Neighborhood Watch: Santa Monica's Main Street Loses Blonde and The Closet

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Every so often, we like to zoom in on one particular neighborhood and examine what's happening on the retail front. Today, we take you to Main Street in Santa Monica, which is bidding adieu to two of its biggest retail anchors:

BLONDE—The last time we checked in, Blonde was, as usual, full of overpriced denim, jersey sundresses, and the ladies who love them. So, as you can imagine, we were a little surprised to find the shop almost totally cleared of merchandise yesterday. We aren't sure when it happened, but it looks like the closure was recent, given the smattering of pieces still on the racks. The web shop's also disappeared, and the phone number listed on Citysearch has been disconnected. We're stumped—anyone with intel, comment away!

THE CLOSET—Adding to the emptiness is The Closet, which will be closing its Santa Monica outpost on Sunday. Fans of the boutique's quintessentially Californian brands can still find them at four Orange County locations, and the entire stock, including Quiksilver, RVCA, and J Brand, is 70% off for the rest of the week.

POP FACTORY—Formerly located on Melrose Ave, Pop Factory has taken shelter inside The Novel Cafe while it awaits completion of its new digs at The Grove. The temporary location, which the gallery plans to occupy for at least six months, houses two separate exhibition spaces and a glass-enclosed boutique. They're currently showcasing the work of Todd Goldman, including both his tongue-in-cheek paintings and his 'David & Goliath' line of t-shirts and gifts.

LA GRANDE ORANGE GROCERY— The plywood is down at La Grande Orange Grocery, the all-purpose local foodie's haven that's been covered by both Racked and our sister site, Eater LA. We witnessed what appeared to be a staff training session yesterday, which would seem to suggest Eater's reported May 9 opening date is right on track.