Centro Financial Investment (True Cost of doing business in Orange)

The property at 208 E Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92866, home to the former Bob’s Shade and Linoleum, finally opened during the first week of January as the Italian restaurant “Centro”, already known to many in Tustin, CA. A prime feature unique to this new business is having the first ADA-compliant lower dining area, beneath the original flooring. This will be the only restaurant in Old Towne Orange that has this lower level area with its own dedicated kitchen and wine bar to the lower level. The rear patio is also being praised as a much-needed facelift to an otherwise lifeless corridor on the backside of the City of Orange Redevelopment building alongside the public lot between South Orange St & S Grand St. An unexpected find during construction was the original signage for “Camp’s Hardware” Store with original aluminum raised lettering marque. The signage has since been stabilized for preservation.

Plagued by red tape, construction costs, ongoing inspections, and more notably inconsistent Orange Water Department Planning & Orange Fire Department requirements and reinspections, and questionable required investment by the Pozzuii and Ricci Family in city-owned infrastructure, such as new water lines for anticipated future city projects and additional electrical vaults to accommodate Orange International Street Fair events. The project cost has inflated to over 1.9 Million Dollars, and 2 years behind the anticipated opening. The Pozzuoli Family contemplated walking away from the project at multiple points during the adaptive reuse project. But with the assistance of the Ricci Family, navigating prior projects regarding historic buildings, lobbied to keep Centro’s concept alive with significant investment.

Centro, now open and serving hundreds of customers per day, the operator of Centro has had time to reflect on ever doing additional projects or recommending businesses come into the City of Orange. The cost for the project will take an estimated 10+ years to break even. The question to be asked is - if it's this hard to open in Orange, will more businesses be leaving our beloved city, or will new owners have any desire to deal with the bureaucratic red tape?