The owners of two Main Street businesses have made announcements about their next moves in Newhall, barely two months after the Main Fire ravaged their block.
An owner of the Newhall Refinery confirmed Monday that a new lease has been signed for the former home of Draconum Brewery, while Care Tucker confirmed a recent announcement that it had big news as well.
While Newhall Refinery, a family-run restaurant that was next to where the fire started, is planning to move just down the road, the Care Tucker boutique is moving across the street as well, according to both owners.
Christine Munoz described it as a bittersweet move. She credited the community, city and the local business community, which helped her find an opportunity so fast it felt like a near miracle. But she’ll also miss her old neighbors and being that part of Main Street’s future, she said.
“We’re sad to not be able to have control of that future there. But I think us being able to have this opportunity coming to us so quickly is a blessing,” she said.
Munoz said she could tell Newhall Refinery had a special meaning to the community when they first looked to purchase the restaurant in December 2022. Building relationships there — like the couple that met at a speed-dating event and now celebrates anniversaries at the business — has only solidified that feeling, she said.
Then she got a 3 a.m. call on Aug. 24 that she could barely believe from Care Tucker, who owned the fashion boutique next door. Munoz was on an out-of-town trip celebrating her birthday when she received the news that the block had burned from El Trocadero at the corner, all the way to almost the doorstep of the Canyon Theatre Guild next door.
Munoz said the response that she and her family received has been incredible, including a GoFundMe that she was able to share “a majority percentage” of with her employees impacted by the sudden closure, as well as help rebuild and re-purchase some lost equipment.
The city’s economic development team helped speed along the permit process, she said, crediting Tyler Pledger, the city’s economic development manager, specifically, for always being available.
And the business is already being welcomed to the north side of Main Street with open arms by its neighbors.
Louise Castaldo, a co-owner of Eighth and Rail, called the news “fantastic” on Monday.
“We are so excited,” she said in a phone interview. “One, because they’re great people and the Refinery is wonderful and that space is big,” she said, referring to Draconum’s former outdoor-dining space in the rear of the restaurant. “And it kind of brings everything down to my end a little more,” she said, referring to the north side of Main Street, near her bar on Eighth Street and Railroad Avenue.
Munoz said the business’ new digs will require some renovations and changes that are still be decided upon, such as whether the new Newhall Refinery will transform the brewing area into a private dining space, similar to the one at the former location across the street, or use it for general seating.
There will be some work to do in the next few months, she said, with hopes of reopening in the spring. In the meantime, there will be some community-event involvement, with upcoming events like Light Up Main next month, she said. Just what the new restaurant will be doing for those is all part of what’s being looked at now.
She described the energy as really excited and nervous and anxious, with everything that Newhall has been through recently, as well as optimism for the future.
“We’re excited to be on that side,” she said of the future. “I think we’re gonna miss our neighbors, but I think hopefully what’s going to come out of this fire is more unity between all the business owners on the block, more communication, more ideas, more collaborative things to hopefully bring more people down for events.”
Care Tucker announced its plans at a recent fashion show it had, which would put the store right across from the Newhall Hardware store.
Care Tucker will be taking over the space that previously operated as Mixed by Design, an interior designer, which works well for the new tenants, according to Care Tucker, who runs the eponymous boutique with her husband, Johnny Tucker.
“We wanted to stay on Main Street just because of the community that we built,” she said, mentioning the outpouring of support received after the Main Fire, particularly at the recent fashion show. “And being across the street, although it seems like it is kind of bittersweet, we’re looking forward to the next chapter.”
While the move was necessary due to the fire, she also mentioned there would be a benefit to taking over an interior-design shop, which was that her location now has three fitting rooms, which were part of the previous shop’s design.
Care Tucker also mentioned that the somewhat similar space would allow for a quicker transition and reopening.
While many of the fixtures lost in the fire needed to be replaced as custom orders, the layout of the previous business by Rebecca Johnstone of Mixed was great, and should allow for a soft opening in December, according to Care Tucker.
Josh Rivas, a local stylist in Old Town Newhall who’s friends with the owners, was excited for the business’ future, as well as Main Street’s.
“I think that’ll really help them, and it’ll be good that people are going in on Main Street and still believe in it, because we were kind of getting scared for a while that Main Street wasn’t going to be a thing anymore,” he said, referring to some of the challenges after the fire.
Care Tucker discussed the post-Main Fire concerns about Main Street that were mentioned by most, but also how that experience also bolstered their decision to stay on Main Street, she said.
She knows Main Street will be back “better than ever,” she said.
“This community has been such a huge blessing to us, and we could not have done it without them,” Care Tucker said, regarding the recovery. “And just seeing people at our fashion show and everyone in the outfits that I designed, it just gave me that peace, like being back on Main Street is like the right place to go.”
