Retailers weather tough times at ABC Center; business is off 15%.

Retailers at the ABC Entertainment Center in Century City are surrounded on all sides by glamour and big-name businesses, but the stardust hasn't been rubbing off on them recently. Many storefronts have changed hands during the past year, while sales at some shops and restaurants are reportedly off by at least 15 percent.

On the east end of the mall looms the 44-story-high Century Plaza Towers, commonly known as the "twin towers." The northwest end of the mall is anchored by the Shubert Theater, and adjacent to the west end is the glitzy Century Plaza Hotel, known for renting the single most expensive suite in Los Angeles County.

Most of the retailers' business comes from workers in ABC Entertainment Center offices and workers in the adjacent Twin Towers, while Shubert theatergoers and tourists also pump some nutrients into their business.

But although there have been no substantial staff cuts at the ABC offices, the occupancy rate at the twin towers has fallen by 9 percentage points since the late 1980s -- to about 85 percent -- and three of the towers' floors are now vacant. Meanwhile, the Shubert recently went for an eight-month stretch without a single performance, and the sagging tourism industry has left many of the Century Plaza rooms empty.

As a result, the retailers and the restaurants at the ABC Entertainment Center have been hit by a left hook, a right hook and a strong jab.

"The center definitely needs more traffic," said Toni Slover, manager of Hit or Miss, a women's apparel store.

Unlike most other shopping centers in Los Angeles, this one's retailers are inherently at a disadvantage because they do most of their business during lunch time, when the workers from their upstairs offices and those in the Twin Towers take a break for a bite to eat and a stroll through the shops.

Tenants have described the center as dark and empty during many nights and weekends. On Saturdays most of the restaurants but only a few of the retailers keep hours, while on Sundays all of the retailers are closed and only a few restaurants keep their doors open.

"Weekends are dead," said Crystal Taylor, a supervisor at B. Dalton Bookseller, adding that in general business is "just really slow."

One tenant has operated a jewelry store at the center for the past 15 years, but decided not to renew his lease. People come to the center to eat, but they don't think to shop there, said Gaby's jewelry store owner Israel Rosenfeld. "You can't build up a business."

At least one other store is closing its doors, as indicated by the "Moving Sale" banners posted in the windows of Pierre, a men's apparel shop. Although no one at the store would comment on business, Kim Cascio, manager of the Arby's restaurant upstairs, said he observed that business at Pierre has been slow.

A spokeswoman for the mall's management company blamed the recession, though, for the retailers' poor performance. "If you go to Bullock's, Broadway, Saks or I. Magnin, they're going to tell you the same thing. I think it's absolutely the economy," said Juli Edwards-Mayo, spokeswoman for Westside Entertainment Center Associates.

One deterrent to business is the hefty price for parking in the center's underground lot, said Greta Jamgocyan, owner of Greta's, a jewelry and gift store. Parking costs $1.75 for each 20 minutes.

In contrast, customers at the nearly Century City Shopping Mall get three hours of free parking with a ticket validation.

There are also complaints about the lack of activity at the Shubert. On evenings "when they have no shows, it's like a morgue here," said Arby's Cascio.

Tenants also say that the center's management doesn't do enough to promote the retailers there. "They're not promoting the plaza at all," Cascio said.

Furthermore, because Century City is considered a "planned community," local ordinances prohibit the center's tenants from handing out promotional leaflets or posting promotional signs outside the center's premises, Cascio said.

But Edwards-Mayo said the management advertises in "all the local newspapers," and that it is doing all it can, within budget constraints, to tout the center.

She also said that although there has been a continual flow of retail tenants to and from the center, there is currently only one store space available. In addition, she was quick to emphasize that the ABC Entertainment Center is not a "mall" per se, but that the retailers are there primarily to serve the offices and not the rest of the community.

Some tenants are thriving. "We have a line at the register during lunch," said Slover, manager of Hit or Miss, which has been open since last November.

Likewise, business at City Deli has skyrocketed since new owners took over the restaurant four months ago, said manager Don Levine during a recent mid-morning interview as he got up and down from the table to help hungry customers.

But although his own restaurant has so far been successful, "a lot of businesses in here are doing very poorly," Levine noted.