San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Infuse the local economy with some cash at Encinitas’ Grounded.
The weather is stunning, and while I could write about surfboards or bikinis or croquet kits, I’d instead like to use this week’s column to suggest a different sort of outdoor activity: shopping. I’m not talking just any shopping—I’m talking the wander-a-new-neighborhood sort of shopping.
Urban Scout really is (except when I write about my sad F21 obsession) about mom-and-pop shops across the county. There are a lot of them, but the fact is, most are struggling. Rents are high, foot traffic is low and it’s hard to compete with big-box stores on both pricing and sourcing. But it’s these independently owned, community-based shops that give our neighborhoods character, color and style. And cool, successful stores tend to beget other cool, successful stores, which in turn make a neighborhood more desirable in which to live and play.
South Park started long ago with one little shop, and other prospective shop owners took notice and sidled up nearby. And then it grew and grew to be a destination (just check out one of the South Park Walkabout nights). North Park’s bustling intersection of University Avenue and 30th Street wouldn’t be what it is today had the now-defunct Kate Ross not first taken a very big chance. So I say halleluah to the ballsy shop owners (like Bedouin Vintage Collective on El Cajon Boulevard) who are the first to strike out in the neighborhood.
All of that leads me to this: The 3/50 Project (the350project.net) is an organization whose goal is to “save the brick and mortars our nation is built on.”
The “3” in the name asks you to think of three independently owned businesses that you would be truly sad to see disappear. The folks at 3/50 want you to stop in and say howdy to those businesses—and make sure you regularly check back in. The “50” represents this nationwide projection: “If half the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.” The impact that even three-quarters of that group could have on neighborhoods and communities is astounding.
Business can get a Project 3/50 sign for their windows—some of the local shops already linked up include Univ (which I wrote about on March 23), the entire South Park business group and the Little Italy Mercato. So how about taking a sunny weekend afternoon to explore a neighborhood, find three great indie shops and throw down some love. I’ll get you started:
Maybe you’d like to try Kensington? Have a coffee at Kensington Café (4141 Adams Ave.). Then explore the Cookbook Shop (4108 Adams Ave.) and NYLA (4095 Adams Ave.), and then head west on Adams to Visual Art Supply (3524 Adams Ave.) and beyond.
Or perhaps Encinitas? Park in the Lumberyard (937 S. Coast Hwy. 101), grab pizza at Blue Ribbon and then keep walking north to the La Paloma theater (471 S. Coast Hwy 101)—you’ll pass no less than 10 boutiques, not to mention NuboNau, an amazing organic skin-care shop.
La Mesa? There are several women’s and men’s resale shops brimming with reasonably priced ’80s garb, and don’t miss All Things Bright and British (8401 La Mesa Blvd.) for yummy chocolates. Plus, there are still antique malls in La Mesa (as well as Ocean Beach and Solana Beach) that are full of wonderful and dusty stuff.
When you’re done, send me an email with your 3/50 favorites. It’s hard for me to choose but I’m going with Progress in South Park (2225 30th St., Suite 1), M-Theory in Mission Hills (915 W. Washington St.) and Grounded in Encinitas (897 S. Coast Hwy. 101, Suite 105). But who knows what next month may bring?
What are you fave local shopping spots? Write to clea@sdcitybeat.com.
