RETAIL NEWS: TWIGGS TO CLOSE UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS STORES
La Jolla adds dog boutique; Big Lots gets early start to Black Friday
Twiggs Coffeehouse & Bakery, the beloved San Diego coffee shop and bakery founded in 1992, is closing both of its University Heights locations this week, its owner, Adrian Arancibia, said Monday.
“I feel sad,” he said, as he described how he struggled to run a small business in a climate of high inflation, high interest rates and lowered demand for one of its key products: wedding cakes.
The cafe opened on Park Boulevard in 1992 and added another branch on Adams Avenue about 15 years ago. Over time, it has been home to pick-up Scrabble games, live performances and a small lending library. With tables of different sizes — some suited for solitary
writing, others for community conversation — it had a homey feel.
But the business, like so many others of its kind, faltered during the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, the bakery took another hit
as orders for wedding cakes fell by more than 50 percent.
“Everybody got out of COVID and wanted to get married,” Arancibia said. That was last year. This year, wedding services and products — from engagement rings to honeymoon packages — have seen a 50 to 60 percent drop in sales industry-wide, he added.
That, coupled with higher costs, higher interest rates and rising wages — which he said he supports, even if it’s been hard to make ends meet as a new small-business owner — have all made shutting down Twiggs inevitable, he said.
San Diego Troubadour, an alternative music news outlet, wrote about the sale of Twiggs in 2022 to Arancibia and his wife Delia.
A neighborhood coffeehouse, Lizzie Wann wrote, “should be a cozy place to hang out with a friend on the weekend, chatting about all that life holds as you gaze out big windows at the passers-by.” She added: “It should be an artsy place, in best case scenarios, which offers space for performance, whether that’s acoustic music, poetry, art shows, or a combination of those. It should be a safe place that allows for community members to meet for various causes. It should be a
welcoming place that has good vibes and that feels like home.”
That is what Arancibia, a poet and English professor at Miramar College, had been hoping to create, he wrote in a July op-ed that ran in the Union-Tribune. But, he added, San Diego’s economic climate makes it nearly impossible for artists to survive here.
“Those of us supporting and producing arts and literature in the San Diego region face the end of making due, the end of finding ways. The economic situation of the city and country have many artists pondering their next move outside of San Diego, pondering their move to other states.”
He said Monday that he hopes a new owner will succeed in bringing the cafe and bakery back to life.
Twiggs’ last day is today.
Dog boutique and ice cream parlor coming to La Jolla Village mall
The Shops at La Jolla Village — the food-focused strip mall with a Whole Foods, west of I-5 and north of Nobel Drive — is getting two new venues catering to human and canine treat seekers.
Aspen’s Dog House, which will open on the north side of the mall, near Rubio’s Coastal Grill and European Wax Center, describes itself
as “the premier destination for dog owners who want to go above and beyond for their canine companions.”
The co-owners, one of whom rescued a threelegged dog named Aspen, “started Aspen’s Dog House to create an extravagant experience available to anyone who wants to splurge on their own four-legged family members.”
What one might find there, per the website: “premium A5 wagyu meals, state-of-the-art dog washing stations and the finest dog toys.”
Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream will be opening a few shops away.
Along with this new La Jolla outpost, the ice cream parlor — with 10 shops throughout San Diego County so far — is also planning two other branches in and around the San Diego region: one near San Diego State University, at 5840 Montezuma Road, and one in Temecula.
Black Friday is now a season, at Big Lots and beyond
Retail Dive, a trade publication focusing on the retail sector, reported that discount merchant Big Lots is kicking off a series of weekly promotions ahead of Black Friday that will run until Dec. 22.
“The retailer is encouraging shoppers to come into stores to take advantage of big deals after two quarters of losses,” the retail analyst
wrote Monday.
Sales on food, holiday decor, furniture and giftable items will happen in store on — what else — Fridays.
(An example of their prices from Monday: an electric fireplace is $269.99, reduced from $399.99; Halloween outdoor decor and lighting are 20 percent off.)
The retail report put Big Lots’ price-slashing strategy into context, saying the company has had a hard time because low-income shoppers have been struggling with inflation.
“Amid its challenges, the retailer is vying for consumer dollars alongside other major retailers announcing sales in recent weeks. Last month, Amazon announced its fall Prime member sale, set to take place Oct. 10 to Oct. 12. Shortly thereafter, Walmart, Target and Best Buy introduced their own October deals,” Retail Dive added.
The chain has 117 stores in California, including seven in San Diego County. Earlier this year, the company announced it is closing several California stores — but none in San Diego. (Previously, it shuttered a store in Clairemont.)
It also opened 50 stores in 2022.
Do you know any stores or eateries that are opening or closing? Do you have a tip about San Diego shopping deals or news? Send me the scoop: roxana.popescu @sduniontribune.com.