There’s been a revitalization in downtown Chula Vista with the recent slew of breweries, up- and-coming eateries and a growing art scene emerging on Third Avenue. One of the newest businesses to hit Third Avenue is a one-stop shop.
Upright Citizen, at 282 Third Ave. is a 1,700 square-foot business that is home to a resale vintage clothing store, a makeup studio, a photography studio and an art gallery located in the back of the building.
“We describe it as a creative space,” said store owner Sonia Tabor “It’s more of a concept than an actual space.”
Tabor, 39, has been a makeup artist for 22 years. Her husband Jonathan Sevilla has shot photography also for 22-years. Although they’ve been hired to work on projects and have developed clientele, they didn’t have a place of business — until now.
“It’s kind of combined all of the businesses we’ve always had in one place,” Tabor said.
Upright Citizen opened its doors in May, as of now the makeup and photography studios is the shop’s biggest revenue source but Tabor said she is making the selling of resale and vintage clothing the focal point.
“I open this place every day and what I’m focusing more on time wise is on the shop,” she said.
Tabor gets additional revenue by renting out the photo studio for photo shoots. They can also hire Sevilla as a photographer. She even rents out the art gallery for private events.
The art gallery features art exhibitions every other month, including art paintings sculptures and photography.
Tabor who has her business Makeup State of Mind, said the store goes together with all of its components because the clothes that are sold at the store were actually used for photo shoots and art projects.
On the stores walls are photos of local models dressed in clothes that the shop sells.
“The reason why we have the name Upright Citizen is because we wanted to create a space where people can come in and express themselves creatively” she said.
“People could come in and have a poetry night so that they can express themselves verbally, people can come in and express how they dress. It’s all about expression.”
Tabor credits the new breweries on Third Avenue for brining attention to her shop. She said there has been a lot of foot traffic recently, which has translated into people stopping in to checkout Upright Citizen.
“I can really see (the foot traffic) picking up,” she said.
Luanne Hulsizer, executive director of the Third Avenue Village Association, said from an economic development standpoint she has frequently received phone calls in the past two years about potential businesses coming to Third Avenue.
She said most phone calls are about commercial real estate opportunites for the village, in particularly about the former Vogue Theater.
Hulsizer said that while commercial real estate is good for the downtown area there is a certain brand of business that come to Third Avenue.
“The businesses that come to the district are either starting out or are entrepreneurial based,” she said. The “majority of the people that are investing on Third Avenue are from here and are coming back to reinvent their neighborhood.”
She said TAVA’S Amps and Ales event has attracted people from outside the South Bay to downtown Chula Vista.
