Shoppers line up for festive opening of Dos Lagos

Shoppers came by the thousands. Some took a vacation day from work. Wives brought husbands to help carry the loot. Mothers pushed tots in a parade of strollers down the new Main Street. At least one man was on crutches.

David Bauman / The Press-Enterprise Thousands of people attend the grand-opening ceremonies for The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos in Corona on Friday morning.

None wanted to miss Friday's grand opening of The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos, Corona's trendy new outdoor shopping center. They said they wanted to check out stores that had never before been so close to home.

None wanted to miss Friday's grand opening of The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos, Corona's trendy new outdoor shopping center. They said they wanted to check out stores that had never before been so close to home.

Within minutes after the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony, where Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel thanked developer Poag & McEwen for having "given us a place to spend our money in our town," shoppers lined up at the cash registers to buy home accessories, scented body washes and fall fashions.

Carolina Neal, a grandmother from Lake Elsinore, said she and a friend arrived at 5 a.m. for the center's 10 a.m. opening.

David Bauman / The Press-Enterprise A shopper sits on a bench during The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos' grand opening. More shops are getting ready to open.

"We are just waiting to shop. Shop till we drop," said Neal.

Some stores at the center were not ready and all the restaurants had "coming soon" signs. To fill the void on Friday, stands were selling a variety of food from kettle corn to pastrami subs.

Sounds of hammers and drills resounded from the nearby rooftop of the movie theater still under construction, targeted to open in December.

Most of the 350,000-square-foot first phase opened Friday. Remaining stores will open gradually. A second phase of 200,000 square feet is planned for 2008.

Still, shoppers said they were pleased by what the center already had to offer. Vickie Cortez, 58, of Murrieta, who was admiring the fashions at Coldwater Creek, said she had made purchases from the chain store's Web site.

Joe Eddy, 41, who was recuperating from knee surgery, left his Riverside home on crutches to accompany his wife, Robin, who wanted to shop at Coach and Bath & Body Works.

"I told him he needed to get out of the house," Robin Eddy said.

BACK TO ARTICLES...