Arroyo General

So, like every other white person on the Eastside, I love Highland Park. I lived there for many years and I have watched York Blvd blossom … and then jump the shark. Arroyo General is a store that is indicative of shark jumping. Let’s call AG a lifestyle store. It’s a den of over priced artisanal wares best suited for your Kinship photo shoots. It’s completely beige inside which, if you are the most boring person on earth, you will love. I can only imagine words like «curated», «mindfulness» & «crafted» being thrown around during the inventory buying meetings. The $ 50 trowel was such a hilarious discovery whilst I was in there that I took a picture and sent it to every gardener I know. They all laughed. Of course they laughed. It’s idiotic. Listen, I am a professional shopper, like, it’s what I do for a living. Seriously. I was also in there right before Xmas looking for items to buy. I walked away empty handed. It takes quite a shit-​tay inventory to get me to leave a store w/​o buying anything either for work or for myself. So, good work, Arroyo General! If you love airplants and blonde wood, boy are you in luck. It’s as though all the worst qualities of the hipster flea markets in DTLA got together and decided to open a brick and mortar with a 500% markup and ¹⁄₁₆^th of the inventory. Like so many lifestyle stores that have sprung up on York, I’m sure this one will liquidate its inventory at some point and disappear with little fanfare only to be replaced by yet another one or maybe another gd vintage clothing shop.

My daughter and I just spent some time taking with Adam at Arroyo General. They were gracious enough to host a fundraiser for Friends Western School so we went to check it out. It is a charming indoor farmer’s-market-style location. Some of the fine crafts are a little pricey, but I was still able to find some gorgeous ceramics within my budget, hand crafted cards and fresh vegetables.
As a soap maker, I was delighted to find some wonderful Himalayan Salt soap with an amazing natural fragrance using coriander. This soap is hand crafted by a woman who is a chemist by day, soap artist by night.
They also have some delicious brittle options and new-​to-​me salt… as a huge salt fan it was fun to discover some new tasty salts that I will be gifting for Christmas to my loved ones.
This emporium of gifts, home goods and fresh produce in the heart of Highland Park is a joy. I hope for them great success. Go check them out! Tell them RIver and Carolyn sent you!