Village at Modesto mall will open with much fanfare

By Marijke Rowland
mrowland@modbee.com

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New shops and pop bands and Santa Claus, oh my.

The celebration for the Village at Vintage Faire opening Friday is set to be far from your ordinary day at the mall.

Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, enjoy pop singers, marching bands, classic cars, ice skating, Santa's parade and -- weather permitting -- hot air balloon rides, all free.

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The headlining act will be the LA Allstars, a cover group that puts on a choreographed show featuring pop and holiday music, at 7:30 p.m. on the Village Main Street.

Then, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, the festivities continue with the unveiling of the NORAD Santa Tracking Station, dedication of the new flagpoles and live performances by ice-skating professionals and local musicians.

All that and, heck, we haven't even talked about the new stores -- you know, the places you can go to buy lots of things you haven't been able to buy in Modesto before. Stores such as Coach, Coldwater Creek, Bebe and some place that rhymes with Snapple.

Coldwater Creek opened earlier this week and Coach and Bebe open Thursday. The new Apple Store will open at 6 p.m. Friday.

So why the massive blowout during what is a less-than-ideal economic climate?

"We're throwing out all the stops here," said Janice Curtin, Vintage Faire senior manager of marketing. "It's the kind of opening that we would do for the first phase of this village opening, regardless. These are major retailers who are opening despite the economic times because they have faith in our market."

Elsewhere on the Business Beat:

Modesto Yamaha has new management and a new location.

The motorcycle shop was purchased in late summer by Art Mitchell of Mitchell's Modesto Harley-Davidson. Since then, the company has been working on moving the dealership from its previous Ninth Street location to next door to Mitchell's Modesto on Carpenter Road.

Renovations are under way at the site of the old Legends Cafe and the dealership should be open for business by Dec. 1. An opening celebration is in the works.

Mitchell also owns a number of the area's other motorcycle dealerships, including Jamestown Harley-Davidson, Modesto Ducati and Stockton Honda Yamaha.

For more on the new Modesto Yamaha, 500 N. Carpenter Road, call 527-5603. ...

Looking to cut into a good steak?

Check out the new George's Steakhouse, 1001 Kansas Ave., at Emerald Avenue in Modesto.

Longtime Modesto residents and owners George and Dolores Medina opened the restaurant about two months ago. The couple has owned the next-door Mexican bakery El Rincon for nearly 20 years, as well as the neighboring Donut Deli.

The venture at the site of the old Pizza Pub is a full-service steakhouse with Western flare that is open for lunch and dinner every day. The menu boasts a large number of specialties -- from pastas and sandwiches to burgers and, of course, steaks.

George's Steakhouse is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week and has a full bar. Call 524-4353.

Have an item for Business Beat? Contact Marijke Rowland at The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto 95352; 578-2284 or mrowland@modbee.com.