La Jolla Liquor’s arrow disappears; seascape moving in

By Dave Schwab

daves@lajollalight.com

A huge red arrow at La Jolla Liquor at 7402 La Jolla Blvd. that drew a public outcry has been replaced with a colorful mural.

The downward-aimed marker first appeared a couple of weeks ago on the store at the corner of Marine Street, reopened recently after an electrical fire caused extensive smoke damage on April 12, 2010.

La Jolla Liquor’s owner Imil Hormiz said he had the arrow sign taken down Sunday after it became apparent some people didn’t like it.

“We had to obey the people’s voice,” he said, adding he then commissioned the painting of the mural because “we wanted something nice people would like instead of something odd people didn’t. We wanted to do something that represented La Jolla and make the people of La Jolla happy.”

Hormiz had said the giant arrow was a temporary lottery promotion that would have been taken down after 30 days. He bought the business in May and remodeled the retail space before reopening carrying more wines and local microbrews.

On Monday afternoon, La Jolla artist Patrice Alexander was busy painting a seascape on the side of the building, which she said is to include palm trees and a mermaid.