Palm Springs shop clashes with next-door restaurant over ‘eyesore’ parklet
PS Homeboys is a new furniture and decor store in Palm Springs that's open for business, but the owners say you might not know it from the street.
The temporary parklet for Thai Smile on the corner of Indian Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way is in the way, said co-owners Neils Kosman and Jeremy Taylor, and they're calling for it to be removed.
"You don't see our business," Kosman said. "They did a horrible job. It's an eyesore and it's completely blocking the view and the visibility of our store."
They painted the front of the store pink and put colorful furniture outside to try to attract customers, but Thai Smile's parklet decor has kept customers away, Taylor said: "We could have had an increase in sales, but we feel that this is taking away from people finding us."
At one point, the dispute led to a confrontation in the parking lot that Taylor said almost turned violent. "About 10 of the kitchen employees came out and one of them got in my face like he wanted to punch me in the face," he said.
Dean Presnal, manager of Thai Smile, couldn't comment on the confrontation, but says the restaurant hopes to continue using the parklet for overflow seating. He said the parklet's look has not been an issue until now.
"Everything was checked out by the city and we had full approval," Presnal said.
City council member Geoff Kors said new guidelines are on the way as city staff work out regulations for parklets, including design standards and requirements for how much they have to be used.
"6 days a week for both lunch and dinner," Kors said. "We also said to look at how many hours; so if it's vacant most of the time, we should get the parking spots back."
Kors added the new recommendations were expected by July, when council could vote on how to move forward with parklets.
In the meantime, the owners of PS Homeboys are anxiously waiting for a solution. "It should never be that one business gets to block another business," Kosman said. "That's wrong and all businesses should always be open and visible to everybody."
