End of Days as Swarthmore Stores Prepare to Move Out

By ERIKA MARTIN | Reporter

With Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village given the green light by City Council, things are shaking up on Swarthmore Avenue.

Existing tenants within the development area are expected to vacate their shops July 10 to allow demolition to begin soon after. While many store owners are still in the process of securing a new space, Jay Demircift, owner of Puzzle Zoo, has bought Party Pizzazz and will be combining the two stores into one at the latter’s 15121 Sunset Blvd. location.

Puzzle Zoo, which has five locations across LA and Orange counties, has been in Pacific Palisades since 2001, when it purchased Palisades Playthings. When Party Pizzazz went up for sale recently, Demircift jumped at the opportunity.

“We’ve been frantically looking for space to move because we didn’t want to go away for a couple years before we can reopen it,” he said.

The stores will close at the end of June and reopen as Puzzle Zoo in the Sunset Blvd. location July 10 or 11. Party Pizzazz will be having a sale through June 30 to reduce inventory and make room for toys.

The addition of party supplies to his stock will make the store more of a one-stop destination for festivities, Demircift said. If a customer is throwing a Star Wars party, for example, they’ll also be able to pick up gifts that match the theme.

According to Demircift, space was especially hard to find with so many store owners looking at the same time.

“The toy store has been there over 30 years but I myself have been there over 16 years and it’s hard to leave a community you built such a reputation with, so we were fortunate,” he said.

A transition is still in the works for most other businesses in the Palisades Village property. Michele International and Carly K recently found locations nearby (see a story in next week’s Post).

The owners of BOCA Clothing and BOCA Man are searching for a new spot. The husband-and-wife team behind Maison Giraud and Lavender Blue declined to comment, while Bentons did not respond to a request for comment.

City National Bank press representative Debora Vrana said the bank is “still considering several options.”

A few new businesses that aren’t part of the Caruso property have been able to lock down space in the Palisades. A Union Bank representative told the Post that it does have plans to move into the Palisades, and a Chipotle rep said it will open a restaurant here later this year, though neither was ready to confirm a location.

Juicy Ladies, a juice bar and café with a location in Woodland Hills, will be opening at 17361 Sunset Blvd. near Pacific Coast Highway.

The former Jack in the Box building across the street recently sold at auction, but the identity of the buyer has yet to be released.