While Theatre Square has lost some businesses – especially during the pandemic – the monthly Makers’ Market and upcoming Art of Mixology are breathing new life along the Square’s corridors with vendors, dancing and fun.
On a recent summer evening, Theatre Square hosted its monthly First Fridays event, featuring several local craft artisans selling their wares at tables and stands set up along the main corridor perpendicular to Moraga Way.
Individuals, couples and families strolled by on the way to – or back from – the various dining establishments in the square, some stopping to check out the goods offered and engage in friendly conversation with the vendors.
There was an upbeat atmosphere, carried by the sounds of live music and the buzz of animated conversations at tables outside The Fourth Bore at the end of the corridor.
But something was noticeably off in that main section of Theatre Square.
Behind the vendors sat many dark and empty retail spaces with leasing information signs hanging on the windows. The fountain at the Moraga Way entrance was unlit, its lions mute in stony silence.
The retail spaces, once home to Starbucks, Subway, Sweet Dreams and other businesses, have been desolate for months on end, even up to two years, creating what appears to be a dead zone with the exception of a few personal service businesses, including a recently opened barber shop.
Every time longtime resident Pamela Center passes by that side of Theatre Square, she wonders why there has been an absence of retail activity for so long.
“I miss the flower shop that was previously there,” said Center.
She’s not alone in her desire to see those spaces come back to life. For now, like many Orindans, she waits, not knowing if or when the emptiness will fill and thus restore the “quaintness” she used to enjoy there.
While it is not difficult to understand how the pandemic was the likely culprit for those shop closures, the reasons for the prolonged vacancies throughout the post-pandemic recovery period have been unclear.
There is a perception among some observers that the rent is prohibitively high. Naturally, this is a rational thought – simple economic theory would suggest that fair market prices determined by supply and demand forces for the vacant spaces have not been met.
However, this was not the case for Dave Clark, owner of Silver Fox Barber Company, who commended the landlord for its “flexibility” with lease terms during negotiations late last year.
Eric Galindo, owner of Comelones Tacos, concurred that occupancy expense is reasonable, stating that his rental rate is “fair for the most part.”
“Fair” was also the term used by Lilly Fortson, proprietor of August & Ivy Salon.
Hoang Ho, head of family-run Vietnamese food purveyor Kibi, said “she can’t complain” about what the landlord charges for her space.
All three businesses have had rental rates initially set or renewed in the recent past.
When asked about other aspects of their relationship with the landlord, each generally had positive comments, pointing to things like improved trash removal service, enhanced security measures (for example, code boxes for bathroom doors) and marketing efforts on social media on the behalf of Theatre Square tenants.
Important to all of them is timely communication from the landlord for resolution of issues that arise in the normal course of business. This has improved significantly over the past year according to tenants. These shop operators all expressed overall satisfaction with their dealings with the landlord.
Notably, the owner of Theatre Square, Dunhill Partners, commercial real estate investors based in Texas, brought leasing duties in-house around June 2023. Previously, this work was outsourced to a third-party agency in the local area. Dunhill also changed its internal manager responsible for Theatre Square.
Tenants soon began noticing better responsiveness from the landlord, although there is evidence that the transition was not completely smooth, either on the part of the company’s assigned agent or manager.
One would-be tenant, Stuart Kahn and his business partner, both area residents, entered discussions for the former Starbucks space, but they never heard back despite leaving repeated messages throughout the summer of 2023. They eventually gave up.
Recognizing the need for local representation, the landlord in July of this year retained the services of an executive from The Econic Company, a Northern California commercial real estate agency. Stephen Rusher, a resident of Moraga, now spearheads leasing activity for Theatre Square under the management team headed by Mark Hutchinson, CEO of Dunhill Partners West, based in San Francisco.
The landlord is relying on this new support to try to sign new tenants for the vacant space, which currently accounts for approximately one-quarter of all Theatre Square’s retail space.
While there have been internal changes at Dunhill vis-à-vis Theatre Square, support from the City of Orinda has been constant since Dunhill purchased the property in 2015.
“The town has been very helpful,” said Darryll Goodman, property manager at Dunhill, who specifically alluded to events such as First Fridays, that the town helps to advertise.
With the positive tone of the current tenants, constructive positioning of the landlord and City support, we return to the question: Why is there so much empty space?
It could be just a matter of time before one space is leased – the former Starbucks space, for example – which in turn could attract a new tenant for the former Sweet Dreams space, and so on.
Foot traffic is the lifeblood for small shops.
Rusher, the newly appointed local agent, brings fresh energy and ideas. He is currently reaching out to successful retail concepts in Oakland, Berkeley and other surrounding towns that may be in expansion mode. Besides coffee shops, he is focusing on businesses offering ethnic foods, salads, juices and specialty meats. Family-oriented stores are also top-of-mind.
If Orindans are lucky, it won’t be too long before that quiet section of Theatre Square bustles again with activity.
Kathy Eastman, another long-time town resident, says the “adorable” retail square has “so much potential.”
Additional food and beverage shops, stores for kids, new boutique retail goods and services – all exciting prospects for those who want to see Theatre Square fully thrive as it has in the past. They hope this potential will be realized soon.
