South Coast Plaza launches curbside pickup
Curbside is going chic.
In the latest sign of reopenings, South Coast Plaza — Orange County’s world-renown upscale shopping destination — has joined the list of outlets offering contact-free pickup for customers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The new program, which the Costa Mesa center calls SCP 2 GO, launches Friday.
It works like this: Shoppers will place an order with a participating restaurant or boutique. When their order is ready, customers will be assigned one of five color-coded pickup stations located throughout South Coast Plaza.
Upon arriving, customers will park in their designated location, call the establishment they ordered from, pop their trunk and wait for delivery.
More than 80 stores and restaurants have already signed on to take part in the program, according to the center. A full list is available at southcoastplaza.com/scp2go.
“Our brands are enthusiastic about personally connecting with their customers once more with a program that is safe, contact-less and highly convenient,” South Coast Plaza spokeswoman Debra Gunn Downing said Friday. “If there’s anything that our curbside program underscores during this time of isolation for many, it is the importance of the human connection, even when all you want to do is simply buy a bag, makeup or jewelry.”
Stores began shuttering Monday. The closure officially takes effect at 7 p.m., according to a letter that center management sent to tenants.
South Coast Plaza has been almost entirely shuttered since March 16, after a store employee tested positive for COVID-19.
The closure was originally supposed to be for two weeks, but that timeline was upended as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections began to mushroom statewide.
Just days after South Coast Plaza’s storefronts went dark, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his stay-at-home order — which compelled the closure of businesses not deemed essential, including many retailers.
It was only recently that the state started loosening those restrictions and allowing certain businesses to reopen, though many commercial activities are still limited to curbside transactions.
The latest maps and charts on the spread of COVID-19 in California.
Even as some economic sectors come back online, state and public health officials have said businesses should take steps to limit person-to-person contact and keep crowds from gathering.
Doing so, they said, will help prevent transmission of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 75,000 Californians and killed more than 3,000.
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