By Charly SHELTON

Rocky Cola Café closed in December 2012. Today the building stands empty and every few months new rumors start circulating about what’s to be done with the property. From proposed new restaurants to changes in business styles, there is no shortage of theories. In fact, there are several empty storefronts in Montrose Shopping Park that give rise to the same kind of speculation as to what they will become.

The most prominent vacancy is the former Rocky Cola Café building, 2201 Honolulu Ave. Although it doesn’t currently have a business operating inside, it is under lease, which means that some don’t consider it vacant.

“There is a lease there and they are going through permitting processes and are scheduled for a hearing,” said Jackie Bartlow, Economic Development coordinator for the City of Glendale.

According to the City of Glendale Planning Projects Map, the permitting applied for includes a parking reduction from a full service restaurant to a fast food restaurant requirement, and two Administrative Use Permits – one for a fast food restaurant operation and the other for a full bar service license.

Further down the boulevard, the site of the former Montrose Bakery Café at 2325 Honolulu Ave. is in the process of becoming a new restaurant called The Pink Pig.

“Pink Pig is dealing with some state code issues and so once [the business owner] works through those, then he will go through the city’s process,” Bartlow said.

The other prominent vacancy is the former site of Landry’s Sporting Goods at 2271 Honolulu Ave. And they are officially vacant.

“We subscribe to a real estate search called Costar Properties,” said Jennifer Hiramoto, principal Economic Development officer with the City of Glendale. “So based on Costar, 2271 Honolulu Ave. is the only available site listed that is vacant in Montrose.”

While these vacant and in-progress storefronts can stir up a lot of discussion, they are – overall – minimal in the face of all the bustling businesses in Montrose.

“In terms of the bigger picture, if you look at Glendale as a whole, the retail vacancy rate is 1.7%. That’s extraordinarily low,” Hiramoto said. “And when you zero-in on Montrose, that rate according to Costar is 0%. So obviously there is one building that we just identified, but Montrose Shopping Park and its businesses are very vibrant and are doing extremely well. And we look forward to the new additions that they’ll be bringing with Pink Pig and at the former Rocky Cola site.”

  Charly Shelton