EISPIRATEN

I was saddened today when I went to A16 to pick up a few items for an upcoming trip to Vietnam and saw all the windows papered over and a sign on the door apologizing for the sudden closure. The new Torrance store was missing on the "You can visit us at these locations" flyer. Sad times.

The Torrance Store has been gone long enough (a month or two) that it's missing from the listing on the A16 Web site. The Costa Mesa store is still on the list, with a note saying "This store is Closed." A sad sign of very bad times.

Well, I guess I no longer have to worry that I have a date conflict for Kurt Wedberg's Part 2 presentation of Mt Whitney.

Bummer, I need the two choices of REI and A16.
I don't see myself going to any of the other A16 locations.

I visited the A16 store in at "The Camp" in Costa Mesa a few times and it seems like that store has been going down hill for a long time. Well, at least since it was located over on Harbor near 19th Street. Back in the old days, at the old location, I could go into the store and the employees would actually be very well informed and knowledgeable about there products. Over the last couple years when I would go into the new store, it would seem like I would get no customer service and the employees did not have much knowledge of their products. I'm not sure what it was, but I just didn't feel much love from that store.

I guess, it doesn't matter to me whether the store closed down or not.

The A16 in Costa Mesa was always a ghost town every time I have been in there. Half of that store was Patagonia, which is way over priced. There was some good, helpful people at the Oceanside store when I was in there.

Thank God, the West LA store seems to be doing well. A16 has higher prices but a) different gear b) often higher quality gear c) more selection and d) generally more knowledgeable employees (depending on who you talk to).

A16 closing will probably take the Camp down with it, unless the bike shop can keep it alive.

I thought the Lab was a great concept: inexpensively convert an old industrial building into an off-beat shopping center. But then with the Camp I think Shaheen Sadeghi probably spent too much money on an iffy project.

Around 2002 I called him up and asked about opening a gun store at the Camp (it was half empty then). He said no fucking way.

At least Kari Barba's Outer Limits moved in there. I need to get some koi done on my right arm.