From Classic Cars to Cool Shopping in Costa Mesa

Beautiful, sunny Costa Mesa, CA, is known for many things, but two of the most interesting involve two of our favorite subjects: cars and shopping. However, this may not be exactly what you are thinking. Yes, Orange Coast CJDRF is a car dealership, and we are dedicated to seeing you behind the wheel of a new, used, or Certified Pre-Owned Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, or Fiat vehicle of your dreams. But we are also dedicated to seeing that you have a memorable and enjoyable experience as our customer. Part of this experience entails getting to know and love our wonderful home of Costa Mesa as much as we do, and finding out all the local content this town has to offer. Once you have spent time here, you will know why Costa Mesa is the jewel of Orange County. Two of our favorite places in town that are unlike anything you have ever seen are Crevier Classic Cars and the LAB Anti-Mall. A trip to Costa Mesa is not complete without visiting these two unique spots.

Crevier Classic Cars

Located at 365 B Clinton Street, Crevier Classic Cars is just a short, ten-minute drive from our dealership at 2929 Harbor Boulevard. Begun as a storage facility for unique, classic, vintage, collectible, and exotic vehicles in 2006 by local car dealer Donnie Crevier, Crevier Classic Cars is now an active community of automotive enthusiasts who gather together regularly to share their common passion for these beautiful machines. The space is open to the public seven days a week, and can even be booked for special occasions such as corporate events, weddings, luncheons, tradeshows, fundraisers, and holiday parties. In addition, many of these unique vehicles are actually for sale. The current collection includes a 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica, a 1956 Ford Thunderbird, a 1948 Hudson Commodore 8 Brougham Convertible, a 1947 Chrysler Town & Country, a 1958 BMW 600 Micro, a 1936 Terraplane, a 1932 Ford Model 18 V8 Phaeton, a 1918 Chevrolet Racer, and a 1911 Hudson Speedster. Two of our favorites are a 1931 Duesenberg Model SJ467 with a disappearing top, and a 1935 Packard 1207 Convertible Twelve. Yes, that stands for twelve cylinders!

The collection is kept in mint condition. Many of these vehicles look like they just rolled off the assembly line. Imagine seeing a racecar that is over 100 years old, yet looks like new.

There are two spaces to explore at Crevier Classic Cars, a main Museum, and an Event building. Because many of the vehicles are either for sale on consignment or are being stored for club members, the vehicles on display are constantly changing, much like a museum with a rotating exhibition gallery. If you are like us, you can spend hours looking at these gorgeous automobiles, getting to see in person many that you may have only heard about or seen a picture of. The main facility covers 25,000 square feet of space, enough room for about 80 cars. There is an additional 4,000 square feet of space used for Crevier’s Ladies and Gentlemen’s club. This includes a game room with a pool table, a refreshment area, state-of-the-art audio/visual room with WiFi, and a library that is stocked with the lasted books and magazines on everyone’s favorite topic, automobiles. Keeping every vehicle in tip-top shape is Crevier’s own service and detail shop, which performs maintenance and repairs to the collection as well as members’ vehicles. Stop by Crevier Classic Cars for a chance to see automotive history in person.

The LAB Anti-Mall

If you took someone from anywhere in the United States, and dropped him or her in practically any indoor mall, unless that person could hear someone speak, he or she would probably have no idea where they were in the country. That is because most malls have become so homogenized, with many featuring the same stores, cafés, and food venues without regard to city or region.

This wasn’t always the case, but large companies have turned shopping into a corporatist consumerist affair that has taken much of the enjoyment out of the experience. This is where the LAB Anti-Mall comes in.

Located at 2930 Bristol Street, just a short, two and a half mile drive from our dealership, the LAB Anti-Mall was founded in 1993 to fight the growing retail monotony of the shopping mall. LAB actually stands for “Little American Business” and supports small businesses. It comprises an indoor and outdoor space designed as a suburban hangout, with retail stores, cafés, and restaurants.

The goal is to support a space for a vibrant community of lovers of art, music, fashion, and hip cuisine. To that end, The LAB utilizes its space for special events involving art installations, live music, and maker markets where local and regional artists and artisans can display their wares.

The Anti-Mall includes two hair salons, Barber Shop and Crew Salon, Crème Tangerine Records, the ARTery art gallery, and Eco Now, a shop dedicated to helping Californians maintain ecology and embrace sustainability. If you are in the market for some fashion that is funky but chic, The LAB offers plenty of apparel retailers, including Blends + Carve, Brandswalk, Buffalo Exchange, Eye Society, May Martin, Prism Boutique, Red + Blue Vintage, Sweet Threads, and Urban Outfitters.

The LAB Anti-Mall is also the perfect place to grab a bite in Costa Mesa. If you just want something quick, you can go to Good Town Doughnuts or Nook Coffee for something sweet and light. If you want to try some of the finest sushi in town, check out Hana Re. This Japanese restaurant is a real highlight at The LAB. Poke is that wonderful mix of raw tuna with rice and vegetables that has become one of the most popular meals, and few do it better than CaliPoke. This makes a wonderful, quick lunch meal.

Habana offers delicious Cuban food in a fine dining atmosphere, perfect for a date after visiting our dealership. La Brisket offers flavorful barbecue ribs, beef, and chicken with all the sides you love. Bring plenty of napkins because you are going to get a little messy with their excellent BBQ sauce. At the opposite end of the spectrum are Seabirds Kitchen, which is vegan, and The Den, which is vegan and vegetarian. Both feature delicious, healthy food made in a sustainable manner. Whichever restaurant you choose, you are sure to enjoy a great meal in a wonderful venue.

The LAB is also the perfect spot for an after work or after dinner drink. Ruin Bar has one of the most eclectic decors you are liable to see, as well as a drink list that is second to none. Bootleggers is a local California craft brew, and they have set up a tasting room at the LAB Anti-Mall. How local is Bootleggers? Their brewery is just down the road on Randolph Avenue, so you know you are getting the freshest beer possible. Bootleggers features El Chango, a Mexican-American style lager, Golden Chaos, a Belgian style ale, Far Out, a West Coast style IPA, Palomino Pale Ale, Knuckle Sandwich, a double IPA, Old World Hefeweizen, and Rocco Red, an American red ale. You can sample these at their taproom, or even go down the road for a brewery tour if you have time.

Orange Coast CJDRF

Costa Mesa is such a fun, beautiful, and open town, and I’m sure you would like to see as much of it as possible. That is why at Orange Coast CJDRF, we aim to provide you, our customer, with the easiest and most convenient experience you have ever had when buying a new or used car. We look forward to seeing you at our dealership, and helping you find the great places that make Costa Mesa such a wonderful town.