FASHION : European-Style Shoppers’ Special
The ambience of Encino Place is obvious when you first pull into its underground parking structure and hand the car keys to a waiting valet.
Subterranean lots usually feel like a cave, but this one is suffused with natural light from a two-story atrium near the escalators. A cascading waterfall murmurs pleasantly. Thriving green plants beside the escalator complete the mood.
Customers emerge into an open-air, L-shaped courtyard with three floors of shops, restaurants and offices nestled in a cream stucco building accented with forest-green tiles. There is a European feel: brick courtyard, antique street lamps, stone benches, palms in terra-cotta pots, fountains and statues inspired by classical artworks.
But the tenants remain the ultimate draw of this 95,000-square-foot plaza: They include Rebel from Brentwood Gardens, Anastasia of Paris and Laguna Beach, Paolo Design by Paolo Gucci of New York and Italy, Allen Edwards Hair Salon, Gatsby, David’s Shoe Salon, California Pizza Kitchen and the Daily Grill, a little sister to Beverly Hill’s original the Grill.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, linen-clad customers lounged at outdoor tables at Chin Chin. In one corner of the restaurant, two ponytailed men were engaged in earnest conversation. A woman strolled by, speaking French to her little girl. From a sunlit bench, a young woman in neatly pressed jeans and a T-shirt surveyed the crowd.
“It was meant to be a public space where people can come and walk around, like an Italian piazza,” says architect Zad Shooshani, one of the owner/developers of Encino Place. Indeed, on this Sunday, the courtyard and its shops were filled with meandering shoppers, diners and looky-loos.
Ellie Gorman of Encino was browsing at Rebel and picked up an antique silk vest with a hunting pattern for her daughter’s birthday. She says she rarely makes fashion forays to the Westside.
“I shop the boulevard,” Gorman said, referring to Ventura Boulevard. “I have my favorite stores. But I love it that we’re getting all these new stores.”
Rebel also has a children’s boutique, Rebelette, which features hip fashions for kids. Merchandise includes an embroidered jungle-print vest by Tailfeathers for $34 and a 100% cotton, print jumper emblazoned with different breeds of dogs for $36.
Perhaps the most upscale shop in Encino Place is Anastasia, which features Parisian designer Chantal Thomass in addition to better-known names such as Matsuda, Byblos and Spadafora. Prices range from $99 for a shirt to $1,900 for a Chantal Thomass Couture coat.
Some customers said salespeople are friendlier than their Beverly Hills and Westside counterparts.
“I’m very happy it’s here,” said Marcia Eaker of Encino, as she tried on clothes at the Lina Lee boutique. “I used to go over the hill and this is smaller, more intimate. The salesgirls are very nice.”
Lina Lee Longatte, who owns boutiques on Rodeo Drive and in the Beverly Hills Hotel, opened a third store at Encino Place last month to tap San Fernando Valley customers like Eaker.
“I have a store in Beverly Hills, but that doesn’t mean that everyone comes there,” Longatte says. “The local people are being stolen away by these local little centers that have a wonderful mix of stores.”
And services. At Encino Place, you can get your hair done, buy skin-care products, pick up a pair of cowboy booties, find a Christmas present for your daughter, buy a designer evening gown or grab some casual clothes for the weekend. Or you can rest your feet and eat dim sum or designer pizzas.
The upscale, outdoor shopping center concept is also catching on a mile east on Ventura Boulevard, where a 100,000-square-foot facility, the Courtyard Shops of Encino, is gearing up to give Encino Place a run for its money.
The Courtyard also has plentiful underground parking, tiled walkways, discreetly gurgling waterfalls and floor-to-ceiling curved glass windows that beckon the shopper inside. It also has some of L.A.’s smartest boutiques: Theodore of Rodeo Drive, Joan & David, Pickwick Fashions and Raffles. The last two are longtime Valley boutiques that moved from other locations.
A Plaza Preview
* Encino Place: 16101 Ventura Blvd.
* Particulars: Some street parking, plus underground structure with valet parking (two hours free with validation, $1 each additional 20 minutes, $6 maximum).
* Best Buys: $40 flats with cloth rosettes in custom-order colors at Gatsby; $68 printed vests in brocade or polished cotton at Rebel.
* Updated Classic Buy: $178 black, fully lined wool gabardine pants at Lina Lee.
* Food: Chin Chin, Daily Grill, California Pizza Kitchen. Prices from $2.95 for spring rolls at Chin Chin to $18.75 for a 12-ounce New York steak at Daily Grill.
* Clientele: For the entire family.
