Chuao Chocolatier Gone From Irvine Spectrum (And Other Closures I'm Late To Report)

chuao_storefront.jpgSo I'm walking through Irvine Spectrum the other day, between Macy's and Nordstroms, when I realized something was missing:  Chuao Chocolatier was gone.  

The fancy-pants chocolatier, from whom I bought a box of nine decadent morsels for $15 in 2005, was history, now replaced with a specialty shop that sold candles and such. 

Funny part was that I'd been to Irvine Spectrum at least a half dozen times in December. I guess in the Christmas rush, I didn't even notice that it wasn't there. 

A little research revealed that they shuttered sometime around August -- two months before the Dow plummeted and all hell broke loose. Looking back, it seems easy to say that Chuao and other luxury purveyors should've been the canary to all that's happened. But then, Godiva is still around; though Chuao is still very much in business in San Diego. 

Also in restaurant closures that I'm late on reporting, the Arches on the Water folded at the end of 2008. The Daily Pilot writes that Dan Marcheano's second Arches location just couldn't get enough customers.

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