With Closing of Mainly Seconds, Employees Find New Place to Grow; Bent Up Cycles Moves to NoHo
Pottery and garden business moves into house that was once a day care facility.
Many new businesses have opened up along a short stretch of Burbank Boulevard in North Hollywood over the last few months.
It was a wild ride of emotions last week for Ingrid Ward and Jose Bautinta, who helped close a 36-year-old business and open a brand-new one, all in a few days' time.
The store where they both worked, Mainly Seconds, closed Thursday. Beloved by neighborhood residents, Mainly Seconds was an independent plant and pottery store in Valley Village.
"It's been a real mixed bag," Ward said. "Jose was there for eight years. I was there for 17. I haven't even begun to process being gone from there. But then there's the excitement of this."
By "this," she meant the grand opening two days later of House of Plants at 11312 Burbank Blvd. in North Hollywood. Bautinta and another partner, Jose Sanjines, own the store, and hired Ward as the assistant manager.
They moved the new shop into a house that used to be a day care facility in a commercial corridor. The building had been empty for at least two years, Ward said.
House of Plants is an indoor-outdoor venue, with pottery, plants, fountains and gardening accessories for sale in a beautifully renovated space. A pleasant outdoor display features many sitting areas for customers to relax and enjoy the serene garden.
The store also offers a landscaping service and in-home consultations about plant care, and on-site gardening classes are planned.
Mainly Seconds owner Jim Herzoff said competition with giant chain stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's played a big part in his store ceasing to be profitable. Ward said it was the sadness that many of the customers expressed over the store closing that inspired them to open House of Plants.
"The economy is rough right now, but if you don't take your shot, you never will," said Ward. "People were so upset when they heard the store was closing, we just heard it 50, 100 times a day, and I told Jose, 'We can do this.' "
House of Plants is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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