By Jennifer Liyanage

As Los Angeles enters the yellow tier in the COVID-19 pandemic, several non-essential shopping areas are opening up again. 

Many Porter Ranch, Granada Hills, and Northridge locals have shopped at Porter Ranch Town Center, which extends down Rinaldi Street, across from the Ronald Reagan Freeway. The Vineyards at Porter Ranch has been in the process of opening across the street, though this was curtailed by the pandemic. 

The $150 million dollar Vineyards project began in January 2019 and is about 75 percent finished. The open part of the shopping center includes AMC Theatres, Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen, Gus’s BBQ, HSBC Bank, Nordstrom Rack, Whole Foods Market, Peet’s Coffee, Ulta Beauty, as well as other stores. Stores that are opening soon are Chipotle, Lure Fish House, Silverlake Ramen, and Tifa Chocolate & Gelato. 

According to The Vineyards at Porter Ranch official website, “100% of the project’s construction equipment reduced emissions of localized air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions to improve air quality.” 

The community has also opened Lil Bunches, an official kids club where members are required to be 13 years of age or younger and live in or near Porter Ranch. As reported by thevineyards.com, “When your child becomes a member of the Lil Bunches, you will receive invitations to exclusive member events as well as fun activities. Each month, we will add one new coloring page, maze, word search or other activity.” Once members have completed three or more activities, they can submit to The Vineyards email to receive prizes. 

The California Wine Country inspired shopping center also includes a Community Room.

“[It] boasts 4,000 square feet of interior space with 2,500 square feet of outdoor patio space. The community room is available to local groups and organizations for meetings, educational seminars and more,” The Vineyards at Porter Ranch website states. 

Some speculate the new shopping center was built to accommodate the growing population in Porter Ranch, which was caused by the construction of several luxury home communities by the Toll Brothers home building company. 

As summer approaches, The Vineyards are receiving more recognition and will hopefully be completely open by the end of 2021.