Costa Mesa Shopping Center Opens For Curbside Pickup

COSTA MESA (CBSLA) -- Bryaent Villalobos drove from Lomita to Costa Mesa to be one of the first curbside customers at South Coast Plaza.

"I just ordered yesterday at 9, and they told me, 'You can come pick it up tomorrow after 11 a.m.," Villalobos said as he waited for his Gucci purchases to be loaded into his car. "So, it's easy and faster."

It's been two months since the upscale shopping center shut down due to the coronavirus health orders. The seven-day-a-week drive up service was open at 11 a.m., with 60 stores and restaurants participating.

While shoppers had been taking advantage of online shopping, they said they missed not having to wait to enjoy their purchases.

"A couple of weeks ago I ordered some shoes from Dolce & Gabbana and it took like three weeks to get them," Villalobos said.

RELATED: 'Doing Whatever I Can': LA County Retail Stores Reopen Doors, Adjust To Curbside Pickup Model

Five color-coded locations in the plaza's parking lot let customers know where to park while they wait for their order. One man, waiting in the yellow lot, said he chose curbside pickup over delivery because he didn't have time to wait for it to arrive.

"I needed it this weekend, so that's why I came," he said. "Otherwise, I would have waited for it."

Mayor Katrina Foley said South Coast Plaza could be a model for Californians to safely allow everyone to get what they need. The timetable for reopening malls for in-person shopping has not been decided.

"It's not until stage three of the phases," Foley said. "We're in stage two lite, I'll call it. We won't see people going into shopping centers until stage three."

While South Coast just opened, curbside pickup is nothing new for the nearby Nordstrom, which has been operating that way for five weeks.

One shopper said it may not be the ideal situation, but it provides benefits for both shoppers and retailers.

"The only difficult thing when you're buying clothing and stuff online, that's a little bit of a challenge as far as the fit," said shopper David Johnston. "But, in general it seems to be working out pretty good."