Finding a Place in Coolsville
Eagle Rock native Rainy Jacobs has witnessed the town’s transformation from a blue-collar enclave to an outpost of yuppie tastes.
Just a few years ago, Eagle Rock’s main attraction was the popular Casa Bianco Italian restaurant, said Jacobs, owner of the Lucy Finch vintage boutique on Eagle Rock Boulevard. But the legendary restaurant’s delicious pizzas now are joined by wine bars, cafeacute;s and art galleries that seem more art-loving Silverlake than oldschool Eagle Rock.
These days, more restaurants with a yuppie pedigree are moving into Eagle Rock, a small suburb about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. In June, Oinkster, an upscale barbecue joint, will open in space once occupied by Jim’s Burgers, which served a simpler fare of fast food and fries for more than 50 years.
But while Eagle Rock seems wide open for restaurateurs with a West Los Angeles flair, will it become an equal-opportunity area for fashion retailers?
Jacobs said the jury is still out.
“Every other person who walks up the street is pushing a stroller,” she said. “They’re not shopping for a dress to wear that night. They are more focused on buying things for their babies.”
On the other hand, Jacobs said the potential for fashion retail could sizzle on the neighborhood’s main drags, Eagle Rock and Colorado boulevards. More than five fashion retailers have opened boutiques in the evolving town in the past two years. Many retailers said the sartorial tastes of new Eagle Rock residents have allowed them to enjoy success—and to experiment with fashion.
One of Jacob’s neighbors is the Rockin’ Baby Shop owned by Natasha Walsh and Lisa McDaniel. Like many Eagle Rock transplants, they moved from Hollywood after starting families. Yet a suburban address doesn’t mean abandoning the rock ’n’ roll culture they grew up with, Walsh said.
“It’s not a Gap world here,” she said. “Parents dress their kids like they dress.”
Rockin’ Baby Shop lives up to its name by selling infant clothing bearing the logos of rock bands. One top-selling tike shirt is emblazoned with the mug of controversial punk icon Sid Vicious. The garment, made by Costa Mesa, Calif.-based manufacturer Kingsley, costs $38.
But contemporary fashion retailers are making an impact, too. When Simone Porter opened her Lily Simone boutique on Eagle Rock Boulevard two years ago, she wondered if she moved into the right place. Local business mavens told her that it had been five years since the town had a boutique selling new women’s contemporary clothing.
Apparently, Eagle Rock was ready for Porter. In a little more than a year, she has built a healthy business. Her customers include Hollywood and Silverlake transplants, students from nearby Occidental College, tourists and people looking for a Los Angeles experience different from the traditional stops in Hollywood and Beverly Hills.
Top-selling brands at Lily Simone include fashion tanks and tees from Los Angeles–based St. Grace (price range is $28 to $96) and Jenny Han, which manufactures a sheer silk dress that retails for $98. Porter sells clothes priced above $300, but said that many of her customers are still a bit uneasy about spending that much on a single garment.
Even so, the town is developing a taste for expensive clothes, said Shannon Bedell, who opened Blue Heeler Imports on Eagle Rock Boulevard early last year. “We don’t get hoards of people yet,” she said. “But the people who come in here understand the store, and they don’t mind spending $200 on a handbag.”
Blue Heeler specializes in Australian fashions, accessories and beauty products. The top sellers are art-inspired menswear from the Melbourne-based Timothy Neate label, which is priced from $50 to $425, and lingerie by Sydney-based Bulb Lifestyle. Its price points are $53 for boy shorts and $138 for sleepwear.
One reason why Bedell chose to put down stakes in Eagle Rock is that it reminds her of Sydney. It’s easy going and she’s intrigued by Eagle Rock’s culture.
The burgeoning hip cachet, however, comes with escalating real estate prices, said Jennifer Nugent, co-owner of the Colorado Wine Co. wine bar on Colorado Boulevard. “A lot of us are undergoing tricky lease re-negotiations,” Nugent said.
But “tricky” is relative here. A square foot of commercial real estate ranges from $1.25 to $2.90. Nugent is aware that commercial real estate prices are two to three times that rate in West Los Angeles.
“It’s a no-brainer to move here,” she said.
