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York is a colorful street. All the storefronts are brightly painted, and murals of bread and Dora the Explorer hint at what’s inside. A walk down York means stepping over piñatas while passing music stores filled with lounging hipsters. It’s like walking through pockets of different neighborhoods, present for a moment and then replaced by one radically different.
Less trafficked by Oxy students than Eagle Rock and Colorado boulevards, York stretches from Eagle Rock to Highland Park, and has much to offer. Featured below are just a handful of the many local York businesses worth supporting.
Urchinby Nora Feichtmeir
“Sexy secretary,” says Mim Tevonian. I think the creamy sweater dress with rust and evergreen trim looks more like an impractical ’70s tennis dress.,
Urchin (sister store to Los Feliz’s Squaresville), a vintage clothing store co-owned by Tevonian and Reiko Roberts, opened last April and has since enjoyed much success. The merchandise is varied, from western-style plaid flannels to ’90s floral frocks (alas, I didn’t see any Doc Martens) to fabulous retro pinup swimsuits. Prices are incredibly reasonable: My vintage sweater dress, in perfect condition, was a mere $15.
Urchin’s “White Trash Wonderland” art walk party took place on York Boulevard this Saturday, Sept. 11. This explains the PBR cans and naked baby dolls in the window. Tevonian hopes the opening has promoted her store and contributed to a sense of community within Highland Park.
Tevonian stresses the importance of Urchin’s location. She says the neighborhood has received the store well and she hopes the relationship with Highland Park will continue to develop positively.
A fun and quirky store, Urchin is an affordable place to shop for quality clothes at a value. In addition to selling quality clothing, the store also does alterations for those awkward collars, pant legs or sleeves that are too long.
Jugos Azteca
by Anne Ewbank
In the middle of York’s colorful and varied splendor lies the blue, lime-green and tangerine-orange Jugos Azteca storefront. It is as if some huge, benevolent hand lifted Jugos Azteca directly from the state of Morelos, Mexico and gently placed it where it belongs: within walking distance of Oxy. Juice bars like it are typical in Mexico, said Ana Mendoza from behind the counter. Its sister restaurant is the sunny yellow-painted El Huarache Azteca one block down. You can actually order from the Jugos Azteca menu there.
The walls of Jugos Azteca are covered with photos of fruits and vegetables that can be combined into illness-curing blends. But even if a cure for epilepsy (carrots, lettuce, spinach, lemon and honey) isn’t what you need, there are juices, “elotes,” cheesecake, jewel-toned gelatins and other Mexican snacks. The menu is in Spanish, the main language spoken at the juice bar, which enhances the feeling of authentic Mexican flair.
“This whole street is full of food,” said Mendoza. “We are a healthier option for all the workers on York. We’ve been here a year, and so far the auto repair shops have been most of our business.”
“We don’t see too many Oxy students here,” she added.
So go! Mendoza recommends the Number 16 (raspberries, strawberries, grapefruit, orange and honey). Try a fruit salad with condensed milk and coconut and watch some Univision. Walk to Jugos Azteca and soak up the York color as you go.
Highland Park Billiards
by Riley Kimball
Tucked between Avenues 50 and 51 on York, Highland Park Billiards is easy to miss. With dark windows and a simple facade, a pedestrian’s first glimpse would reveal something of a dive bar. But for those who stop to take a look, Highland Park Billiards is an interesting diversion from the college norm, making it a great place to hang out off campus.
After adjusting to the grungy lighting, the Highland Park Billiards reveals its laid-back atmosphere. The facility is surprisingly large, housing 17 pool tables, a full bar and a mysterious stairway that leads to a restricted area. They provide balls and chalk, while a huge array of cues line the walls and charge a fee within a student’s budget ($3 for a half-hour game for two).
Guests are treated to pleasant, mellow blues and jazz interspersed with some rather raucous Tejano music. But with enough people and conversation, the occasionally jarring music is an easy complaint to overlook, and it ultimately makes the place that much more endearing.
Manager Ruben Ochoa welcomes a greater student presence on York and at Highland Park Billiards. “We have plenty of regulars, but lots of people just come by and play for a bit with friends,” he said.
A 25-year-old establishment, Highland Park Billiards has taken some hits during the recession, but the staff would like to revitalize it. “We used to have tournaments and events, and we’d like to bring those back,” Ochoa said. Increased Oxy interest may help the establishment regain its former vigor.
As York becomes more hip and gentrified, Highland Park Billiards remains an unpretentious place made for and by people who love to just hang out and shoot pool.
Manic Panic
by Tina Tsang
A quirky, fiery hair salon lies between a pawn shop and dry cleaner business and stands out to window-shoppers perusing York. Is that a neon pink wig in the window?
Manic Panic Salon is the place to go for rock ‘n’ roll, retro and ’70s glam looks for all daredevil fashionistas.
“[We offer] all kinds of haircuts, from retro looks to ’50s and ’60s pin-up hairstyles to crazy hair colors,” said Laura Carlucci, co-owner of the hair salon. Stylists also bleach hair, apply highlights and create formal up-dos.
This hair salon has always been popular among musicians and artists, but welcomes a range of customers from the local college kids to schoolteachers on a budget. Haircuts average under $30 for men and women, and customers must make appointments due to the salon’s popularity.
This family-owned hair salon shares its name with the Manic Panic line of hair products known throughout the country. The famous products include hair dyes of every color of the rainbow to excite the Lady Gaga in all of us.
Manic Panic is a suitable name for this hip, old-school salon. From the iconic mannequin in the corner to the vibrant neon wigs, the ambiance of this Highland Park treasure makes every patron feel like a rock star.
Society of the Spectacle
by Hillary Holmes
“A person’s face is like a puzzle,” store owner Katie O’Connell said, donning a pair of 1950s-style, bejeweled black-rimmed Francis Klein’s.
This individualistic approach to eyewear is exemplified in the warm, cozy and unique environment of the 1950s-era home turned eyeglass shop: Society of the Spectacle.
“Eyeglasses aren’t like shoes or clothes; you truly have to find something that suits your personality,” O’Connell said.
The store’s owners, sisters Katie and Amy O’Connell, began working for the company L.A. Eyeworks before deciding three years ago to realize their dream of owning a boutique eyewear store in their childhood neighborhood.
The sisters’ vision is one where quality is central to Society of the Spectacle. Amy and Katie meticulously choose quality frames from brands that specialize in glasses, specifically Paul Frank, Parisian Francis Klein and classic Ray Bans.
The store also carries unbranded vintage sunglasses from France, all hand-selected and displayed in an old boudoir chest. Though the frames can get pricey, Oxy students receive a generous 20 percent discount.
In addition to offering a wide variety of frames, Society of the Spectacle’s collection style set-up includes pottery, jewelry and CDs from local artists.
The large collection allows customers to develop their own trademark style, forging a new path with a little help from Society of the Spectacle.
The Bike Doctor
by Claire
Diggins
Lifelong bike enthusiast Mitch Boggs owns and operates a cycling oasis right along Oxy’s perimeter. The store is dimly-lit and filled wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with bicycles. There is barely room to walk, with bikes almost completely obstructing the repair workshop in the back.
Boggs, who has worked with bikes almost his entire life, opened The Bike Doctor in Highland Park in 1985, relocating five years ago to the current location at 5003York Blvd.During my visit, Oxy students, regulars, families and neighborhood kids all paraded in and out of the store while Boggs showed me around the space. For such a small location, he had a lot to present, including his wall of parts, which was filled with lights, handlebar extensions, bags, bars, bells and locks.
Used bikes range from $50-$180 and come with a 10 percent Oxy student discount. Any bike purchased at the Bike Doctor also comes with a lifetime service guarantee.As the name implies, the Bike Doctor, along with his staff of one, do all kinds of bike repairs, from the most minor mirror repairs to major welding work.
With 35 years in the biking business, and a former racer himself, Boggs is resident bike expert. Head in sometime to check out the wide array of bicycles and neat accessories (including baskets!), and maybe take one for a spin.
Just leave him your car keys or an I.D. and The Doctor will let you take your bike of choice out for a test ride.
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