Comings, Goings at Encino Marketplace

Last month, Encino Patch spoke with developer Rick Caruso and asked him to respond to the many changes taking place at his Encino Marketplace shopping center after the departure of the Barnes & Noble and Hallmark Creations stores.

Caruso told Patch in June that Fresh Brothers Pizza, a small restaurant chain that serves pizza, salad and wings, would be taking over the Hallmark store space this summer.

Now there are several signs declaring FedEx Office will be opening soon in that location. Paul Kurzawa, chief operating officer at Caruso Affiliated, told Encino Patch that the former Hallmark space is going to be divided and shared by both FedEx Office and Fresh Brothers Pizza.

Kurzawa expects construction for the FedEx space to be completed by the end of August. Caruso Affiliated is still working through lease negotiations with Fresh Brothers, but estimates the pizza restaurant will move in by November, he said.

Pure Beauty, a retailer for beauty products and salon services, quietly packed up and moved out of Encino Marketplace without public notice last week.

“We received notice from the local store manager on July 15 that they made the decision to close the Encino and Santa Clarita locations,” Kurzawa said.

A representative from Pure Beauty’s real estate department told Kurzawa that the stores were unprofitable and they elected to close them. When Encino Patch tried to reach the beauty company for some information, they declined our interview.

Lastly, CVS Pharmacy, which has plans to open in the former Barnes & Noble space, posted a public notice of application for a Type 21 off-sale liquor license on Tuesday.

CVS withdrew its original liquor license application in February after vehement protests from residents. The Los Angeles City Council was scheduled to determine the “public convenience or necessity” for alcohol sales at CVS following the community protests earlier this year.