|
Somewhere in Burbank, on Magnolia Boulevard nestled between Hollywood Way and Victory Boulevard, is a wonderful stretch of road known as “Magnolia Park.” Magnolia Park is a magical place filled with all sorts of amazing odds-and-ends shops including the Bearded Lady, Dark Delicacies, and the eclectic and whimsical: Geeky Teas and Games. Geeky Teas and Games is a tea shop, game store, cat rescue, and event center that hosts a variety of events like game tournaments, writing workshops, improv comedy classes, mead making, and more! Just walking around the shop you can catch a glimpse of the resident shop cat, Mr. President, a friendly black and white cat who was once up for adoption, but now calls the shop, “Home.” The shop is also host to weirdos, geeks, and nerds from all walks of life that come together and revel in their passions as this shop is a safe and calm place for many. To find out a little more about this incredible mix of a shop, I interviewed the founder and owner: Donna Ricci. She is an artist, altruist, activist, business woman, and all around amazing person who’s shop reflects all that and more. |
Ricci describes Geeky Teas as “[A] board game store. It is a community hub. It is a loose-leaf tea shop. And [it is] a cat rescue … The tea blends and cat rescue existed before Geeky Teas … I wanted to do something I loved. I had previously been in fashion for about seven years running the world’s first brick-and-mortar steampunk clothing store and when I realised fashion didn’t make me happy that’s when I decided to … do away with that aspect of the business.”
Ricci is clearly very passionate about her store: “It’s my favorite place.” And it takes a very special kind of person to run a business as diverse as this. “If you have a specialized audience, you need to be a part of that community,” She explains. Many other people have tried, like the ones who think to themselves “Let’s do that steampunk thing, that’s what the kids are buying, right?” But, “Their hearts weren’t in it.”
Ricci is clearly very passionate about her store: “It’s my favorite place.” And it takes a very special kind of person to run a business as diverse as this. “If you have a specialized audience, you need to be a part of that community,” She explains. Many other people have tried, like the ones who think to themselves “Let’s do that steampunk thing, that’s what the kids are buying, right?” But, “Their hearts weren’t in it.”
|
|
In addition, to running the amazing shop, Ricci is a heartfelt altruist. Not only is there the cat rescue as part of the shop, but she recycles and uses the money gained from recycling to donate back to local middle schools. “I feel businesses have a responsibility to give back to the community … We take our recycling to the recycling center and then we use that money for the local charities, like stocking food for local middle schools, so if they don’t have money for lunch that day, they have a pantry of food to grab from without questions asked.”
Now, this shop and all of Magnolia Park are undergoing a lot of flak from the land owners as well. The people who own the properties on this stretch of road are regularly raising the rents of these businesses with a vast misunderstanding of why so many people come to them. These outrageous hikes have already caused a few local favorites to re-locate and even shut down. The advice that Ricci has given on this is to please support your local weirdos and continue coming to these shops. Give them the business they not only need, but also deserve!
|
|
Geeky Teas and Games is located at 2220 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506. They are open all week from 1pm to 10pm, except Saturdays where they are open until 11:30pm.
To learn more, please visit their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/geekyteas/.
To learn more, please visit their Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/geekyteas/.
<< Prev
|
Next >>
|
|
Links |
7500 |
|