It is nearly impossible to say “Venice” without saying “beach”. Dubbed the Coney Island of the Pacific, Venice Beach is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world. A less known fact is that it is the #2 destination for skaters. Who’s #1? It doesn’t matter because Venice Beach has it all.
Venice has a long and storied history full of fun and not so fun facts about that part of the world. It wasn’t always a part of L.A. The famous boardwalk is not the one it started with. The whole thing was a failed venture twice over before it became the economic force that it is today.
Covid, however, is an equal opportunity destroyer. But when it comes to Covid and destructive forces, California is more equal than others. Already in 2021, a massive fire has destroyed boardwalk property. There was another fire in a homeless camp. Evacuated for safety, it was filled almost immediately. This is on top of the wildfires of 2020. And of course, there is Covid as the icing atop a cake from hell.
Even so, Venice has been through worse in its history. It has a track record of taking it on the chin and bouncing back seemingly unscathed. And it will do it again. Even so, there are always scars. And this round of destructive forces will be no exception. Venice will bounce back better and stronger. But here’s how it will change in the meantime:
Dial It Back a Little
Venice Beach is a big place in a small area. Besides the total amount of earth it covers, everything about Venice is big and over the top. That is a part of its charm. Walking around with blue face paint and your hair on fire will hardly get you noticed. But Covid has enforced a need for social distancing and an extra measure of care.
Gender reveal celebrations are going online with big, online gimmicks we all love to watch. Many of those awesome antics come to us from the creatives in Venice playing to large audiences. Now, More of those Venice natives are going to have to see them through the lens of a video camera.
That said, a gender reveal burnout is going to look spectacular on those AI 8K 5G TVs Foxconn will one day produce. If you have to go indoors, consider a confetti popper. There are lots of options that allow you to make your big announcement even if it has to be a little scaled back.
Rent Different
A lifetime ago, Apple told us to Think Different. Venice Beach is thinking about how it can rent different. Digital nomads are changing the way we rent. And right now, digital nomads are being driven by the dictates of the pandemic.
Semi-long term, fully furnished rental properties are now in vogue. With so many businesses out of business, workers are looking to rent in smaller towns. Property managers are going to have to be more open to more month to month and less 12 to 24 month leases. Life is changing too quickly and is too uncertain to be tied down with lengthy contracts for decent places to live. We will just have to wait to see how it all pans out.
A Smaller Menu
The image of a burning, abandoned restaurant in Sun Valley is emblematic of the dining crisis in cities like NYC and L.A. More landmark restaurants are being abandoned. And the entire industry feels like it is on fire.
That means that there are fewer signature tastes of the town that lure people from all over the world. That puts a lot more pressure on the locals to support those restaurants. This will not be a lasting change and restaurants will come back. The menu is just a little smaller right now.
Venice is not just synonymous with beaches. It is also synonymous with comebacks. Although you will have to celebrate differently, rent differently, and dine differently for a while, rest assured Venice isn’t going anywhere.
