RETAIL ROUNDUP:Shops, eateries joining forces

On Monday, five restaurants are planning to band together for the first 17th Street Restaurant Row Week, perhaps spawned by a similar event that ended Thursday in Newport Beach.

This is another way for the restaurant owners to generate business at their eateries, but the promotion may help boost business at local retail shops as well.

It comes at a time when a growing number of companies and stores are trying different ways to attract more customers, sometimes with cooperative efforts such as Restaurant Row Week.

The cooperative efforts won’t just end with Restaurant Row Week. The co-op of restaurateurs involved in creating the 17th Street Restaurant Row Week have been discussing bringing a fresh market to 17th Street, something that seems to have been working at the Camp shopping center on Bristol Street.

The shopping center hosts the Farm & Art Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday. It features live music, fruits and vegetables, artists, flowers and more. The market began July 30.

Now the goal is to bring fresh produce from local farmers to Newport-Mesa residents, as well as to promote local artists, but an bonus is the spillover business to neighboring retailers.

At the Active Ride Shop in Costa Mesa, the customer base is different from that of the farmer’s market, manager Jared Leeman said, but on Sundays, the market’s customers many times find themselves browsing in the shop.

“It definitely brings people in, but I’m not sure what it equals in sales,” Leeman said.

Corona del Mar has a market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, and in Costa Mesa the Orange County Fairgrounds hosts one from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays.

Healthcare has gone to the dogs

There is no shortage of people cruising the sidewalks with tiny dogs in tow, so naturally local entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the trend.

Fido can snack at a canine bakery, pick up some new high-end collars and even get matching outfits there.

The dog has officially joined the family. And why should it end with outfits? On Saturday and Sunday, dog boutique Muttropolis employees will make sure Rover keeps his New Year’s resolution to exercise.

Although some may consider such events excessive, the idea should encourage any veterinarian. The Wellness Weekend Forum will focus on overweight pets and recommend how to keep the dogs healthy and fit, just like people have been doing with nutritionists, personal trainers and gyms.

Muttropolis’ Wellness Weekend Forum will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday and from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday. The store is at Fashion Island.