George's Hardware Closes Today on Sawtelle Blvd After 42 Years

After 42 years, George's Hardware closed its doors. We once leased out part of their building for gr/eats and Tsuyoshi who actually isn't the original "George" but might as well be, was always a great landlord and neighbor. At some point about 30+ years ago, he took over George's and made it his own. He'd let me borrow anything I needed and at the same time, I'd try and buy things that I needed from him. 

The shop itself sports a special patina. The building is decades of no frills and hard work that created community and served perhaps two generations of gardeners. It's gritty but that was always its special charm. Izumi once explained that the place hasn't changed since they started. It's now nearly empty and it's nice to see Tsuyoshi wearing street clothes instead of his coveralls. 

At the end of the day, I peeked over a few times to see if they were really closing. It was like watching an eclipse slowly go away. I witnessed the moment Tsuyoshi drove off. 

Pictured above is Izumi and Tsuyoshi who will have the rest of their lives to play golf and travel. I told them to get going!