Originally Posted By Westsider My feeling on GardenWalk, from personal experience and some friends who work there. Yeah, I know, some assistant managers of mall stores and some waitresses who get gossip from their horndog manager aren't exactly the best info sources, but right now it's about all there is; The two ends of the mall do okay. The southern end with the big restaurants does the best, but it's hit or miss. PF Changs, Cheesecake and Bubba Gump do pretty well. California Pizza Kitchen is doing moderate business. But Roy's and McCormick's are struggling. On the other end of the mall the Heat UltraLounge is really hopping, it's the hip place to be in central OC, at least this year. Nightclubs are a fickle business, so who knows where they'll be in 18 months. Bar Louie does pretty good, especially on CM discount nights and happy hours. The 300 bowling alley is hit or miss, and I know some guys who work there who say the corporate office is disapointed with how slow it has been there after spending all that money to make it slick looking. Their lucrative corporate event and party business that they had depended on has collapsed. The food court on the upper level is a ghost town, and the movie theater hasn't taken off yet. It's the fifth big megaplex within a five mile radius and it hasn't found an audience, pardon the pun. The middle of the mall with all the stores and smaller food stands is a complete disaster. Sales are one fourth what they thought they would be, and unless business picks up soon some of the national chains are going bye-bye by summer. Holister, Tommy Bahamas, White House, etc. are shuttering within the year unless a miracle happens. The Pop The Cork wine bar up on the second floor that is owned by Councilwoman Lucille Kring is a huge flop. Heck, the entire second floor is a huge flop, mainly because there are only about six open locations and 30 shuttered locations plastered over with wallpaper to try and make it look inhabited. Inhabited by a wallpaper freak is what it looks like. When big conventions are in town, or during busy holiday weekends, the southern strip of restaurants along Katella does okay. And Thursdays through Saturday nights there's a young crowd at Heat. But they aren't buying anything in the mall beforehand, just waiting in line for an hour and trying to pass muster for the bouncers at the door. GardenWalk is toasted in my opinion. And isn't it odd that the long rumored Disney owned hotels have gone MIA? I hope Al Lutz addresses that in the next update, since that entire GardenWalk hotel rumor was started by him to begin with.
Originally Posted By juicer Garden Walk needs a major anchor - like a huge convention hotel & some sort of transportation system from Disneyland Resort to make this place be thrive. Will this happen soon? I don't think so. I agree, Westsider - Garden Walk is "toasted". Its sad.
Originally Posted By alexbook Without knowing anything about what's going on behind the scenes, just as a customer who walks through now and then, Garden Walk feels dead, except for the restaurants along Katella. Returning the original topic: Remember that Landry's is a sizable company, with lots of brands, some of which may be doing better than others. There was apparently also some drama involving a failed takeover bid last year. Their bankruptcy risk probably has nothing to do with how well this or that Rainforest Cafe is doing. Also, a bankruptcy filing by Landry's doesn't necessarily mean that Rainforest Cafes would disappear. Sometimes big companies sell off divisions as part of going under. All I'm saying is, don't cancel your reservations yet. >>Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. is a diversified restaurant hospitality and entertainment company principally engaged in the ownership and operation of full-service, casual dining restaurants, primarily under the names of Rainforest Cafe, Saltgrass Steak House, Landry’s Seafood House, The Crab House, Charley’s Crab and The Chart House. As of December 31, 2007, the Company owned and operated over 179 full-service and certain limited-service restaurants in 28 states. It offers concepts ranging from upscale steak and seafood restaurants to casual theme-based restaurants. The Company is also engaged in the ownership and operation of select hospitality businesses, including hotel and casino resorts that provide dining, leisure and entertainment experiences, including the Golden Nugget Hotels and Casinos in downtown Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. The Company operates its restaurants through three divisions: Landry’s Division, which is the Company’s high-profile seafood and signature restaurants; Rainforest Cafe, which is a rainforest-themed casual dining restaurant, and Saltgrass Steak House, its Texas-Western-themed casual dining restaurants.<< <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=LNY.N&rpc=66" target="_blank">http://www.reuters.com/finance...N&rpc=66</a>
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "The middle of the mall with all the stores and smaller food stands is a complete disaster." Not surprising. The other stats you give jive with what I would have suspected as well. There just isn't much to do after dark around DLR, so nightclubs and restaurants will probably fare well despite the economic downturn.
Originally Posted By oc_dean On Garden Walk ... it's "tucked away" position in the former Melodyland area .. makes for a business that I think gets lost by many people, especially tourists. I think many stay on Harbor Blvd. .. and easily pass by what's looks like nothing more than a street for drivers on route to DL. If I were Garden Walk management ... I would create an archway at the intersection of Harbor blvd. and Disney Drive. Put "Garden Walk" on top. And make the sidewalk on the south side look more like a dedicated pathway to Garden Walk, and not just look like any "city" street sidewalk.
Originally Posted By jmuboy The management of GW and Anahiem need to be more agressive in promoting GW. Its a "nice" addition to the area and should not be allowed to die on the vine. No pun intended.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt ^^LOL. The problem with Garden Walk is that there is very little there to lure tourists. When the line up was first announced all I could do was shrug my shoulders. Most everything there is run of the mill mall junk. There is little to nothing for a tourist to see. Why would I leave DLR to visit a California Pizza Kitchen or go bowling?
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << Returning the original topic: Remember that Landry's is a sizable company, with lots of brands, some of which may be doing better than others. >> I don't thinnk there's any restaurant businesses doing well now. They've all been suffering for most of the past year.
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Garden Walk felt... creepy... when I was there. Empty. And there was NO Starbucks?! That was a mistake. LOL! ~Beth
Originally Posted By oc_dean What Garden Walk has going for it are some fun restaurants on the side of Katella. Plus, a rather cool looking bowling alley. And a rather hip movie theater complex. I call it the "1970" retroplex. It's not quite the 60s .. but not quite the 70s either. There's a few very plush theaters, plus they have an old film revival program where they run a classic film once a month. It could really be nice and fun diversion for an evening. Though the food court area is rather dead! Hopefully that will change in the near future.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt If you are within walking distance it's fine. But for folks way on the the west side of the Anaheim Resort there is nothing at GW worth the trip from what I can tell. Maybe the nightclub or one of the restaurant bars if they are open late, but I doubt if anything is happening in those places beyond Friday and Saturday nights. Nothing says Orange County quite like a nightclub in a shopping mall.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I didn't find it that convienent to get to... we tried to use the ART - we had to wait about 25 min for a bus - we would have walked back to hojo's but we had too much to carry.
Originally Posted By oc_dean That's why .. sometime into this new century, Anaheim needs a transit system that covers all corners of not just "The DLR" resort .. but this whole district in Anaheim.
Originally Posted By ArchtMig >>>Anaheim is in fact the largest.<<< Just because some waitress claimed it doesn't necessarily make it so. I'd be interested in seeing hard documentation on that but of course none is easily available. I will say this though, I wouldn't be surprised if the Anaheim RFC's merchandise floor was the largest in their chain, knowing what Paul Pressler's priorities were. But I still contend that there are less animatronic figures, smaller fish tanks, smaller waterfalls, etc. in the Anaheim RFC than in the others I've been in.
Originally Posted By ArchtMig GardenWalk's biggest problem I think, besides the current economic downturn of course, is that it lacks a big direct connection to Harbor Blvd. Seems to me that 99% of the action in the DLR is concentrated west of Harbor Blvd., with Harbor itself being the eastern edge of the action. Heck, is there even anything east of GardenWalk that would feed traffic into GardenWalk?? Maybe if there ever is a Third Gate, much more gravity will shift to the east side of Harbor, and GardenWalk will benefit from it. But for now, what reason is there for folks to venture west of Harbor, and worse yet, deep into GardenWalk beyond the big eateries on Katella? I agree with the post(s) saying that GardenWalk really needs to purchase property right on Harbor as close to the DLR entrance as possible, demolish what's there, and open up a big entrance into the middle of GardenWalk.
Originally Posted By bean The city really needs to do something to get a hold of the land now occupied by the old Anaheim hotel along harbor. Even if the Gardenwalk expantion is not built for a few years, the area could at leats be landscaped and a nice garden pathway built to add a direct entrance into Garden walk from harbor. The hotels are also an important piece to the succes of the mall. The amount of guests that would stay in those three hotels could be enough to add some movement to the mall and add some much needed business for the smaller stores and eateries
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "Heck, is there even anything east of GardenWalk that would feed traffic into GardenWalk??" There is Angels Stadium and The Pond, but both of those are on the other side of the interstate. I can definately see the potential pull that GW could have with folks from either venue, but there doesn't seem to be much that would appeal to me much before or after a sporting event. Maybe bowlning or a movie, but the restuarants and clubs seem to be aimed at a different crowd.
Originally Posted By dshyates I think they should add a 20 story neon Slingshot ride. That would get folks attention. <a href="http://www.funtime.com.au/data/images/gallery/sling/sling02.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.funtime.com.au/data...ng02.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Back to the main topic for a minute: <a href="http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/2009/02/09/trip-report-stores-close-in-downtown-disney/5348/" target="_blank">http://ocresort.freedombloggin...ey/5348/</a> “From our perspective the closures at these locations had nothing to do with Downtown Disney,” said Disney Spokeswoman Suzi Brown. “These have to do with the parent companies’ decision to close the stores chain-wide.”
