The Green Store, a local landmark since the 1920s, will not be closing at the end of the month, according to building owner Nancy Comaford.
Reports circulated in mid-July that the local mini mart that has fed surfers and pier rats for over eight decades would be closing at the end of August and that the current owners were leaving because of rent increase.
“That’s just not true,” said Comaford. “It’s a cute little store, and it isn’t going anywhere.”
Comaford added that the rent, that has been $3,900 for many years, will not be changing.
Yong and Ok Ko along with their daughter Anna have operated the store for 32 years, but business has been slow for the past three years and the family decided it was time to move on to different ventures.
“It has nothing to do with the rent,” Comaford said. “It simply has to do with that they didn’t want to renew their lease. They’ve been there for many years.”
Ok, who is known as ‘Mama San,’ by locals, came to California from Seoul, Korea 38 years ago. The family plans on staying in Hermosa Beach after leaving the store, Ok said.
Lifelong Hermosans Kathy and Rob Bergstrom said the establishment, located on Hermosa Avenue and 22nd Street, is part of their own family history. They can’t remember a time when the Green Store didn’t exist.
“Five generations of Bergstroms have passed through those doors,” said Kathy.
The sale of the building in 1968 was even Bergstrom’s first real estate sale.
“I’d buy cigarettes there in high school,” Kathy said. “I’d go there for lunch and get cottage cheese and Fritos when I was on a diet. We even called it the, ‘Bank of Green Store,’ because that’s where we cashed our checks.”
Kathy and Rob said they both hope that whoever takes over the store will preserve the integrity of the building and operate the store similar to the way it has been run for years – as a neighborhood market.
Kathy remembers the tumultuous time when the Ko family first took over the market in the 1960s. A group of local hooligans, she recalled, vandalized the building because of the family’s Korean background.
“They’d put rags in their gas tanks, slash their tires and things like that,” Kathy said. “The community rose up and got together and said we’re not going to tolerate that.”
For years, Kathy said that the Green Store was the only place in Hermosa Beach that offered an outdoor-seating for breakfast.
“The surfers would go to the store and buy bacon and eggs and go to Dave’s [local shop] across the street and have him cook it up,” Kathy said. “I’m sad to hear they’ve fallen on bad times.”
Local surfer Mike Purpus remembers hanging around 22nd Street with legendary surfers like Dewey Weber and the Double Deuce Danglers.
“The Green Store and Mickey’s are the two most iconic places that are still standing from day one,” Purpus said.
Purpus also debunked the rumor that Dennis Wilson, the lead vocalist in the world-famous band, the Beach Boys, lived in the apartment above the Green Store in the 60s.
“Turns out he lived in an upstairs apartment on 17th and Hermosa Avenue,” Purpus said. “When I was 15-years-old I’d wake him up when the waves were good. It was a big deal for us.”
Comaford was unaware of any famous tenants, but couldn’t be sure since her family bought the store in 1968, just after Wilson was rumored to have lived in the building.
“The Green Store has been around here forever,” Comaford said, adding that she remembers her family bought it from one of the original owners, who she remembers being named Wilson – a sea captain turned shopkeeper who had been operating the store for many years. “I would love to see that name stay forever as long as my family owns it.”
Comaford said she is still looking for a new tenant for the iconic property.
“It’s such an icon,” said Kathy. “It didn’t mean to be, but it became that through the years. It’s perfect, homey and beautiful.” ER
