3 East Valley pop culture businesses that didn’t make it to 2012
As the year comes to a close, it’s worth nothing that 2011 was a tough one for many fan-favorite businesses in Arizona, and the East Valley in particular.
Atomic Comics
Over the summer we lost Atomic Comics, a Valley institution for many years that earned national acclaim for its fan events, connections and media savvy. All four stores — in Mesa, at Metrocenter in Phoenix, Chandler Fashion Center and Paradise Valley Mall — closed abruptly in August amid the owner’s bankruptcy, sparking a chain of events that led to the expansion of another comic book store chain, Samurai Comics, into the East Valley.
Many say Atomic never recovered after a car drove into the Mesa store in 2006 and cause the loss of expensive inventory, and that the high-rent Chandler location accelerated the company’s demise.
The question now is whether the remaining comic shops in the Valley, and indeed the nation, are able to learn from this experience and adapt to a swiftly changing marketplace under pressure from consumer technology that makes content more readily available than ever before.
Evermore Nevermore
When it opened in October 2010, this outfitter for goth and steampunk enthusiasts immediately turned heads in the long-staid downtown Mesa area, which was better known for antique shops, halfway houses and Scouting supplies. And its owners knew they faced an uphill battle. Originally conceived as a comic book shop, the owners saw nearby Atomic Comics as a major threat and focused on more niche offerings and indie local productions.
Still, the shop persevered, with the family behind the counter sticking their necks out on more than one occasion to bring a new, funky pop culture scene to Main Street. It cost them more than words can say in terms of money as well as personal relationships, but even though the shop closed in mid-December, the legacy of Evermore Nevermore cannot be brushed aside.
It was due in large part to the risks they took that other businesses gravitated to the downtown Mesa area, and continue the struggle today: Gotham City Comics & Coffee, nonprofit hackerspace HeatSync Labs, the Monsterland haunted house and movie museum and Lulubell Toy Bodega, which has just relocated from Tucson.
Then, there was The Royale cinema …
The Royale
Andrea Beesley-Brown has entertained Valley moviegoers for years as the Midnite Movie Mamacita, showing cult classics at venues throughout the East Valley. So, many rejoiced when she opened her own moviehouse in downtown Mesa.
But the dream was not to last: The Royale closed on Christmas Eve after just six months of operation, and just two days after Beesley-Brown announced the decision.
“Although an incredibly difficult decision, we are not in a position to take the business to the next-level of growth that it needs to be sustainable,” Beesley-Brown said in an East Valley Tribune article.
All these businesses no doubt racked up enormous debt chasing their dreams, and found receptive audiences — but when the time came to take the next step, as The Royale’s owner said, that was the end.
You cannot attribute these failures to a lack of consumer demand, or a dearth of dedication or sweat equity. Look instead to the public acceptance of politicians willing to throw our money at their friends on Wall Street — while those friends refuse to pay it forward and invest the funds Main Street businesses need to keep entrepreneurship, and the American middle class, alive.
While the economy and the actions of Wall Street certainly had some effect on the closing of these shops, the main issue is that the market they served just doesn’t have enough money to spend.
Had the stores been packed every day with hipsters flush with cash, the business would have made it.
Atomic Comics wasn’t just a Mesa thing and I’ve watched as many other comic book shops have closed over the past several years. I think people are trying to look at this like Mesa is to blame. Times are tough anywhere when it comes to running a small business. I opened The Rusted Nail Gallery back in March and somehow I always get left out of these business lists of new places opening along Main Street. I chose Mesa because the alternatives Phoenix(Roosevelt/Grand) and Scottsdale were much more costly and both seemed to be dying where Mesa was being reborn. Evermore Nevermore’s lease ran out and they decided to close because they were both working other job’s and couldn’t keep the business a float. The items they carried were on consignment/commission and that just makes it even harder to turn a profit. They also paid artists out of pocket to be a part of their events. Bob did a lot for the community out of his own pocket where he shouldn’t of had to, but that was his choice. The Royale closed by choice of owner Andrea for personal reasons. She’s taking some time off, but their events will still take place at other venues such as cult classics at MADCAP.
Gotham City Comics being under new management is a shining star along Main Street and will be hosting several big events in 2012. Monsterland gave us a taste in October, but has yet to fully open it’s doors. 2012 will see that happen. Lulubell Toy Bodega just cracked it’s doors open in December, but has a huge following from their Tucson base as well as a huge internet fan base. Amy will be bringing some big names to Main street in 2012 and I personally can’t wait. The Rusted Nail Gallery is just getting started and between us and Lulubell the Designer Vinyl Art scene is just gonna flood downtown Mesa. Mesa isn’t dying, we’re just getting started.
@Tyler: You are correct, although as we’re being told consumers are “opening their wallets” more this is all the more disturbing. What concerns me more, however, is the destructive dampening effect on future entrepreneurs, and support for popular culture art in general. Many people like to deride it and dismiss it as the domain of hipsters, but it’s a rich tradition that has always been there in some form and has an enormous influence on, well, just about everything else. These venues have always been an avenue for creatives to get noticed and build portfolios for greater advancement. Now there’s a real danger of that going away, and I’m not sure we can get it back.
@Danny: Thanks for adding your voice to the discussion and bringing up some great points. I never said Mesa was dying – but there are unique challenges the area poses to creative businesses. And while Atomic was not strictly a Mesa business, that location was considered its “superstore,” and many people I’ve spoken with consider the accident damage to that location to be ground zero for the chain’s problems. I wish Rusted Nail all the best, and you’re totally right – I wish I knew more about it when I was in the area myself.
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