dive/15″/dt1st/mark2nd
By NOLA L. SARKISIAN
Staff Reporter
Less than five years after its splashy debut, the theme restaurant Dive! at Century City Shopping Center & Marketplace has officially sunk.
The high-profile, submarine-shaped restaurant owned and created by DreamWorks SKG principals Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg pulled the plug last week, the latest casualty in the theme restaurant or “eatertainment” category.
“We’re closing because it hasn’t been economically feasible for us. Consumers are not as in love with theme restaurants as they were in the past,” said Alison Weber, vice president of marketing with Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, a co-owner and the operator of Dive! “We made a substantial investment when we first opened, and we haven’t been able to succeed as a full-service capacity restaurant.”
Weber said the Las Vegas Dive! outlet, which opened in June 1995, will keep operating, the last of the chain. A Barcelona franchise closed last year.
The highly touted, 11,000-square-foot Century City restaurant opened in May 1994, and immediately drew attention with its bright yellow, submarine-shaped exterior.
Inside, bubbling aquariums shaped like portholes lined the walls, and once every hour or so the restaurant would “dive” amid ringing bells and flashing lights, diners would get the illusion of being on a submarine heading underwater. A stream of bubbles would shoot from each porthole, and video monitors portrayed images of a sub going down.
The demise of Dive! comes as no surprise to restaurant analysts, who have watched sales tumble at themed eateries like Planet Hollywood, the Rainforest Caf & #233; and the Fashion Caf & #233;.
“The Dive! thematic elements were interesting and a heck of a lot of fun. If you’re on vacation, it’s great. But I would question how many times you would go back,” said Tom Miner, a principal with the restaurant consulting firm Technomic Inc. in Chicago.
Added Darlene Heskamp, a senior restaurant specialist at brokerage Beitler Commercial in Brentwood, “The theme alone won’t do the trick. Quality and variety has to be there, but the food is often overpriced and not that good.”
Miner said theme eateries typically generate about $10 million to $15 million in sales, 35 percent of which comes from merchandise such as T-shirts, hats and jackets.
Mall officials wouldn’t reveal whether the restaurant owners fulfilled the terms of their lease, but expressed disappointment at the closure. “It’s never the best decision when we have an expectation of a long-term lease and the tenant can’t continue. It’s not what we chose to happen,” said mall Marketing Manager Linda Smith Frost.
Frost said the space is being marketed for use by another restaurateur.
Although no new Dive! outlets are likely to open in the future, Weber said Levy is developing a food concept called Dive In, which will be a smaller-scale, quick-service venue serving mostly sandwiches, likely based in mall food courts.
