Starting to feel Svelte

Paul Clinton

A Newport Beach bon vivant has swooped in to purchase Mistral, with

plans to reopen it as an eclectic, contemporary eatery called Svelte.

Kurt Conrad, a 36-year-old who lives in the Pelican Hill area of

Newport Coast, has pinned down a deal with the four owners to

purchase the restaurant, a historic landmark that has hosted an

eatery since the 1940s.

“The place is a landmark,” Conrad said. “It became available. It

was silently marketed.”

Svelte, from the French word meaning suave and slender, is

expected to open in July.

The deal is expected to close escrow in the coming weeks. After

that development, Mistral will close for good. The Mistral owners

decided it was time to sell. Head chef Jacques De Quillien will stay

on.

De Quillien said the ownership group decided to sell for personal

reasons. De Quillien and his wife, Olga, own the restaurant with

Edward and Patricia Waters.

“We were thinking of selling,” De Quillien said. “We just started

negotiating [with Conrad].”

Mistral, which opened in 1997, was the latest in a string of

restaurants at the site, including Trees, which closed in 1995, and

the Pirate’s Inn.

The building’s eclectic history also includes periods when it

served as an office and home. It was first sold in the mid-1920s, by

Lester and Hazel Sims of Los Angeles to Gottlieb and Anita Schick of

Huntington Beach.

The land was sold for a “$10 gold coin,” according to the original

deed, and included several now-bizarre conditions. It prohibited the

building of a “sanitarium, hospital, factory, piggery or store

building.”

The property could, however, be used to grow vegetables, fruits or

flowers. Conrad beat out Rick Aversano, the new owner of the Port

Theatre, for the property. Aversano had indicated that he would

demolish the property and use it as a parking lot for the Port.

While Conrad declined to discuss the specifics of the deal,

Newport Beach-based CommerceWest Bank, in a Nov. 11 appraisal, put the property’s value at $700,000. Mistral, with 3,112 square feet, has been operating with a $63,802 annual net profit, the report said.

Business leaders in the village welcomed Conrad’s efforts to start

another restaurant in Corona del Mar.

“It’s great to see someone who’s interested in stimulating the

local business market,” said Chip Stassel, the chairman of the Corona

del Mar Chamber of Commerce.

With schematic drawings in hand, Conrad has begun formulating the

design, menu and atmosphere of Svelte. As an avid traveler, Conrad

says he wants it to incorporate elements of “eight of my favorite

cities,” which include New York, London, Miami, Aspen and St. Trope.

The exterior has been designed with reflective blue glass, an Old

World wood door, faux concrete and field turf.

Conrad said he will expand the restaurant’s patio, open up the

second floor for VIP dining, build a smoker’s cave and keep the two

distinctive trees that sprouted from the patio.

He also plans to create a piano-lounge feel in the bar area and

revamp the dining room to include a long communal table, one wall

entirely lighted by candles, hardwood floors and padded suede booths.

Conrad describes the reworked menu as “world comfort food.”

Patrons will be able to order everything from lamb, filet mignon or

fondue to a burger or a simple sandwich.

“I want to make it a fun, neighborhood place,” Conrad said. “If

someone wants to come in and have a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich

with their Crystal [aperitif], so be it.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].