The storefront at 15276 Antioch will soon go from selling diamonds to selling dial tones. Pierre Onassis, owner of Onassis Jewelry, has subleased his 1,000-sq.-ft. space between Noah’s Bagels and The Coffee Bean to USA Wireless, which is currently renovating the premises for a September opening. According to managing partner Vince Nguyen, USA Wireless will sell a variety of cell phones and services, including Verizon, Nextel, Cingular, Sprint and T-Mobile. If the store is a success ‘we will open others,’ he said. Asked about the fate of his jewelry store, Onassis told the Palisadian-Post, ‘I am not going out of business. I am simply moving my operations back downtown.’ Prior to opening his store here in December 2002, Onassis had operated a jewelry business in the Los Angeles Diamond District for more than 20 years. He and his family moved to the Palisades in 2000. He said he will continue to work with his wife, Sabah, and they will sell jewelry wholesale. They can now be reached at (213) 244-1100. o o o Mid-summer finds plenty of other business activity going on in the Palisades Village, with one business closing down (Contentment), another changing hands (Littlebits), and several other storefronts under construction’slowed only by the City of L.A.’s permit and inspection process. New businesses planning a late summer, early fall opening include: ”Chefmakers, the new cooking academy at 872 Via de la Paz, formerly Sheila May Permanent Makeup Studio. Owner Rick Klein, a Palisadian, said that while several celebrity chefs have been lined up for the fall ‘it would be premature to say who they are as we have yet to finalize the schedule.’ Klein did say, however, that within two weeks people could start signing up for cooking classes online (www.chefmakers.com.) ”Renovations are progressing at 1022 Swarthmore, former site of Video 2010 which closed down last October. The 2,500-sq.-ft. space, located between Baskin-Robbins and Ivy Greene for Kids, will be the new home of BOCA Woman clothing boutique. ‘We’re looking forward to having 30-40 percent more space than we do now,’ said Michael Mangimelli, who has secured a five-year lease and will be paying approximately $3 a square foot. There is still no word on what will become of the current BOCA Woman site located at 15260 Antioch. Mangimelli and his wife, Denise, also own BOCA Man at the corner of Swarthmore and Antioch. ”The owners of the new Italian cafe at 863 Swarthmore, formerly Il Sogno, are awaiting approval from the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control for a beer and wine license. Palisadian Robert Mackston and his partner Kevin O’Connell plan to offer family-style dining in both the indoor and outdoor areas. The prospective menu includes pastas, salads, pizza and sandwiches. The owners have already completely gutted the interior, leaving only the familiar brick fireplace, and propose to call the new eatery Beech Street Pizzeria. ”Work continues at the former Anna Marie’s Boutique at 857 Via de la Paz, which closed in May. Anna Marie Tomasello, who opened her women’s boutique in 1995, sold her lease to a Palisades couple who are making improvements on the 500-sq.-ft. space and will reopen as a women’s clothing store. ”The ownership of Littlebits, at the corner of Swarthmore and Antioch, is expected to change hands in August. The children’s clothing shop is being purchased by Pam and Paul Hayer, who own Tattle Tails, a children’s clothing shop in Claremont. The couple have not yet decided whether they will retain the Littlebits name. ”Philips French Cleaners at 15224 Sunset, which has been in business in the Palisades since 1988, has completed renovations next door, in the space formerly occupied by Palace Fireplace. Meera Cho, owner of Philips with her husband Jeff, said they have invested in some new equipment to provide more ‘environmentally-correct dry cleaning services.’ ”In June, Palace Fireplace moved two blocks up the street to 15335 Sunset, adjacent to Emerson LeMay Cleaners. Besides selling fireplace screens and accessories, Palace also sells ‘mailboxes and barbecue grills,’ said owner Armond Vartanian. ”Quizno’s Sandwich Shop, located beside Starbucks in the Business Block building, opened in June in the former Haagen-Dazs space. The national franchise is known for its submarine sandwiches made with toasted specialty breads. ”Contentment, which occupies one of the largest retail spaces on the main floor of the business complex at 970 Monument, will officially close down July 31 when its three-year sublease with Kinko’s ends. According to Taryn Rudon, property manager for Equity Pacific which owns the complex, negotiations are under way to open at least one, ‘and possibly two’ new restaurants in that space. Admitting there is a lot of speculation as to the kind of restaurant, or restaurants, that will open there, ‘from Italian to Greek to Indian to Asian to Mexican to Japanese,’ she said she was unable to confirm anything ‘until we work out all the details,’ which is expected to take several more weeks. ”Early this month, Mogan’s Cafe, which is owned by Palisades Chamber of Commerce president David Williams, added a dinner menu, offering American comfort food. In May, Williams sold his Cafe Misto, three doors down from Mogan’s, to Lucia’s, an Italian eatery which only serves dinner. Both restaurants are located in the lower Highlands Plaza, off Palisades Drive. o o o ”The only advertised storefront currently available for lease in the Village is the former Emerson-LeMay site (1,600-sq.-ft.) at 1045 Swarthmore, which has been vacant since March 2003.
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