Boutique’s owners contemplate future

Donna and Mark Steinback might just go back to enjoying retirement after they close their fashion boutique, Donna Marsh.

“We moved out here to retire, and we got back in this business because we loved it,” Donna Steinback said last week as she was preparing for a liquidation sale. “We’ll move on to the next chapter.”

She said, “It was pretty much the economy” that led to their decision to close.

“I’ve spoken to all my manufacturers across the country, and they’ve said retail is very quiet,” she added. “It was a brand-new business. The economy is not great. It’s a difficult time.”

The Steinbacks, who opened the store in December 2007 after moving to La Jolla from Palm Desert, have carried more than 150 fashion labels including Badgley Mischka, Marc Bouwer-Glamit, Sue Wong and Trina Turk.

Donna Steinback, whose store bore her maiden name, said their business was unusual.

“We had everything - accessories, jewelry, handbags. You could buy your whole wardrobe in our store and have a salesperson give you their complete, undivided attention.”

While running the store, she said, they “met some wonderful people and had some wonderful customers. People said to me, ‘La Jollans don’t support La Jolla.’ I had a tremendous amount of La Jolla customers; I just wish there were more.”

Donna Steinback said the city allows 90 days for a liquidation sale. She added that the building, which they own, is available for lease or sale through Village commercial Realtor Phil Wise of Collier’s International.

“If somebody wanted to move in, they’d (Steinbacks) move out,” Wise said. He noted that the building’s asking price has been reduced from $3.3 million to $2.975 million.

“When the owners bought it in 2007, they spent considerable money renovating the building and making it a state-of-the-art retail showroom facility,” Wise said.