Super Pets in Orange is closing at the end of February.
No reason was provided to shoppers, but employees told the Register that the store has seen its share of bad days over good. Shelves in recent weeks have gone half-empty, leaving shoppers to believe something was afoot and that a closure was imminent.
Signs went up on the door indicating the 13-year-old pet supply store would close by the month’s end.
Attempts to call the store owner Mark Markese went unmet. He owns the original Super Pets in Temple City.
The pet store’s exit will mark the second larger tenant to close up at the shopping center at the corner of the always busy Chapman Avenue and Tustin Street intersection.
Ride Aid closed last year and has seen little to no activity at the site beyond large “for lease” and “available” signs on the building.
New retail leases in Orange County
As retail centers lose a tenant here and there, property owners are negotiating new leases with new merchants. Here’s a look at who’s signing up for space in Orange County, courtesy of NAI Capital.
Slick City is coming to La Habra: The indoor waterless slide and action park is due to open this summer in a former Big Lots at 1020 W. Imperial Highway.
Picklr: Everyone’s still crazy about pickleball, so it should come as no surprise that new courts are coming to Plaza el Paseo in Rancho Santa Margarita in April. The company has leased space at 22235-22245 El Paseo.
Panda Mart: The mysterious discounter based in South Africa with much of its goods made in Asia is coming to the Ocean Ranch Village shopping center in Laguna Niguel. The retailer is akin to a Big Lots having a baby with the Daiso bargain store. It leased space at Ocean Ranch, where there is a big vacancy created when Bed Bath & Beyond closed.
Ride Aid: The drugstore that’s been downsizing in many cities is coming to Santa Ana at 1619-1629 W. 17th St.
Jewelry shop open at Shops at MV
Caitlyn Minimalist, which opened its first physical store at Irvine Spectrum Center, celebrated its grand opening on Valentine’s Day at the Shops at Mission Viejo.
The boutique offers an array of jewelry with customization options available.
Prices ranging from $19 to $50 for jewelry and $75 to $300 for vintage watches sold only in-store.
The company also has stores at Irvine Spectrum and Fashion Island. For more on the brand, go to caitlynminimalist.com
Play cafe debuts at Brea Mall
A pay-to-play space for children is open at the Brea Mall.
Check N’ Play, which opened Jan. 28, was created by Steffanie Balsells Najera to be a safe, “screen-free play cafe” for children under the age of 6. It’s located on the mall’s upper level across from Zara Man.
The 6,000-square-foot play cafe is “best suited for confident walkers,” according to Balsells Najera. Attendants are situated at all play zones, so parents of fully potty-trained children can sit at the on-site cafe where coffee and tea are offered for sale.
Those zones include a pretend-play village, dress-up and stage area, multilevel play structure, an interactive wall, and arts and crafts. Space also can be reserved for parties.
Check N’ Play charges $30 for a child and adult for a two-hour “facilitated” session. Siblings cost an additional $24 for the session, and additional adults in the party cost $10 each. Membership plans are available.
For more information, go to checknplay.com
New workout studio debuts in Surf City
Stride Fitness opened Feb. 12 in Huntington Beach.
The high-intensity cardio and strength training facility the company’s flagship and home to its corporate headquarters at 6886 Bolsa Ave.
The Stride concept, created and led CEO Shaun Grove and President Anthony Badalian, offers 55-minute classes that combined treadmill-based cardio and strength training.
Members use Woodway 4Front treadmills, and BeaverFit benches equipped with dumbbells, slam balls and resistance bands. The facility also features a Recovery Zone featuring massage and air-compression technology by Hyperice. Recovery sessions are offered every 30 minutes throughout the day.
“Opening our Huntington Beach headquarters marks an important milestone for the brand,” Grove said in a statement. “This space represents where we are heading as a company and the community we are committed to building. It creates a solid foundation upon which we can grow and a space for our members and franchise partners to meet, train, and call home.”
For more information, call 714-951-0945 or go email huntingtonbeach@stridefitness.com
Legacy to lay off staff in April
The logistics company Legacy Supply Chain is laying off 129 workers in Southern California after losing a service contract with Walters Wholesale Electric.
Legacy outlined the layoffs, or employee “separations,” in a letter to the state’s Employment Development Department, dated Jan. 31.
The company operates in Fontana, Brea, Indio, San Diego and Canoga Park.
The letter, written by James Darwin, Legacy’s director of Human Resources, said “the entirety of Legacy’s operations at these locations will cease” on April 1.
On the move
Longtime Ontario resident Nisha Morris was promoted at City of Hope to senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. At CoH, she leads enterprise and regional strategy for brand, marketing and external communications. Morris previously was the cancer hospital’s chief communications officer where she helped advance its national profile. She also was vice president of Marketing and Communications for CofHo Orange County from 2018 to 2023.
Angela Huusfeldt, a family medicine nurse practitioner, recently joined HealthyU Clinics in Anaheim at 500 S. Anaheim Hills Road, Suite 242. Huusfeldt treats individuals and families in all stages of life. She earned her nursing degree from San Diego State University and began her career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at CHOC Children’s Hospital. She got her Master’s degree in nursing from California State Long Beach.
Attorney Julio E. Martinez recently was promoted to national managing partner at the law firm Gilson Daub on its Workers’ Compensation team. Previously he was a regional managing partner. Founded in 2011 and based in San Juan Capistrano, Gilson Daub, a workers’ compensation defense legal firm, has grown to 22 cities in 14 states.
Judicial appointments
Los Angeles County resident Allison Chan recently was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve as a judge in the Orange County Superior Court, filling the vacancy by retired judge Erick L. Larsh. Chan has been a senior deputy public defender at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office since 2025, and also was a deputy public defender from 2013 to 2024. Chan is a Democrat.
Status Update is compiled and written by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.