Come back to the five-and-dime, Ocean Beach

On April 20, Target took over the former Antique Center building on Newport Avenue. Despite local protests, Antique Center closed for good on April 15 after more than twenty years.

Glen Gorham said about half the Antique Center vendors moved to the Kurtz Street Vintage Marketplace behind the Valley View Casino Center in the Midway District, including his space, The Mod Pad. But not before Gorham took one last spin on a vintage Schwinn inside the bare-shelved Antique Center. "We were all against Target, but are making the best of it, and happy for the owners, who gave us a home to sell our wares for 20+ years."

Locals fought the gentrification, but the gentrification won. This round anyway, as a Target boycott looms large. Some that remember the Cornet five-and-dime, a national chain akin to Target that closed shortly before the Antique Center took its place in the mid-1990s, aren't quite as fired-up.

Target's next dragon to slay is a shared parking agreement that gives South Beach Bar and Grill, two blocks down, exclusive use of their parking lot 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Per the city, Target can open up shop but can't operate these hours until the agreement is terminated. For this to happen, South Beach needs to find replacement parking or get off-site parking requirements relaxed. A planned remodel looks to address the latter with the coastal commission via an amendment removing the requirement that triggered South Beach's need for the Antique Center's parking spaces.

No word from Target as to when they'll open or if they plan to give their store an "OB Vibe." Target's website makes no mention of Ocean Beach, but the North Park location is listed as coming this fall.

South Park got San Diego's first Target Express in 2015. Target has since dropped the "Express" for the more mundane "small-format stores."

Target applied for a building permit in February for Ocean Beach's "Target #3303." Work includes interior and roof-top demolition. Since North Park's "Target #3302" applied for permitting in January, it's possible they may open around the same time.