One Hand Washes the Other – Brentwood Beat by Jeff Hall

Because we put out a local newspaper, we are regularly seen on the streets of Brentwood. I am often asked by local merchants to write an editorial reminding Brentwood residents to “shop local.â€
Many Brentwood store operators drive in from the Valley or other distant locations, they say their rents are too high and they wonder where the customers are. We tell them they should advertise in the Brentwood News, that everyone reads Brentwood’s community paper — and if their ad appears there, someone will surely see it and maybe even respond as a result.
They say they can’t afford to. Instead, they ask that I write an editorial asking people to “shop local,†hoping that will magically turn the tide.
If you’ve lived here any length of time, it’s hard not to think wistfully about businesses that are no longer among us. I miss Marjam’s Deli and that tiny little Book Nook (both used to be in the Country Mart); Regular Jon’s was terrific (it was so, well, “regular†); Brentwood Stationer was mighty convenient when you needed something in a pinch; great local names like Fred Sands and Jon Douglas got taken over by real estate giants and something became a little less personal along the way.
Shops along San Vicente seem to come and go all too quickly. Just as you’re starting to view them as regulars, off they go. The loss of Dutton’s was a huge blow, noticed by all. But how many lesser-known dress shops, restaurants and home décor places have seemingly disappeared into the night, noticed by few? Empty buildings are bad business for everyone; they send a signal that “something is wrong here.â€
Divino’s in Brentwood Village is a great restaurant – and probably qualifies to be viewed as an old-timer by now – but remember that cute little place that preceded it that had the choo-choo train running overhead? Or the Brentwood Inn with its old-fashioned bar which is now simply “The Brentwood†? We’ve become so chi-chi.
Less chi-chi old-timers like Vicente Foods, Chang’s, San Gennaro, Redi Chick, Early World, Susman Insurance, Fazio Cleaners, Pulp & Hide and Brent-Air Pharmacy have a way of sticking around through thick and thin. But even these stalwarts would like more of you to “shop local,†I’m sure.
Relative newcomers like Coral Tree Café and Katsuya have livened things up a bit. Many are hoping a restaurant called Fig & Olive can find a way to get into the currently empty “Terra Cotta†building at Montana and San Vicente. Still others are hoping the Charlie Munger project, Green Hollow Square, will go through and breathe new life into our community.
In recent weeks I’ve heard some say it’s too bad San Vicente Blvd. isn’t more like Montana Avenue in Santa Monica – that our sidewalks aren’t all that inviting, we have too many banks and nail salons, there’s no place to linger, that it’s time to come up with a new vision for what San Vicente should be.
New visions will take a long time to develop – and far longer to implement. In the meantime, when you do shop, remember to shop locally. It’s not a stretch to see a correlation between the health of our commercial community and property values in Brentwood. One hand washes the other.