Laguna Beach’s iconic downtown Forest Avenue opened on Monday, June 15, as a pedestrian promenade with art displays and outdoor places to eat and relax.
“This is an example when business and community can work hand in hand,” said Councilwoman Sue Kempf, who pushed for closing off the street to create the promenade to help local businesses and restaurants impacted by the coronavirus pandemic shutdown with more space to spread out customers now that they are trying to reopen. “You hear government moves at a glacial pace. We approved this on May 12, and here it is June 15 and we’ve got it open. I was completely, utterly amazed and gobsmacked.”
Kempf and Mayor Bob Whalen were among those who spoke Monday during a ribbon cutting.
“The goal is to support the reopening of the local economy by expanding safely onto this place,” Whalen said.
The Promenade on Forest will end up costing the city about $248,703, including $10,000 for security.
Three dining decks were built and offer varying-sized tables and chairs. There are also display spaces featuring merchandise from nearby retailers and there is a deck for live music and art performances. Artwork by Laguna Beach artists Marlo Bartels and James Thistlewaite is displayed.
“This will be a fun opportunity for our community and a great boost to our restaurants,” Whalen said.
He encouraged all who visit the promenade to wear masks.
Adirondack chairs and market umbrellas are mixed in and boxed Australian willows and bistro lights finish the look.
The promenade, just across from Main Beach Park, will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. There will be onsite security and regular sanitation of the dining facilities, display decks and the furniture, officials said.
Forest Avenue has been blocked off from Coast Highway to Glennyere Street with artfully decorated K-rails on one end and the city’s vintage yellow Laguna Beach lifeguard Jeep on the other. The Jeep also displays ocean safety information.
Laurent Vrignaud, who operates Moulin Bistro, called the promenade “long overdue” saying business was already on the brink from the impacts of the virus.
“Laguna Beach has a cool little downtown,” he said. “You can sit here and do people-watching, look at art and come down and hang out with your friends.”
The promenade will be a model for other cities, he said. “People will come down here and look at what Laguna has done.”
Deanna Frieze operates Sunny Days on Forest Avenue. She, too, is excited about what the promenade will do for business.
“With some of the festivals not being open, we won’t have the foot traffic,” she said, adding “people are down here already taking photos and drinking coffee under the umbrellas.”
Residents Ellen and Roger Kempler were trying out the ambiance Monday.
They had stopped in at Moulin’s for coffee and then explored the promenade looking at the artwork and meeting people they knew.
“We’ve been waiting for this for so long,” Ellen Kempler said. “We just want more sustainable solutions for our town.
“In a small town like Laguna, a lot of people know each other,” she said. “If you have a central place, you can go and see friends. A lot of the events are not happening this summer. This gives us excitement and a reason not to leave town this summer.”
