Page 7 - viewfromvalencia3601

Tasty Additions to

Town Center Drive

With the wide variety of restaurants
suiting nearly every taste recently opened,
choosing a place to eat in Valencia can be a
deliciously daunting task.
New eateries expected to open early in
2002 on Town Center Drive will to give
local residents a taste of cuisine from
around the world. Vie de France - which
means "life of France" - will tempt guests
with its fresh-baked baguettes, croissants,
and pastries. The bakery and restaurant will
also off er soups and salads, plus sandwiches
served on its distinctive breads.
The French are known for their coffee,
and Vie de France intends to continue that
tradition. The restaurant will maintain an
inventory of up to 40 different kinds of fresh
beans, which it will roast on the premises.
Owner Ken Park thinks Valencia is a
Newhall Land envisioned Valencia Town Center and Town Center Drive as a hub of social, retail, and natural market for what he calls "homey,
entertainment activity for the Santa Clarita Valley and beyond. The Center regularly is host to a cozy European-style dining," after seeing
variety of special community events such as auto shows, seasonal parades, holiday performances,
a yearly Rose Show, and KidsTown children's activities. the restaurant's popularity in markets like
Studio City, San Marcos, Beverly Center
and South Coast Plaza. The restaurant will
ULI Award (Continued from page 1) have room for 100 guests, and also offer
Center regional mall, the out of their cars. Easily patio seating.
area is more than a This project accessible and discreetly Opening between Vie de France and
shopping center. It is the placed parking structures B.J. 's Restaurant is Rio Lobo, which has
corporate headquarters provides allow people to park and some familiar faces behind
of Princess Cruises, and a sense of place wander. Angled curbside it: Laina and Rob McFerren
provides office space for and a soul street parking is intended of Wolf Creek fame. The
a number of other firms. for the to slow traffic and make husband and wife team
It is also home for the area more appealing to have chosen an entirely
residents of the 210-unit community of pedestrians. The street is new theme for their second
Montecito apartment Valencia. just 53 feet wide from curb Valencia restaurant.
complex and future apart- - Urban Land Institute to curb, while the sidewalks Rio Lobo is what Laina calls "nuevo
ment homes currently range from 10 to 14 feet in latino," and is a mix of southwestern,
under construction. width and feature shade regional Mexican, and Caribbean cuisine.
A variety of entertain- trees, arcades, plazas, The menu is Rob's domain and may feature
ment activities - parades, benches, intriguing public exotic choices such as scallop and shrimp
auto shows, concerts, and for the last art, and background music. ceviche, empanadas, pan-roasted sea bass
three years, Valencia's Bella Via Street While the buildings along Town with tropical salsa, Yucatan-style soft tacos
Painting Festival - are held along Town Center Drive are largely completed, the and fabulous homemade desserts with a
Center Drive. These events draw thou- area will never truly be finished. It has Latin theme.
sands of visitors from the surrounding been designed to grow and change with Rio Lobo will have at least one of Rob's
community and regional marketplace to the community and to act as a catalyst for famous brews from Wolf Creek on tap.
the Town Center area. adjacent development that will expand Keeping with its theme, the new restaurant
While Main Street-style areas have the Town Center district. will feature a wide variety of beers imported
gained popularity recently, Town Center from Mexico and South America.
Drive dates back to 1965. That's when 1 People get into Last fall, local diners welcomed Maru
visionary planner Victor Gruen set aside the swing of Town Sushi to Town Center located between
Center's annual
80 acres for a town center in his master .g- Carlton Hair and Brookstone. Maru features
six-week series of
plan for Valencia. As the focal point of [ outdoor summer a terrific variety of tempting sushi and other
the community, it is easily reached by concerts. Japanese fare. Diners can watch the chef at
Valencia's main arterial roads and its work with an up front experience at the
25-mile paseo system. casual sushi bar or enjoy a leisurely meal in
Because it is a public space designed one of the restaurants cozy booths. Warm
to be the heart of the community, Town woods and accent lighting make Maru Sushi
Center Drive is designed to get people an inviting stop.

The View From Valencia Page 7