Variety of products offered at boutique mall
LANCASTER — Sol Plaza Boutique Mall is an indoor shopping center where consumers can get a bite to eat, a haircut, a tattoo, new clothes or jewelry and then help finding a new place to live, music lessons for children or an alteration or sewing machine repaired.
The mall, at 1140 Commerce Center Drive, has existed about 15 years. It has 45 stores with mostly Black and Hispanic entrepreneur owners, most of whom are women.
One of the newest stores is Pickles With Attitude. It’s the store near the entrance with the bright green fixtures and counter. The pickles come in spicy, savory and sweet flavors such as Jamaica Jerk, Asian Sriracha and Bayou Cajun, cherry and tropical punch — more than 100 flavors. There is also a pickle salad with green and black olives.
“This is my first day in here,” co-owner Lynette Baker said.
Baker missed the Feb. 4 opening due to a health issue.
“The day before we opened, I got sick,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve been able to come in here.”
Baker gave instructions to her daughter Breahna Sababu over the phone from the hospital. Her grandson Djoser is the face of the new business.
“We were using my car and we were driving around town to all the salons and the barbershops because they like getting stuff brought to them,” Baker said.
Baker added a van wrapped in the distinctive green for Pickles with Attitude. Then the spot in Sol Plaza opened up.
“You get to talk to people, that’s what I really like about being here,” Baker said.
Fatasha Cummings, a real estate agent who works with HomeBased Realty, opened a branch office in the mall called the Empress of Real Estate.
“For me, I like connecting with my community,” she said. “I like not being confined in an office all the time.”
The mall offers a variety of community events throughout the year, including an Easter egg hunt.
At Yellow Stone Hibachi Grill, owners Guadalupe Lopez and Luis Hernandez offer chicken, steak and tofu entrees, among other items on their menu.
“We are so glad to be here,” Lopez said. “A lot of people don’t know about this plaza. It’s a nice atmosphere.”
They started out in a canopy at the Four Points Swap Meet. Hernandez used to work at Benihana.
“When the pandemic hit, he was just getting one day at work so we started thinking about the ways to make money,” she said. “His sister lived out here so we said why don’t we bring some of that food you make out there to see how it sells over here and people just loved it.”
Gideon Nwosu Sr., director of Tila-Dion African Fashion Boutique, opened his shop last August.
“So far, so good,” he said. “We deal with African clothes with authentic fabrics. We hope that people come patronize us in the mall.”
There are 45 stores in the mall out of 52 total spots.
“Our occupancy is very good,” Sol Plaza General Manager Marshall Keyes Jr. said.
It costs about $800 for a 280 square-foot space. All of the utilities are paid, so the mall is an attractive option for future entrepreneurs.
Today is the grand opening for The Golden Truffle Dessert Shop. The celebration is from noon to 4 p.m.
Owner Latoya Smith is a former substitute teacher. She taught incarcerated men at California State PrisonLos Angeles County.
“During the pandemic they didn’t renew our contract because I worked for a nonprofit,” Smith said.
She completed an online culinary course and initially took her desserts to the Farmer’s Market for a couple of years.
“Last year the summer was just way too grueling,” she said. “I take pride in how my things look. Can you imagine having a cupcake with soupy buttercream?”
Smith met Keyes previously and got in contact with him about what she could do.
“And this happened,” she said.