Westfield Valencia Town Center celebrated the grand opening Thursday of several clusters of new outdoor stores called Shops at the Patios.

The second outdoor shopping district at the mall is accessible from Valencia Boulevard or from within the mall.

Forty new open-air shops are the result of Westfield’s $130 million investment to expand the mall for local residents. Women’s and men’s apparel, fashion accessories, home furnishings and gourmet cookware are some of the merchandise items featured in the new retail stores.

The outdoor shopping area features boutiques and restaurants lining courtyards landscaped by fountains, koi ponds, fire pits, outdoor verandas and patio benches. Visitors can walk through courtyards that flow between shopping areas designed with natural stones, water and green landscapes.

“Westfield is committed to delivering the best shopping, dining and entertainment experience for Santa Clarita residents,” said Larry Green, senior vice president for Westfield. “We’re proud of our extensive and unique selection of retailers.”

Weste said the expansion made good economic sense as due to Santa Clarita’s business-friendly reputation.

“We’re thrilled to have Westfield’s Shops at the Patios become a new addition to our city,” said Laurene Weste, mayor of Santa Clarita. “It’s a great example of how business and local government can partner to provide good jobs for our community.”

New shops and food
Retailers new to the Patios shopping area are BCBGMAXAZRIA, Bobby Chan, Chico’s, J. David’s Custom Clothiers, Michael Kors, Sephora, Soma, Swarovski, True Religion, White House | Black Market and Williams-Sonoma.

Restaurants that opened earlier this year include the Lazy Dog Café and Dink’s New York Deli. Wokcano recently opened a Japanese sushi bar and steakhouse. All restaurants offer patio dining.

A coffeehouse, wine bar and bakery are planned for the coming months.

The outdoor shopping area also hosts a children’s area.

Employment
The Santa Clarita WorkSource Center partnered recently with Westfield to host an all-day recruitment event for the stores opening in the new outdoor shopping area. Several retailers were seeking candidates for full- and part-time openings.

According to the city of Santa Clarita, the more than 200 attendees at the recruitment event were invited to apply for seasonal employment as well.

Last month, Jason Crawford, economic development manager for the city, said the city was referring Do it Center employees to the mall openings as well. The hardware store is closing soon. Crawford said the employees all have retail experience.

Weste said that more than 700 full-time positions were created by expansion project, and that over time the number will increase.

Grand opening
A spokesperson for Westfield said that Thursday’s grand opening marked the beginning of a series of public events to introduce local residents to the new outdoor shopping area.

Two local organizations, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Michael Hoefflin Foundation, will benefit from some of the events.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thursday morning was hosted by Westfield. Green presented a $10,000 donation on behalf of Westfield to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post in honor of Veterans Day.

Local elected officials and community leaders joined representatives from Westfield in celebrating the occasion. Among the officials was Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, and representatives for Congressman Howard McKeon, R-Santa Clarita.

The mall is hosting professional styling sessions this weekend from retailers and complimentary makeovers from professional makeup artists. Select guests will receive a full makeover and walk a runway.

The Westfield Valencia Town Center and Michael Hoefflin Foundation are presenting a weekend of wine tasting, food sampling and art during the first weekend of December.

Tasting tickets cost $10, and all donations will benefit the foundation.

More events are scheduled for the weekends during the next two months. All of the events scheduled through the end of the year can be found on Westfield’s website for the Valencia mall at: www.westfield.com/valencia.