MONTROSE — The property that housed the area’s most storied recessionary victim will not be vacant for long.
Billy’s Boardshop, a skateboard, surf and ski store, will fill the vacancy left by men’s clothing store Kimmel-Meehan, which closed its doors for good last week after more than 50 years of business in the Montrose Shopping Park.
Billy’s, which is in the Indian Springs Shopping Center about a quarter-mile from its new location, will begin operating at the Kimmel-Meehan site in early June.
The move will mark the latest shift in dynamics for the shopping park, which has lost about 12 longtime tenants over the past two years as consumer interests and spending habits have changed, said Councilman John Drayman, chairman of the Redevelopment Agency and previous member of the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. Board of Directors.
The district’s most recent closures have included Kimmel-Meehan, 15-year tenant Vintage Artisans art gallery and home decor shop Country Classics, which is holding a closing sale in conjunction with its 25th anniversary, Drayman said.
But the loss of long-standing businesses in the area has drawn newcomers, he said.
“The reason it doesn’t look catastrophic up there is because we’ve seen other stores open,” he said.
Billy’s owner Tim Shepard opted to move to the middle of the busy shopping park area, downsizing from his current 3,600-square-foot store to a 2,000-square-foot unit because of the prospect of more foot traffic, he said.
“We’re moving here because of the fact that it has more energy, exposure, and there were things happening at the center that we were in currently that were not going to benefit our business,” Shepard said.
The shopping center has planned renovations that would involve the removal of a Billy’s street sign along Verdugo Boulevard, among other inconveniences, he said.
The move to a “more intimate” space along the bustling stretch of Honolulu Avenue lined with more than 200 shops and restaurants would offer customers a more comfortable shopping experience, he said.
The store will also be returning to the area where it began.
The Montrose General Store, which opened in the late 1940s, eventually turned into Billy’s. The store moved to the Indian Springs Shopping Center about 10 years ago, said Shepard, who took over ownership of Billy’s from Alan Amitin in 2006.
