A longtime nautical supplier has dropped anchor on Pine Avenue.
The owners of Safe Navigation Inc., Dev and Janet Mavi, have moved to 236-240 Pine Ave., the 12,000-square-foot space that formerly housed Crown books.
The lease was up on their 15,000-square-foot store at 129 W. 5th St. and the space on Pine was available, said manager Harpreet Singh, adding that the company started moving their stock of 30,000 to 40,000 charts and maps and products in early October.
Workers were still setting up -- this week they were preparing to put up the store's sign -- but the store is open for business, Singh said.
The Mavis, who were out of town this week, founded their chart supply store in 1985 at the urging of their friend and partner, retired sea captain K.S. Ghotra. They have stayed downtown to take advantage of their proximity to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
Theirs is a niche market, selling thousands of charts, navigation maps, flags and books to captains, yachtsmen and companies of tankers and container ships.
While Safe Navigation caters mainly to the international professional seafaring community, it hopes to draw a wider audience, particularly law firms and other professionals downtown who need high-end marine clocks and gifts to give to partners and clients.
"We always had some recreation walk-in traffic but we figured now with this location, we'll probably pick up more on that," Singh said.
Safe Navigation, which employees about a dozen people, fills a large void on Pine Avenue, once the shopping hub for the region. The property had been home to several retailers through the years, including Harris Furs, a haberdashery, Book Barn and a Crate and Barrel outlet store.
It was most recently a Crown Books before shuttering in 2006. Since then, the space has sat vacant, except for the occasional temporary holiday retailer.
"We are thrilled to hear that the space has been leased and we are not only excited to have Safe Navigation as a neighbor, but are looking forward to their opening and the benefits it will bring to Pine (Avenue)," said Z Gallerie owner and CFO Mike Zeiden, whose Pine store neighbors Safe Navigation.
Neysa Colizzi, president of the Downtown Residential Council, which represents six downtown neighborhood associations, said it's good to see the space active.
"For awhile they had paper up on the windows and now that the paper's off and you can see their products, it's actually really exciting to see."
First District City Councilman Robert Garcia, who lives on Pine Avenue, said the new business is "a great sign for the future."
"It's great to see that people are thinking about reinvesting on Pine," Garcia said.
Pine will soon be home to a couple of new businesses, including La Creperie, which is opening a second Long Beach location in the space currently occupied by Hooters (Hooters will be moving to the Pike at Rainbow Harbor) and Kress Market, an organic, fresh foods and gourmet neighborhood market in the Kress Building's ground floor formerly occupied by Executive Fitness.
"We expect a lot of great things to happen in the next year," he said.
The owners of Safe Navigation Inc., Dev and Janet Mavi, have moved to 236-240 Pine Ave., the 12,000-square-foot space that formerly housed Crown books.
The lease was up on their 15,000-square-foot store at 129 W. 5th St. and the space on Pine was available, said manager Harpreet Singh, adding that the company started moving their stock of 30,000 to 40,000 charts and maps and products in early October.
Workers were still setting up -- this week they were preparing to put up the store's sign -- but the store is open for business, Singh said.
The Mavis, who were out of town this week, founded their chart supply store in 1985 at the urging of their friend and partner, retired sea captain K.S. Ghotra. They have stayed downtown to take advantage of their proximity to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
Theirs is a niche market, selling thousands of charts, navigation maps, flags and books to captains, yachtsmen and companies of tankers and container ships.
While Safe Navigation caters mainly to the international professional seafaring community, it hopes to draw a wider audience, particularly law firms and other professionals downtown who need high-end marine clocks and gifts to give to partners and clients.
"We always had some recreation walk-in traffic but we figured now with this location, we'll probably pick up more on that," Singh said.
Safe Navigation, which employees about a dozen people, fills a large void on Pine Avenue, once the shopping hub for the region. The property had been home to several retailers through the years, including Harris Furs, a haberdashery, Book Barn and a Crate and Barrel outlet store.
It was most recently a Crown Books before shuttering in 2006. Since then, the space has sat vacant, except for the occasional temporary holiday retailer.
"We are thrilled to hear that the space has been leased and we are not only excited to have Safe Navigation as a neighbor, but are looking forward to their opening and the benefits it will bring to Pine (Avenue)," said Z Gallerie owner and CFO Mike Zeiden, whose Pine store neighbors Safe Navigation.
Neysa Colizzi, president of the Downtown Residential Council, which represents six downtown neighborhood associations, said it's good to see the space active.
"For awhile they had paper up on the windows and now that the paper's off and you can see their products, it's actually really exciting to see."
First District City Councilman Robert Garcia, who lives on Pine Avenue, said the new business is "a great sign for the future."
"It's great to see that people are thinking about reinvesting on Pine," Garcia said.
Pine will soon be home to a couple of new businesses, including La Creperie, which is opening a second Long Beach location in the space currently occupied by Hooters (Hooters will be moving to the Pike at Rainbow Harbor) and Kress Market, an organic, fresh foods and gourmet neighborhood market in the Kress Building's ground floor formerly occupied by Executive Fitness.
"We expect a lot of great things to happen in the next year," he said.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
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