After hearing about Galco’s Soda Pop Stop for years we finally made a visit and were thoroughly delighted by what we found. Located in Eagle Rock, Galco’s carries hundreds of long forgotten soda as well as brands and flavors from around the world.

We talked to Mr. Galco himself who recommended (among many things) a soda called Hot Lips, made by a pizza company in Oregon with 100% organic fruit and cane sugar. We were sold when he turned the bottle upside down and held it to the light, “It has pulp from the fruit and you have to mix it around before you pour it.” As he was doing this, I glimpsed an actual strawberry sinking to the bottom. Sold. I bought it as well as a few others (the pear soda is a favorite).

While these sodas are not cheap, they are fantastic as an occasional treat and few bottles would make a perfect gift. We’re already planning a “bring a few sodas from Galcos” party just to try and get a taste of all the different flavors.

Yet another of our favorite Eagle Rock institutions closed it’s doors Sunday. Regeneration opened in 2006, providing many of the sustainable products one might travel to locate. Owner Kelly Witmer forged contacts with vendors from all over the world bringing a cultural context to environmentally responsible living.

Eagle Rock, an almost suburban small town located at the north most tip of LA proper, was the anticipated site for an urban revitalization. Slowly a handful of niche boutiques made their way into the area drawing visitors from all over the the city. Almost as slowly as they settled in, one by one many have closed their doors. Obvious changes in the spending habits of Angelinos have taken a toll on this small town, leaving it more vacant than it’s been in decades. Empty store fronts, half finished condo developments, and boarded up foreclosures are sprinkled throughout one of the most desirable areas in town.

Blue Heeler was among the first to close.
Far too many Los Angeles boutiques have loaded up with overpriced unreasonable items which, in today’s economy, are no longer affordable let alone practical. Support of local business needs to be match by appropriate pricing on the the business end. Regeneration was the exception to this rule, they maintained very competitive pricing for almost all it’s items, and despite all of their efforts failed to survive. Regeneration and a few other Eagle Rock businesses were recently feature in this NY Times article focusing on economic slowdown and business closures in Eagle Rock.
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Living in Los Angeles we almost become immune to the relentless bombardment of cheap unimaginative “tagging.” By tagging I mean the creative typography of adolescents looking to mark their territory like packs of wild dogs. My building is a particularly attractive target. Three sides of a square stucco canvas are constantly ‘hit” with the illegible names of the teenagers who attend the nearby high school.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a pretty good stenciled piece at the back of our building. It was nice to see that someone took the time to hand cut a card board stencil, plot out the perspective, trek out in the middle of the night, and spread their message.