Retailers, restaurateurs bask in the glow of Universal CityWalk.

Many Universal City Walk retailers say, despite persistent parking woes, they are profiting from the traffic created by the movie theaters and theme park surrounding them.

CityWalk is the new $100 million entertainment, dining and shopping promenade in Universal City. MCA Inc. developed, financed and operates it.

The 700-seat Gladstone's could rank among the top 15 selling restaurants during its first full year of service, boasted Bob Morris, president of the restaurant's operator, Robert J. Morris Enterprises.

The eatery currently serves an average of 2,000 meals a day, he said. The wait on one recent Saturday night was half an hour.

Likewise, the 200-seat Tony Roma's is one of the top sellers in that restaurant chain, said General Manager Abe Imani. The restaurant serves an average of 1,500 meals on each weekend day, he said.

The smaller eateries are also thriving. On a recent Saturday night, the line at Cafe Puccino coffee bar and bakery was out the door.

Many CityWalk visitors are also shoppers. The Crabtree & Evelyn Ltd. store at CityWalk sells more than any other of the Connecticut-based chain's 16 Southern California stores, said Manager Jennifer Mellor, noting that this was also one of the larger stores. Crabtree & Evelyn sells scented gift items, such as soap and hand cream.

Things from Another World was also packed on a recent Saturday night with about 25 adults, teenagers and kids shopping for comic books, Star Trek memorabilia, masks and other trinkets.

"This is light. It's early," said General Manager Barbara Lubbers. "It gets really heavy around 9 p.m."

But at the MCA Inc.-owned Current Wave clothing store, customers are mostly looking instead of shopping, said assistant manager Angelica Rogers.

"I think they (visitors) come here mostly for the entertainment," she said.

Mellor at Crabtree Evelyn agreed. Visitors "go see a movie and have dinner. If something strikes their eye, they shop."

"Customers are more looking here" rather than buying, observed Keiko Nakashima, assistant manager at Jams World, a store that sells colorful, warm-weather men's and women's clothing.

Parking is CityWalk's biggest problem, the retailers agreed.

There is both valet and self-parking at Universal City, and different fees are charged for each. Some of this parking is free for a certain length of time with a validation and some is half-off with a visit to the movies. Customers get confused by the different prices and validations, said Fred Klein, divisional manager of UCLA Spirit clothing store.

Some customers at Upstart Crow Bookstore and Coffeehouse don't come back to pick up their specially ordered books because they don't want to deal with the parking situation, added bookstore Manager David Sack.

MCA executives, CityWalk management and the parking lot operators have been meeting for four months on ways to alleviate the parking problems and there are a number of solutions on the table, said CityWalk spokesman Kim Reed.

"They (MCA officials) recognize the problem and they're trying to make it better," he said.

The restaurants do better at dinner than during the lunch hour and the stores see most of their sales during the evenings and weekends, the retailers say.

Visitors to the Universal Studios tour must walk through CityWalk on their way from the parking lots to the studio entrance. But most such sightseers are much more obsessed with getting to "E.T.'s Adventure," "Back to the Future" and other attractions than with browsing through shops at those times, said Klein of UCLA Spirit.

"Tourists park (their cars) and go flying through here to the park," said Morris of Gladstone's. "They have kind of a glazed look in their eye trying to get into the park, and they feed them very well in the park."

Besides, visitors don't want to carry packages around with them on the tour all day, Lubbers said.

The restaurateurs hope for a boost for their lunchtime trade.

"I would like to see an increase in lunch business," said Ed Brodersen, general manager of L.A. Juice Co., an order-at-the-counter eatery.

"We're working on lunch. Lunch is not quite where we want it yet," Morris of Gladstone's added.

But when shows at the 6,200-seat Universal Amphitheater let out at night, the audience swarms the stores and restaurants.

"Amphitheater shows are incredible for business," Sack of Upstart Crow Bookstore said. "People on the way out of the amphitheater stop for coffee."

Current Wave and Things from Another World are both the busiest on the weekends and in the evenings, Rogers and Lubbers said.

Tourists were rampant in the summertime, but in general the bulk of the street's customer base will be local, Morris said. Sixty to 70 percent of Gladstone's patrons are locals, he added.

Likewise, locals spend more money at Things from Another World than do tourists, Lubbers said.

And if parking at CityWalk is a minus, the security is a plus. There is even a small sheriff station situated on the CityWalk property. The promenade has excellent security, especially at night, Rogers said.

"It's safe," added Sack.

Even the resident street performers welcome the thick protection. "It's so secure here. There's never going to be any trouble down here. I can depend on it," said puppeteer Lee Zimmerman.