Steve Lopez goes to the Americana

Steve Lopez, the LA Times' local color columnist, visited Rick Caruso's new shopping center, the Americana at Brand, and didn't hate it. Caruso is famous for developing The Grove, which he claims attracts more visitors per year than Disneyland. I wouldn't doubt it. The place is usually packed. The Grove is straight across Third Street from me, less than five miles. It's great. I love it. It's easily the only mall that I ever go to without really needing a reason. It's next door to the old Farmer's Market, which doesn't actually have much great food shopping, but has wonderful restaurants. But if you need good produce, Whole Foods is across the street.

Lopez, who is something of an old-fashioned liberal (in a good way), resists the southern California urge to splurge, so he isn't a huge fan of this kind of temple to consumerism. I'm a little more comfortable with it, but I'm also not the kind of person who shops just to shop. What I like about The Grove is that it's actually a very efficient model of shopping. It has an eight-level parking garage, which is obviously an efficient use of space. And, because it's usually packed, the stores hold lots of people and move merchandise quickly, both of which contribute to the efficiency of the whole enterprise. And the movie theatre is new and well-done, which I like. And the whole thing is outside, which is generally good for people. The people-watching is great.