Summer business hit or miss on El Paseo

Christophe Douheret used to close his El Paseo eatery Clementine Gourmet Marketplace and Cafe every July and August.

This year, he decided to take a chance and stay open all summer.

“El Paseo is still alive and we want to maintain it alive,” Douheret said. “I guess I’m a pioneer kind of and I’m trying to say, hey don’t forget about us.”

Other businesses haven’t made the transition. Just a block down, closed signs decorate the high-end shopping street.

“It looks like a ghost yard. And El Paseo is our Rodeo Drive but there’s nobody here to be buying anything this time of year,” said Linda Winslow, a travel consultant at WorldView Travel on El Paseo.

“It’s slower this year than last year,” said Billy Mills, manager of New Balance on El Paseo. “You can see there’s no one out there.”

It’s pretty safe to blame it on the heat, which is why some wish stores operated on a “siesta” schedule, including Mills.

“You open up a little earlier, close at 12pm or 1pm when it gets hot and reopen at 4pm or 5pm when people are going to dinner and it cools down,” Mills said. The challenge is getting the other businesses and the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce to sign off on it

But another popular shopping street, Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs is just as hot, yet the summer lull doesn’t seem as apparent.

“People know Palm Springs, people don’t know Palm Desert,” said Winslow, whose clients are from around the world. “They ask me where’s that?”

“Palm Springs has a better reputation,” Douheret said. “Palm Desert is still new, it’s still tiptoeing.”

“The nightlife in Palm Springs lasts the whole year,” said Claudio Marfia, general manager of Il Corso on El Paseo.

Restaurants on El Paseo, including Clementine, Il Corso and Mastro’s, are trying to hold their own by offering summer food and drinks specials while shops turn to sales to attract customers.

Businesses hope eventually El Paseo’s summer foot traffic resembles Palm Canyon’s in the coming summers.

“You know things come slowly, they have to develop. I heard we’re getting a hotel here so that would help out,” Marfia said.

“This is the goal for us to stay open and keep the businesses going all year,” Douheret said.