New market aims to attract OC clientele

COSTA MESA — Behind the re-furbished barn doors and beyond the desert plant-cultured courtyard is a new kind of market in Orange County.

There are glass-encased boutiques housing bohemian-style clothing, one-of-a-kind crafts and an olive-oil tasting bar.

The OC Mart Mix, which will celebrate its grand opening in early June, was partially open on a recent Saturday.

The sound of saws and hammering mingled with a sound system that blasted “Freefalling” by Tom Petty, construction workers and a few customers cruising through the sun-lit warehouse company.

The creators of OC Mart Mix are hoping that it will be a revolution in the way locals and professional designers shop. The Mix is the year-old brainchild of Andrea Young and her husband, Russell.

Andrea Young wanted to design a market of specialty stores that would provide affordable, smaller stalls for retailers and a unique, one-stop shop for the Newport Beach mom.

She and the property owners, Burnham and Ward, believe that the combination of specialty stores, famous designers, food trucks and a farmer’s market will attract consumers away from nearby malls to the SoCo District next to the San Diego (405) Freeway off Harbor Boulevard.

“We used to go to Fashion Island and South Coast Plaza,” Clementine Anderson of Newport Beach said. “It has more personality here.”

Anderson and her friend, Ann Smith, also of Newport Beach, heard about the Mix from other people who had visited.

“All of our friends come here on Saturday [the day of the farmer’s market],” Smith said.

About 25 more shops and two restaurants will be added in time for next month’s grand opening

Until then, the Mix is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

“By September it will be over-the-top, hip,” Young said.

Young is the manager of the Mix as well as the owner of The Paper House, a stationary store in the market.

Young first approached Bryon Ward, of Burnham Ward Properties, about the project. Burnham Ward bought the SoCo District, or South Coast Collection complex, during a time when less than half of the property was occupied.

After working with the city of Costa Mesa, re-vamping the look of the buildings and introducing a farmer’s market, SoCo has upped occupancy to 85%, according to Ward.

“We’ve brought in a new energy,” he said.

During the week, lunchtime is the ideal time to visit the Mix. Food trucks like Calibi Tacos/Burritos, Spanish Bistro & Tapas and Oh For Sweets Sake cupcakes dole out tacos and pastry creations to the local office workers and Mix visitors. Tables set around desert plants, a fountain and a pyramid of cement spheres decorate the courtyard outside the Mix.

“I can’t think of any place that has the energy, the raw feel, with this kind of selection of stores,” Young said.

Sarah Dowdell, the owner of Deer Lovely at the Mix, had owned an online business for three years before starting a new brand and enterprise with her shop at the market.

“I really liked the concept,” she said. “It’s got an urban, industrial look and I also like the idea of a small community.”

Deer Lovely sells “bohemian soul” clothing and all items are under $100.

Gatehouse, a boutique with another location on 17th Street, says business is doing OK so far.

“We sell a couple of big pieces,” Molly Carey, a saleswoman at Gatehouse said.

Carey said the store sells more than enough to pay its rent and believes business will be better when the rest of the stores are up and the Mix is open six days a week.

Starting on Friday, the Mix will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.