Not Four But Five. Can They All Survive

2010 will not be the year building necessarily starts at Ponte Vista at San Pedro but that does not mean there won't be a tiny surge in eatery construction and openings along Western.

Perhaps there is something in the air that indicates more folks are coming to OUR community or that our economy is ready to allow for more outside the home cooking and dining.

Let's review the new places that apparently are coming to our Avenue in the future.

Asaka Grill will be coming to the old site of P'Skettie and it may be a Japanese food drive thru that could succeed. KFC lasted for decades at that site before it moved north.

Pavich's Croatian Brick Oven Pizza is going in where the old pizza place was at Summerland and Western. This restaurant's pizzas are fantastic and are a must for everyone to try.

Amalfitano's Bakery. We are waiting and growing a bit impatient. I know I am not supposed to pick goodies from there but being that it is from the family that owned Ramona's Bakery, how can anyone resist?

There is another salad and sandwich shop on the lowest level of The Terraces under construction. The new sign reads "Saladish". There is Kobe Grill and Subs R Us already in that shopping area.

The posted rumor is that Denny's is coming to the former Planet Kids/Sizzler location. It would mark the second time for a Denny's to try for a go along Western in San Pedro/Rancho Palos Verdes.

Might we be ready for all these new dining choices and can we afford them all?

2009 was a tough year and experts are contending that 2010 won't be better and could be worse.

The new dining options provided needed jobs and that is good. Jobs will be lost when Papadakis Taverna closes at the end of this month in downtown.

What about the traffic generated for five new eateries. The new Denny's location has a terrible parking problem and I don't really want to see diners parking up Trudie and along Highmore.

Luck goes both ways for Terri and I. We are very close to all five new places so we can walk, but the tempting new foods weigh on our weight control thoughts for this new year.

I wonder if any and all of the new restaurants will still be in business when something is finally built at Ponte Vista and folks move in.

For now, I hope we are happy that growth continues and new options open for us. I also hope we don't forget the dining sources we have enjoyed for so long now and help keep them in business, too.

I wish all new establishments and every currently open restaurants much success in the coming year and beyond.