Fever dreams for the 99 cent store.
Plus a new tastemaker agency, a new coffee shop in Silver Lake, and a new house for you?
Happy Monday, everyone. This weekend I closed out Melody, went to three birthday parties (two in Echo Park and one in Eagle Rock; more people should be having get-togethers at Bia Om), and got a foot massage at Yolo. I didn’t make it to the Lotus Festival, which I only slightly regret.
I also turned on paid subscriptions to the Rag. I won’t be paywalling anything yet, so nothing about anyone’s reading experience will change. But if you like getting the Rag, perusing the table scraps, and seeing what’s up on the east side three times a week, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Your support will allow me to do more of the on-the-ground reporting I want to do — and at $6 a month, it’s cheaper than almost anything else you can buy in LA.
Think of it as buying me a mid-priced coffee, or an extremely cheap drink.
Fever dreams for the 99 cent store.
It’s been over a year since Silver Lake’s 99 Cents Only abruptly closed in Sunset Junction. The massive-for-Silver Lake storefront remains vacant, and the lot I always parked in for breakfast at Millie’s is fenced off and unusable. Since the leasing agents seem unable to find a tenant, and because I’d like my parking spot back, here are a few thought starters for activating the space.
A bathhouse. Every time I’m at Wi Spa, I see a lot of east siders. What if they opened a satellite location…farther east?
An antiques mall. Given the number of vintage clothing stores, I’m always surprised there aren’t more options for home goods on the east side. I really think someone could make a killing with an antiques mall in Sunset Junction, and this feels like the perfect spot.
A members club. Last week, a lot of readers expressed interest in an east side members club. Jeff Klein’s tied up with his new clubs in New York and Santa Monica, and Eric Goode’s busy getting El Roblar off the ground in Ojai, but maybe someone like Flamingo Estate founder Richard Christiansen or All Time’s Tyler and Ashley Wells would be interested in spearheading a membership-based concept?
A Fred Segal-style shopping destination. Like Dover Street Market, but local and more interesting.
The Sweetgreen brothers take it over. I’m honestly surprised they haven’t already, with their propensity for hoovering Sunset Junction real estate.
Molly Baz and Ben Willett open a hybrid café / furniture store. This idea needs some thought, but I feel like there’s something here. I’m imagining it as a west coast answer to Big Night, but with a café component and Ben’s extremely good furniture. Molly and Ben, let me know if you want to flesh this out.
A park. I laughed, because this won’t ever happen. But heat deserts are real! We need more trees!
Another 99 cent store. I wouldn’t be mad about it.
If you have hot tips or good gossip, reply to this email or message me below:
🍽️ And now for some table scraps…
From the tip line — signage is up at the Echo Park Sprouts. Originally scheduled to open on 8/15, construction delays have pushed the store’s debut to 10/10.
Is there a way to make these shoes cute? I popped into New Balance yesterday, and I need your opinions.
A new talent agency has formed to represent writers, editors, and cultural tastemakers. The Set, from former British Vogue partnerships director Madeleine Churchill, will represent cultural commentators online and “behind the scenes as consultants, speakers, and strategists.” There’s a huge market for these kinds of partnerships right now — writers, especially those who own a certain niche, are moving the needle in a big way for the high-earning audiences brands covet. These specialized management firms already exist, of course (Brigade’s Max Stein represents Leandra Medine Cohen, Casey Lewis, and the How Long Gone boys, among others), but I’d expect more of them to pop up in the next year or so.
From the tip line — La Michoacana is replacing Tastea on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. The badly branded tea shop barely made it a year, here’s hoping the ice cream parlor has better luck.
Dakota Johnson and Ro Donnelly’s TeaTime Pictures signed a first-look deal with Sony. There are few people cooler than Dakota. She’s making weird, risky, interesting stuff at a time most people are playing it as safe as humanly possible. (I’m including Madame Web in this assessment.) Dakota’s not an east sider, but she should be — maybe her post-Chris era will pull her to the interesting side of LA?
A coffee pop-up comes to Silver Lake’s Bar Siesta. Starting Wednesday, Cortado will offer coffee drinks, plus pan con tomate and jamón, from 7am-12pm in Bar Siesta’s charming Silver Lake Boulevard space. The creative looks great (if you know who did it, let me know) and the concept feels differentiated enough to catch on. The grand opening party on Thursday is already at capacity, which of course just makes me want to go more. Promising data points all around!
Keds are making a comeback. My friend Bridget and I were discussing this on Friday, and the aforementioned Casey Lewis — a must-read if you’re at all interested in the whims of Gen Z — confirmed it this morning. I love a trend that’s a) not embarrassing and b) actually affordable.
If, like me, you missed the Lotus Festival, you can check out some photos here.
Matthew McConaughey and Taylor Sheridan are luring film productions to Texas. The actor, who’s been shooting a new series for Apple TV+ in the state, was a big supporter of Gov. Greg Abbott’s recently-passed $300mm annual tax credit. Conservative Texans aren’t thrilled, but money talks and the Lone Star State looks poised to capture a larger portion of Hollywood’s production spend moving forward.
You’ve heard of couture clothing — now there are couture puzzles. If you’re either really rich or really unwell, you can pay up to $9,000 for a one-of-a-kind puzzle.
Cooper Koch joined the cast of Luca Guadagnino’s new movie. He’ll star alongside Andrew Garfield and Anora’s Yura Borisov in Luca’s Sam Altman biopic for Amazon, Artificial.
This apartment-sized house in the Los Feliz Oaks has great vibes. It’s airy, it’s cool, it has light and views, and it was renovated by The Archers. The only thing I’d change is that electric-blue wall in the kitchen (sorry).
And this one in Mount Washington is just as good. I’d never leave that deck, except to take a nap in the Airstream. More importantly, there’s income potential here — with two houses and the Airstream on the lot, you could use the whole thing for yourself or live in one and rent the other two.
petition to have the Rag cover tips on estate sales in lavish areas
I would LOVE a slightly crunchy/granola members club on the east side. Especially if it had a pool.