Kiosk malls goodbye

By Felix Sanchez

LONG BEACH - For decades the shopping mall was seen as the mortal enemy of the small entrepreneur. With limited start-up cash, and a small inventory - maybe even only a specialty item or two to stock shelves - the high-rent, big-volume demands of an indoor shopping center has slammed the door on many an aspiring businessperson. But as any mall walker can attest, shopping centers have filled what once were vast open spaces on their shiny concrete floors with what's become one of the hotter trends in retail. Temporary shopping kiosks and mobile pushcarts now fill many "centerlines" in shopping malls. And the latest evolution in shopping malls, the fast-growing, open-air, California-born "lifestyle centers" dotting the retail landscape - including the Irvine Spectrum and Long Beach Towne Center - have joined their brethren to make way for these popular tiny shopping islands.

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