The McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant at Santa Ana’s CityPlace has been closed down, according to the O.C. Register, after the company was purchased by the Landry’s company – which owns a bunch of restaurants including what is left of Claimjumpers.
When the CityPlace opened up I was very critical of their tenant mix. It seemed too high-end for Santa Ana. Granted the CityPlace, which is across from the MainPlace Mall, is near Santa Ana’s most affluent neighborhoods – Floral Park and Park Santiago, but the CityPlace is ringed by senior homes and high density apartments (in Orange).
The Geisha House restaurant also changed hands a few months ago, after it was acquired by a Korean owner. They no longer update their Facebook page.
The one shining success at the CityPlace has been the Mother’s Market – which I really thought was an awful fit for the area. I have since seen it find a loyal customer base and I love going there now that I am a vegetarian.
The little businesses that sit below the lofts that ring the CityPlace have had a hard time and many have closed or changed hands. But the tailor there is terrific. He is inexpensive, does a good job and is quick.
Parking remains a problem. The center simply doesn’t have enough parking spaces. My wife and I avoid the issue by usually walking there from our house in the Park Santiago neighborhood.
We often ate at McCormicks & Schmick’s and I will miss them. They had great food but their happy hour did not include drink specials and the happy hour food was so-so.
Perhaps now we can get a Buffalo Wild Wings in Santa Ana!
I was never a big fan of McCormick & Schmicks and I have eaten at the one in City Place. Food is mediocre for the price. However, I would say that the decline of the City Place as an outdoor venue is just the natural state of things. Buffalo Wild Wings is a fun place but how many burger (or wing) joints does one really need? Too much pub food and not enough “sit-down” dinner places to suit me. Now, an Opah located there…..mmmmmm. And they are priced right.
I think the BWW concept would be fun because we don’t have any other sports bars in the immediate area. Not familiar with Opah. Is that Greek food? If so that would be good too!
BWW is a fun place. We enjoyed it and I am working my way up to the super hot stuff.
Opah is a nice American Cuisine restaurant that serves a variety of food in a trendy setting. They have a great bar (alas, not great bartenders ala Memphis) and nice atmosphere. There is one next to the BJs Brewery at the Irvine Marketplace. Try it, you’ll like it.
We went to McCormick’s quite often but mostly for their happy hour menu which I’m not sure they were actually making money on. My husband is a big fish eater and has never been so unimpressed by fish in a restaurant as he was at this place. The last time we went there, they brought out the kid’s food and then my husband and I then sat for another 25 minutes waiting for our food. The kids were bouncing off the walls sitting and waiting after they ate until we cancelled our order and left. We vowed not to go again so it won’t be a loss for us. I only hope they find something suitable for the spot and it isn’t the beginning of many vacancies there. I love Mother’s and we shop there frequently but I still would have preferred a Trader Joe’s.
“Not familiar with Opah. Is that Greek food? If so that would be good too!”……. Hmmmmm
Silly Admin!
It is the original multicultural cuisine from the south of the border.
What do you think happens to all these heads separated from the headless bodies…. Huh?
Bumper:
Hi:
Sorry for the harsh criticism, but whoever wrote the article on McCormicks, needs to go back and take basic English. Grammer is awful.
Did you mean grammar?
I went to McCormick’s a few times, and it was over-priced for the meal we received. Nice atmosphere, and a pretty place, but that is only 1/3 of the equation. Will miss them though. However, they are gone because of a corporate reorganizing, not because the place was doing badly.
BTW, I remember you wishing that Mother’s Market would FAIL!! (“doesn’t fit our Latino market”). How wrong is that on so many different levels?? Goes to show you that your opinion cannot be trusted. I shop Mother’s Market all the time, and now so do you! Remember how you said it was a high end market, not meant for Latino’s?? You seem to pass judgment sooo quickly, then often have to retract. Just stop being so judgemental in the first place, will ya? Makes you sound stupid, which I know you are not. And I bet, that you will not back down on your comments on how you wish Mother’s Maret would fail (or you will deny you said it). Say you were wrong! I double dog dare you!
I was wrong. It is a nice store. It is still a wee bit pricey for most local residents and while I love the food, the rest of my family is still a bunch of carnivores as are most of our local residents.
Which means I have to cook two dinners every night…
Well, I am sad to learn this morning that McCormick & Schmicks in Santa Ana is now closed. I often ate there to celebrate special life events and take friends and clients to lunch. I did appreciate the ambiance of the restaurant and will miss it since Orange/Santa Ana does not really offer another restaurant of this caliber…
I don’t know about the caliber bit, Bistro 400, Amtonellos, Mortons, Darias, and even the Memphis are all great restaurants. Santa Ana is not lacking fine cuisine.
I am not sorry to see McCormicks leave. What started out to be a decent fresh fish restaurant has shown it’s decline over the last couple of years and lost it’s customers. A restaurant such as “True Foods” or “Native Foods” would compliment the clientele that support Mother’s Market in that center. What we need is a “destination” restaurant and unique service offerings that will bring people from all areas to the center (not just cater to the surrounding demographics!) And as far as the other retail spaces, I agree that the “Original Hems” concept of offering unique “services” works great in that center. He’s got a high quality concept that’s fast and affordable to all. I don’t think we need to downgrade the shopping and entertainment offerings in Santa Ana due to our demographics skewed by people per household ratios (Santa Ana has 4.3 vs 2.2 in most other surrounding cities). And Mainplace Mall has become so disappointing with it’s shopping options. Besides Nordstrom, there are no other “high quality” shopping choices like there was 20 years ago (Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Roger’s Gardens, Williams Sonoma, Ann Taylor, etc.) Unfortunately they were 20 years too soon. I wish they’d all come back now that we have evolved…..It’s my belief that all of these stores would do quite well now.
True Foods is awesome. I have not tried Native Foods.
I agree that unique services would do well at the CityPlace. I am not sure about high end stores at the Mall. We may yet be a few years away from sustaining that sort of mix.