to the Dana Point Harbor Partners, the commercial core aspect of the development is in pre-construction phases as it gathers the necessary permits and approvals. Construction of a new parking structure, the first phase of the commercial core revitalization, is expected to begin in early 2024.

Ahead of the commercial core revitalization, retailers who spoke with Dana Point Times shared how these rumors are impacting their businesses. Many also expressed the uncertainty they face prior to construction and fears of the new harbor being unaffordable.

Addressing Misinformation

Coffee Importers owner Jim Miller said he often gets calls asking if the restaurant is still open, what the harbor is like under construction and whether it is still open to visitors.

“I think we need to continue to get the word out that the harbor is open, because there is this public impression that we’re not,” Miller said.

Miller added that these questions are not coming from the locals who use the harbor every day, but from visitors who occasionally visit the harbor, and might not make the trip if they believe it’s under construction.

Susan Lieb, senior director of property management for the Dana Point Harbor, said the rumor that the harbor is closed is mystifying.

“It is so funny, because I hear that periodically,” Lieb said. “Nobody that lives here, nobody who frequents the harbor, I mean, thinks this place is closed.”

Lieb added that when the Harbor Partners took over management of the harbor, it worked to step up the marketing component.

“The marketing efforts that we’ve done on behalf of the tenants, that is the component that wasn’t here,” Lieb said. “These tenants, by the way, they’re the hardest-working people I’ve ever met in terms of retailers.”

“A lot are sole proprietors; they’re here every day. It’s their family and their personal livelihood, and they’ve been here for so long,” Lieb continued. “So, with their efforts with ours, I don’t see how you mistake it for being closed.”

To battle the misconceptions, the Harbor Partners has worked to promote tenant anniversaries, bring in pop-ups, live music and markets to activate the space, Lieb said.

On July 20, the Harbor Partners started a new music series, with performances on select Thursdays from 4-6 p.m.

Lieb added that when residents or visitors hear rumors about the harbor, she’d prefer they call or email to ask her directly.

“I’ve had tenants come in and say, ‘Well, I heard Disney’s coming.’ Absolutely not,” Lieb said. “‘I heard Cheesecake Factory; absolutely not. So, I’ll say, ‘Today is my truth’; I mean it’s a fluid project.”

CONSTRUCTION & LEASES

Though the long-awaited construction has begun on the marina, the commercial core component to the revitalization is still in “pre-construction,” Lieb said.

“In terms of the project being started, there’s so much work done that isn’t visible to the eye,” Lieb said. “We don’t have the wrecking ball out there, but we are obtaining our permits. We are creating our plans.”

The partnership—between Burnham Ward Properties heading the retail portion of the revitalization, Bellingham Marine upgrading the marina and docks, and R.D. Olson Development spearheading the hotel portion—allows for a unique coordination of construction for each development.

The construction is phased such that the retail portion will be under construction at the same time as the docks in front, so that tenants will be moving into the new buildings at the same time as boaters docking in new slips, Lieb said.

Miller of Coffee Importers was an early advocate for the harbor revitalization as a member of the Dana Point Harbor

“The way that these leases are structured down here in the harbor are different than a typical retail lease,” Lieb said. “So, the issue will be more of going into a standardized retail lease; I think that will be the big change for these folks.”

Businesses in the harbor have been month-to-month for the past several years, offering more flexibility to both the tenant and landlord ahead of anticipated construction, Lieb said.

“It’s for the convenience of the tenant, as well as for us, because things change with the phasing and things like that,” Lieb said. “We would never just surprise them with a 30-day or a 60-day. There will be ample time letting folks know when we’re entering into a different phase.”

Lieb added that not being locked into a termed lease gives retailers flexibility, noting that the Harbor Partners intends to keep retailers open “as long as possible.”

“One really important point that I think needs to be made is that the

Advisory Task Force in 1998.

“The plan, it’s evolved quite a bit from the 2005 plan,” Miller said. “It’s a little bit bigger, but it still meets the parameters of the Coastal Commission, so I’m good with it.”

After working on the plan for more than 23 years, Miller added that he’s excited for construction to get underway.

Now that the harbor is managed through a public-private partnership, Lieb noted that lease terms will now no longer be public information.

“If the tenant decides to share their terms with someone else, then that’s their business,” Lieb continued. “But in the past, everything was public. A tenant could look up their deal, their neighbors’ deal; it was available. That won’t be the case moving forward.” majority of these folks, the retailers never received any significant increase in their baseline,” Lieb continued.

Lieb added that a lot of the mom-andpop shops haven’t decided what they want to do in terms of staying in the revitalized harbor.

Retailers in the harbor are paying a rent based on a percentage of the sales they make.

“That’s a huge benefit to the tenant,” Lieb said. “Most of these folks are at the same rate they were back in 2018.”

The new leases are expected to go from a percentage of sales to a standardized retail lease, Lieb said.

“A lot of people forget that a month-tomonth is not always a bad circumstance to be in,” Art Sea owner Mark Hansen said. “During COVID, it benefited many small merchants, if they chose to close, with no legal ramifications.”

Month-to-month leases require less investment in his store, other than just inventory, Hansen said. He noted that he’d like to remain open during construction if possible and speaks with Lieb regularly to plan inventory and learn about what’s new in the revitalization.

“Susan gives us the time frame to the best of her ability, because it’s changing all the time,” Hansen said.

Hansen added that he’s somewhat concerned about what it might look like to stay open during construction but is not worried about being able to stay open.

“I know that they’re going to do the best they can to—for lack of better words—quarantine construction and allow us to remain open, just like the harbor is open while slips are being taken out and put back in,” Hansen said.

Throughout Hansen’s experience working with the Harbor Partners, he said it has “been completely transparent and extremely thorough in explaining the process or the timeline until the timeline hits a speed bump, and then it’s like, ‘OK, we can’t control this, it’s been rerouted, here’s the new timeline.’”

“So, we just don’t ask for a timeline anymore,” Hansen continued. “We just ask for things that would affect us and then when they say, ‘Don’t worry about it right now,’ we just keep operating.”

THE AGING HARBOR

Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale

Watching Chief Operations Officer Donna Kalez said the sidewalks, docks and buildings of the 52-year-old harbor are largely deteriorating.

To residents saying they’d rather see a remodel than a full revitalization of the harbor, Kalez said the harbor needs more than a new coat of paint.

“People need to know that we went through a 20-year process just to get the plans where they are,” Kalez said. “It’s no more possible to just repaint my building. My building, all these buildings are falling apart.”

“I hear that all the time, people are like, ‘Just paint it,’” Kalez continued. “No, like when your house is falling down, you don’t just paint it. That’s not possible. That’s why we’re doing the revitalization, and it’s delayed.”

After years of working toward a revitalization of the harbor, Kalez said it’s starting to feel closer to coming to fruition.

Dana Wharf Sportfishing anticipates receiving new docks in the harbor, but Kalez largely expects the area will be similar to what it is now.

“All redesigned buildings, but we will still be in the same place,” Kalez said. “I believe that we will have more parking for all of our walk-in customers. We have a huge amount of people that come down to see the harbor.”

Kalez added that she anticipates staying open during construction of the landside development—even if Dana Wharf needs to operate out of a trailer.

“When we started here, we worked out of a trailer,” Kalez said. “We were in the parking lot in a trailer. We could totally do that if we had to.”

Affordability Concerns

Proud Mary’s Restaurant owner Steve Zdrakas noted that while he’d like to see the harbor stay the same, “I know it’s for the best, maybe more for the community, but hopefully we can afford the rent.”

“They’ve got to do what they need to do to pay their bills,” Zdrakas continued. “Everybody thinks landlords are rich—they may be, but some of them aren’t. Things have changed, interest rates have gone up, supply chain issues; it was supposed to start March of 2020.”

Zdrakas added that not having a termed lease has made it challenging to plan.

“Without a lease, you don’t have a business,” Zdrakas said. “If you don’t have a lease, you have nothing to sell. You can’t plan anything month-to-month.”

Jon’s Fish Market owner Shala Manseur echoed the sentiment, stating it’s hard to invest in one’s business without a longer lease term.

“We would like to take out loans to help revitalize our own inside of our businesses so that we can have some sort of equity in the business and a reason to put that money in,” Manseur said. “You need time to do that, 10 years or more; it’s got to be 10 years or more.”

Manseur noted that while she hopes for a longer lease term, she feels positively about the revitalization overall.

“I think the Harbor Partners stepped in and they participated and they helped the entire time that they’ve been here,” Manseur said.

During the pandemic, the Harbor Partners helped Jon’s Fish Market extend its outdoor dining and replace its aging benches with new outdoor tables, Manseur said.

“Having a 43-year-old business, making it through the pandemic, tripling your business through the pandemic, I mean, thank you, Harbor Partners,” Manseur said. “They gave me all those tables out there in the courtyard; are they charging me extra rent? No.”

Discussing Jon’s Fish Market’s future in the revitalized harbor, Manseur said she never expected the revitalization to be easy, but she’s confident the Harbor Partners will go above and beyond to facilitate a smooth move during con- struction.

Despite the pandemic, Zdrakas said his business has done well.

“We are packed, the parking lots are packed always, at least during the weekends and summer,” Zdrakas said.

Construction on a new parking lot is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024, Lieb said.

Zdrakas said he’s concerned about displaced parking spots while the new lot is under construction.

“There’s going to be issues with parking, but you know what they say, ‘You got to break a couple eggs to make a souffle,’ ” Zdrakas said. “So, it’s going to happen. So hopefully it works out for the best. That’s the way I look at it.”

An Uncertain Future

Though no leases for spaces in the revitalized harbor have been signed yet, some businesses raised concerns for whether new rents will remain affordable for the mom-and-pop shops that have occupied the harbor for decades.

“We all know the new harbor was going to be expensive, but my main concern now is, from a $318 million project to today of $400 million, how much more expensive is it going to be?” Miller asked. “That’d be my only concern. Will it be affordable for a small merchant?”

What makes the Dana Point Harbor unique, Miller noted, is many of the shops and restaurants are owner-operated, with the owners on-site nearly every day.

“You don’t have absentee owners,” Miller said. “We all know each other, we’re all friends … we all support each other.”

Miller added that after 44 years, he hopes to see his daughter take over the business, making Coffee Importers a third-generation business in the harbor.

“I’d really like that opportunity for my daughter to continue Coffee Importers for the next 20 years,” Miller said. “She’s an excellent pastry chef.”

Though Hansen expects rents to increase, he expects an increase in foot traffic and customers will support Art and Sea.

“I know the new lease is going to be more expensive, but I think it should be reasonable. When the harbor is a draw, there’s more parking and more restaurants,” Hansen said. “I think it’s going to be appropriate, but it’s hard to say.”

Growing up around the harbor, Manseur lamented that she didn’t capture enough pictures over the years, when Proud Mary’s used to be an ice cream shop and Turk’s Dana Wharf was a Pool Hall.

“I have some old pictures and I cling to them because it was a different time,” Manseur said. “Just looking at the surroundings and there was nothing here. Sure, I have those memories, but it will never be like that. That’s a part of growing up and acceptance.”

“I don’t want any angst in my harbor,” Manseur continued. “Everything I’ve ever enjoyed was there, and everything I ever want to be is going to be here. It might look different, it might feel different, it might act different, but damn if I’m not going to enjoy it.”

Walter and Philip Hoffman Statues to Join Watermen’s Plaza

BY BREEANA GREENBERG

A bronze, life-sized statue of Walter and Philip “Flippy” Hoffman, two bigwave surfing pioneers, will be the next to join Joyce Hoffman, Hobie Alter and other legends at Watermen’s Plaza.

The Hoffman brothers will be the seventh statue to join the plaza, which features statues of Alter, Phil Edwards, Bruce Brown, John Severson and Joyce—with a statue of Steve and Barrie Boehne to be unveiled soon.

Dana Point artist Bill Limebrook, who designed each of the bronze statues at Watermen’s Plaza, will craft the statue depicting Walter wearing a textured Hawaiian print shirt holding a 10-foot surfboard. Flippy, who also worked as an abalone diver, will be depicted in Hawaiian print shorts holding an abalone shell.

The brothers took over the family business, Hoffman California Fabrics company, pioneering “the Hawaiian-infused aesthetic of California surf

Timeless Teak Owners Say Goodbye Ahead of Shop’s Closure

BY BREEANA GREENBERG

Since Timeless Teak opened its storefront in 1998, the shop has furnished homes with one-of-a-kind pieces from Indonesia and Beijing.

Before opening the shop, Timeless Teak owner Debbie Riley and her sister would sell furniture and art on their front yard.

While working in the clothing industry in Indonesia, Riley’s sister noticed unique styles of furniture. The sisters sought out those distinctive pieces abroad to sell back in the U.S.

“The furniture just sold itself at the beginning, it’s so unique,” Riley said.

Though Riley had no retail experience outside of selling furniture on her lawn, she thought to herself, “I could do that,” after passing by a “for lease” sign on a storefront on the corner of Street of the Ruby Lantern and Pacific Coast Highway.

Riley said her sister separately opened a similar store of her own in San Diego.

Gathering stock for Timeless Teak, Riley would travel to Indonesia and Beijing, clothing as the primary textile provider to the surfwear industry,” according to a city staff report.

Walter taught his stepdaughter Joyce how to surf in Capistrano Beach near his house on Beach Road, where he still lives today.

Flippy, who was a longtime Capistrano Beach resident, died in 2010.

The brothers were inducted into the filling shipping containers full of all handpicked, one-of-a-kind pieces.

Over the years, Timeless Teak experienced periods where it thrived with the housing boom and endured recession, road construction and COVID-19, Riley noted. She said Timeless Teak helped multiple generations of families furnish their first apartments and homes with distinct pieces.

After operating Timeless Teak in Dana Point for 25 years, Riley announced the store would be closing its doors at the end of August because of a substantial rent increase.

As the shop’s time in the Lantern District comes to a close, Riley said she’s seen longtime customers returning to tell her how much they’ll miss the store and its unique offerings.

“I never knew how many people loved us,” Riley said. “People are going to really miss us, I know that.”

Ultimately, Riley noted that she hopes the business is remembered for helping people and being a part of the community.

Riley noted that she was sad to see

Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach in 2006.

The City Council voted unanimously on July 18 to commission Limebrook to sculpt the statue of the brothers. According to the staff report, the statue must be completed by March 31, 2025.

Councilmember Matthew Pagano commented that he appreciated how the city recognizes local legends at Waterthe neighborhood around Timeless Teak changing, adding that the store’s closure is “a loss for the community, and I feel really bad about it.” men’s Plaza.

Until the store closes at the end of August, Timeless Teak is offering 20% off remaining stock.

“I think this is awesome,” said Pagano—who, along with the rest of the council, donned a Hawaiian print shirt in honor of the brothers’ legacy. “I think it’s nice that we’re taking a moment to recognize people that have really embodied the culture of what Dana Point is, still today, and what we’re ascribing to be.”

Mayor Pro Tem Jamey Federico noted that many people don’t realize how much of the surf industry comes from Dana Point.

“How great is it to have people come from all over the world come here and see that statue garden, Watermen’s statue plaza, and learn these stories,” Federico said, adding: “It’s super cool to be able to recognize Walter and Flippy, and I’m quite frankly proud to live in a town with such a cool and rich and deep surf culture.”

Watermen’s Plaza, which was created as a part of the mixed-use South Cove project, contains 10 pedestals for life-size statues of local surfing industry legends. A memorial statue of Alter was the first to be erected in Watermen’s Plaza.

The next statue to be unveiled at Watermen’s Plaza depicts tandem surf champions Barrie and Steve Boehne. A ribbon-cutting celebrating the statue is slated for late September.

Riley noted that she and her husband, Mike Riley, co-owner of Timeless Teak, were not retiring but moving “onto the next adventure.”

“I hope a business replaces us that’s going to service the community in the same way we have,” Riley said.