Lolita Harper
COSTA MESA -- Destination restaurants may be the salvation for
Triangle Square.
After months of evaluation, crunching numbers, late-night meetings and
brainstorming, the community can expect to see improvements in the
physical appearance and tenants at the troubled Triangle Square.
And a big part of those changes probably will involve building on the
success of the Yard House restaurant.
Dick Bridy, president of DBI Asset Management, who has been hired to
give Triangle Square a much-needed make-over, says he came into the
picture at a time when the 12-year-old center had hit rock bottom. The
landscaping was neglected, the foot traffic was nearly nonexistent, and
morale of management and tenants was low.
"There is nowhere to go from here but up," Bridy said Tuesday after
announcing his intentions to revamp the center. "The attitude of
ownership and management is positive right now. We are very optimistic
and so are our tenants."
"What I do is redevelop shopping centers," Bridy said. "The owners
hired me to come in and figure out what the problems are and how we can
remedy them."
The problems, which include a lack of directional signs in the parking
lot, poor tenant visibility, and a failure to retain tenants, were
obvious. It was the solutions that took some time to figure out, Bridy
said.
Triangle Square boasts a great location -- on Newport Boulevard, with
direct freeway access -- and strong anchors such as Niketown, Barnes &
Noble, Virgin Megastore, Northface, the Gap and Yard House.
Bridy said the future revolves around those stores. Triangle Square
was successful in renewing contracts with the Gap and Northface, which
were critical to the center's survival, he said. The only way to keep the
shopping destination afloat is to find tenants that complement the
anchors, he said.
Playing off the large success of the Yard House, a popular nighttime
destination that serves ice-cold ales and piping hot food, Bridy hopes to
transform the former food court level into a dining plaza that features
what he calls similar "destination restaurants."
The food court concept works in centers where customers are looking
for a quick bite to fuel their shopping-filled day but has never been
successful at Triangle Square, Bridy said, partly because the center was
not designed for all-day, walk-around shopping. The center must cater to
those who come to the center for a specific purpose. Therefore, Bridy
plans to draw customers by offering unique and edgy dining
