Downtown retail, restaurant shuffle

--Lane Home Furnishing at South California Boulevard and Botelho Drive is closing, which you probably know if you've driven by. Big signs outside announce a closing sale. An employee said that the items for sale are all the floor models, and that they hope to have the store cleared out in three or four weeks. 


That location is jinxed--or something. It wasn't that long ago that Copeland Sports opened and closed in that same spot. 


--Meanwhile, Broadway Plaza has announced that it will become home to a new Burberry, the luxury British clothing and accessories retailer.


--Finally, no sooner did the owners of Le Bistro on North Main Street announce that they were closing the French eatery than another sign went up, saying a new Italian retaurant will go on. It's called Ottavio, and its chef/owner is Valentino Luchin. I ran into him outside his new restaurant, as he was closing up shop. He says his osteria-style restaurant, named for his father,  will serve food inspired by the cuisine of Venice and California. Luchin, who says he lives in Lafayette, hopes to have the restaurant open in less than two weeks. 


That's pretty quick. After I ran into Luchin,  I looked him up. If we're talking the same Luchin (and the photos in the food feature articles say we are), the chef has also been the executive chef of the venerable, upscale Rose Pistola in North Beach.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Luchin "earned a culinary degree in his native Italy, and his experience includes stints at restaurants in Venice and Seattle, as well as opening Becco in New York."