"The turnover in downtown Manhattan Beach is unprecedented right now and we are all talking about it," Kelly Stroman, executive director of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professionals Association, told MB News in July. That article sorted the changes by street, and almost every new name was listed next to an old one. Blank Street Coffee went to the former Peet's. Great White went to the former Pitfire. Sogna Toscana went to the former Lemonade.
That pattern explains this fall's downtown. The churn is real, but nearly all of it is happening inside storefronts that already exist, one tenant replacing another. The new businesses fill the old outlines. The only proposals that could change the outlines themselves are the city's plans for Parking Lot 3 and 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd., and as of the Sept. 15 City Council meeting, both are still open questions.
The swap sheet, as of early October
Here is each storefront from the July rundown, with its status based on what has been published since. Anything marked "announced" means a lease or approval was reported, but there's no public confirmation yet that the doors are open.
| Street | Former tenant | New tenant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metlox Plaza | none listed | Bacio di Latte, gelato | Open by July 8 |
| Metlox Plaza | Lemonade | Sogna Toscana | Announced; Planning Commission approved buildout |
| Metlox Plaza | Petros | Bacari | Announced |
| Manhattan Beach Blvd. | Peet's Coffee | Blank Street Coffee | Lease signed |
| Manhattan Beach Blvd. | Pitfire | Great White | Open by July 31 |
| Manhattan Beach Blvd. | Gum Tree | Beyond Yoga, 324 Manhattan Beach Blvd. | Listed by the brand; opening date unconfirmed |
| Manhattan Beach Blvd. | Gelato & Angels | Velvet by Graham & Spencer, 308 Manhattan Beach Blvd. | Listed by the brand; opening date unconfirmed |
| Manhattan Ave. | Nando | Coucou, French bistro | Open by May |
| Manhattan Ave. | Rolling Hills Flower Mart | Ounce of Salt, 1016 Manhattan Ave. | Open since mid-July |
| Manhattan Ave. | Kate Lester Home | Framebridge | Announced for fall |
| Highland Ave. | Cafe Altamura | Parakeet Cafe | Delayed, no date |
| Highland Ave. | Ocean View Cafe | Alfred Coffee | Lease signed |
The July list also included spaces with no new tenant yet. Pressed Juicery closed, and MB News reported several expressions of interest but no tenant. The former Beehive/Forma pop-up space at Metlox had no tenant identified. The former Bardot Salon and Corpo Bonito spaces on Manhattan Ave. were renovated and combined into one storefront, with no tenant announced. Harry's Cleaners on Highland closed with no replacement named. Combining two units is about the biggest physical change the private side of downtown has made this year, and it still happened inside walls that were already there.
What's open has local roots
The businesses that are already open lean local or regional. Ounce of Salt belongs to Manhattan Beach jewelry designer Jen Baick. On the shop's website, she wrote that it took 4.5 months of work on the space at 1016 Manhattan Avenue before the gallery opened. She described seven years of designing and years of private appointments before having a storefront at all.
Gum Tree moved within downtown. Its old Manhattan Beach Blvd. space is the one Beyond Yoga is taking. MB News expected the new Highland Ave. location to open in July. Gum Tree announced a Manhattan Beach "Grand Re-Opening," complete with a ribbon cutting, in a post dated Sept. 17. That one move produced two swaps: Gum Tree into a Highland storefront, and a new brand into the space it left on the boulevard.
On the restaurant side, Coucou opened its French bistro in the former Nando space on Manhattan Ave. this spring. Great White, which The South Bay Club called a "coastal cafe favorite" making its South Bay debut, was running in the former Pitfire space by the end of July. At Metlox, Bacio di Latte was serving gelato by early July.
Coffee and Metlox dinners are still pending
Most of what hasn't opened falls into two groups.
The first is coffee. Three cafe projects are moving into three former cafe spaces. Blank Street Coffee takes the old Peet's on Manhattan Beach Blvd. On Highland, Alfred Coffee has the Ocean View Cafe space, and Parakeet Cafe has the former Cafe Altamura, where MB News described the opening as delayed with no date. When these open, downtown's coffee map will have new names at familiar addresses. The total number of coffee counters will stay about the same.
The second is dinner at Metlox. Petros was one of the first businesses to open in the Metlox development, and it has announced it will close there and move to Marina del Rey. Bacari, a small chain that specializes in Italian small plates, will take over the space. Nearby, Sogna Toscana got Planning Commission approval for its buildout in the former Lemonade space, including a small patio facing Manhattan Beach Blvd. We found no published opening date for either restaurant as of early October. Framebridge, slated for the former Kate Lester Home space on Manhattan Ave. "in the fall," has no confirmed opening date either.
That patio is a small exception to the one-for-one rule. It extends a Metlox storefront toward the boulevard. Even so, it's a change at the edge of an existing building.
Lot 3 and 400 MBB, the parts that could change shape
The city's Project Pulse effort covers the two downtown sites where the layout itself is open for discussion: Parking Lot 3 and the property at 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd. MB News reported that a July 15 open house at the Joslyn Center would be the last chance to see renderings before the item went to City Council on July 21. The council discussion later moved to Sept. 15. That agenda listed a "Project Pulse Status Update" with the requested action "discuss and provide direction," not approval of a final design.
According to a summary of the Sept. 15 meeting recording, staff and the design firm Gensler presented these options:
- Lot 3, Option A. A mixed-use destination with retail and restaurant space, a rooftop hub, and three levels of underground parking.
- Lot 3, Option B. A parking-first structure with a rooftop community hub.
- A tunnel to Metlox. Staff described it as feasible but costly, at about $15 million for a small net gain in space, and recommended against it.
- 400 Manhattan Beach Blvd. A two-story building of about 10,000 square feet with ground-floor retail and food space, second-floor creative office with an outdoor patio, and a flexible pedestrian plaza between Manhattan Beach Blvd. and 11th Place, with bollards to close it off for events.
The same summary says council members and the public raised concerns about views from the Manhattan Beach Blvd. approach, loss of on-street and diagonal parking, loading and delivery limits, and whether large retail spaces would work. Staff also recommended a 90-day outreach window to the owners of the Vons property about a possible partnership. For 400 MBB in the meantime, staff offered two options: install kiosks and run it as paid public parking, or demolish the building and put in a surface lot. The summary doesn't report that either site's concept was selected. The research also turned up a request from council for staff to return with bond-finance details.
The city's two lots and the private storefronts are on very different clocks. A storefront swap needs a lease, a buildout, and sometimes a Planning Commission vote. The Lot 3 and 400 MBB decisions involve choosing between options, possible outreach to a neighboring owner, and a financing plan. That means the tenant mix along Manhattan Beach Blvd. and Highland will probably settle before anyone knows whether a new plaza or a parking-first garage will sit next to it.
Downtown dates before the year ends
Several city events this fall bring crowds downtown, past both the new storefronts and the ones still under paper:
- Pumpkin Race, Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Manhattan Beach Pier. The free festival starts at noon and races begin at 2 p.m.
- Light Gate Sunset, Nov. 14, on Highland Ave. between City Hall and the Library, at 14th Street, along the same avenue as the Gum Tree, Alfred Coffee, and Parakeet Cafe changes.
- Pier Lighting and Holiday Open House, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6 to 9 p.m., in Downtown Manhattan Beach and at the Pier.
The city notes that event dates and times can change, so check its calendar before heading out.
Downtown's changes affect more than where you get coffee. They shape how buyers see the blocks around Metlox, Highland, and Manhattan Ave., and that's true whether the city ends up with a mixed-use Lot 3 or a parking-first one. If you own a home near downtown and want to know how today's buyers are weighing that location, Theresa Bruno can walk you through it block by block. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
