Find out which stores have opened, closed or moved and what’s new in Berkeley’s nonprofit, retail and small-business communities. If you have updates to share, send an email to editors@berkeleyside.org.
Shop Talk
- Founder of North & East Leather shop found his passion by crafting a collar for his dog
- There won’t be a surprise happy ending for Annapurna
- At Berkeley Barbell Club, the first one into the gym each day picks the music
- You’ll notice Berkeley Phone Repair’s flashy signs at Telegraph and Ashby
- Marisa Mason Jewelry moves from Temescal to bigger space on Fourth Street
- Biz Buzz: Berkeley FILM Foundation to launch new film festival in San Rafael; Berkeley Food Institute appoints new director
Open Northwest Berkeley
Founder of North & East Leather shop found his passion by crafting a collar for his dog
A new shop specializing in handmade leather goods opened on San Pablo Avenue near Gilman Street in September.
North & East Leather is the one-man operation of Jomar Enciso, who started dabbling in leathercraft in 2011. But the roots of his craft really started during his childhood in the Philippines watching his grandfather fix things.
“I would always see him in his small shack shop just tinkering, fixing stuff,” Enciso said.
He’d marvel at how his grandfather could take an old pot, for example, and make it look as good as new.
“I was like, ‘Man, that is so cool. Where did you learn that?’ And he would always tell me, ‘I just learned it. Because I wanted to,’” said Enciso. “So that kind of stuck with me.”
Enciso moved to the U.S. in 1994, settling in New Jersey where he worked as a waiter at a German restaurant and as a slot machine attendant at a casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. New Jersey is also where he met his wife. The two of them moved to the Bay Area in 2001. Enciso worked a 9-to-5 job in San Francisco and also started getting more and more into photography, an interest he first picked up at a college art club. He saved up enough money to buy his first camera and soon set up his own photography studio in Oakland and worked as a full-time professional photographer.
And then he became interested in leather.
“Through photography, I got really into the leathercrafting. You know, making tote bags. Used it as a prop for the shoot, for example.”
He saw his leather making as a hobby, not a business. But as his leather handbags started piling up in his garage studio, his wife suggested he try selling his goods at a vending event. His first event was Maker’s Row on Fourth Street in Berkeley.
“After that, that was it. I rented out my photography studio in Oakland to other photographers. I never went back to photography.”
His dream was to have a work studio with a small retail shop. He wasn’t actively looking for a space when his wife saw an ad on Craigslist for the San Pablo location. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Enciso’s most popular product at his shop is his bi-fold vertical card wallet, which costs $67. Handbags start at $200. He also carries camera straps, coasters, belts, aprons, toiletry pouches and more.
While it was leather bags that launched him into business, the first thing he made out of leather back in 2011 was a collar for his beloved dog, Miko.
“My very first collar for my dog is still pretty much, you know, alive. I mean, unfortunately, my dog is not anymore,” he said and let out a laugh. “I’m laughing now, but I was bawling my eyes out a couple years ago.”
Miko is the cover model for the website of Enciso’s pet division, Ruff Werkz.
“Now we have a chihuahua that doesn’t really like having a collar,” he said. “And our cat hates collars, too. I did make him one, our cat. And he was just like, ‘Ah, I don’t like this.’ I was like, ‘OK, OK, I know, I know.’”
North & East Leather, 1400 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. Phone: 510-973-3712. Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Follow along via Instagram.
Closing Telegraph Avenue
There won’t be a surprise happy ending for Annapurna
Annapurna, the legendary Telegraph Avenue head shop, announced it would close last summer after the store’s owner, Al Geyer, learned that the building that Annapurna called home for more than 50 years was under contract to be sold. Geyer did not have a lease and he heard from his longtime landlord the new owner didn’t intend to give him one.
The new owner of the five-story building, which also houses Ink Stone and Gifts of Tara, and contains apartments, is The Berkeley Group, which is the property management division of Valiance Capital.
In January, Geyer was issued an eviction notice for Annapurna to vacate the storefront by Feb. 2. Geyer hadn’t been expecting to stay but said he was angry no one had talked to him directly beforehand. He said he had reached out to the new owners repeatedly while the building was under contract to be sold and after the $15 million sale went through in early December.
“I had zero contact, nothing, still up until this moment except for the eviction notice,” he said. “So I’m very upset with their lack of normal business behavior. They’re treating us with complete disregard and disdain and I take it personally and I think I’m going to make sure that this doesn’t go as smoothly as they would normally find.”
Valiance Capital has not replied to Berkeleyside’s emails and calls requesting comment.
Valiance Capital is a real estate investment firm that aims to “transform undervalued multifamily and student housing real estate into modern, branded assets in the most desirable markets across the nation,” according to its website. It has at least 20 properties “in the Berkeley submarket” and offers investors returns of upward of 20%.
Geyer thought it remarkable that the eviction notice was dated Jan. 3. It was later that night that UC Berkeley began walling off People’s Park, a coincidence Geyer saw as part of the “strange kismet” that’s been in play his entire life, as he opened his original head shop the same day People’s Park was established, April 20, 1969.
The last day of business is not yet set, but Geyer hopes to sell everything that he can before he closes, including display cases and shelving, and will slash prices by 50%-90%.
And though the shop is closing, Geyer is not ready to give up the Annapurna brand. He plans to create a line of edibles using the name and logo of his shop.
“I think the brand has legs,” said Geyer. “We’re a shop where everybody came forever.”
Annapurna, 2416 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. Phone: 510-841-6187. Hours: Monday to Sunday, noon-6 p.m. Follow along via Instagram.
Open South Berkeley
At Berkeley Barbell Club, the first one into the gym each day picks the music
When best friends Connor Barnett and Kody Fagundes decided to open their own gym, they knew they wanted to get away from the corporate gym experience that both of them worked in.
Their vision was to create “a really cool and affordable neighborhood gym that took care of people who are a little more on the beginner side, a little more intimidated to join that big box setting,” said Barnett.
The result is Berkeley Barbell Club, which opened on Adeline Street in South Berkeley in September.
Barnett worked as an EMT during college and after getting a degree at UC Santa Barbara went to the Oakland Police Academy, but resigned for personal reasons at the beginning of the pandemic. During the pandemic he traveled the country working as an emergency first responder under a FEMA contract. He knew he wanted to serve his community, but didn’t want to spend his life as an EMT or a cop. Instead he landed on fitness. After his FEMA contract ended, he came back to the Bay Area and started personal training.
He met Fagundes at a gym in Oakland. The two of them hit it off immediately and began training together. Fagundes set up his own gym in his garage, where he started training clients.
“When he realized he had enough of the big box industry, he decided to go fully independent, “ said Barnett, “and we decided that we can handle our own gym.”
The gym has “dumbbells aplenty,” said Barnett, along with barbells and benches, a deadlift platform and multiple squat racks. It also has lockers, towel service and a surround-sound stereo system. The first client who comes in for the day gets to choose the music.
Barnett said they like to think of themselves as not just a gym, but as a community. They have group outings every month, where they go bouldering or do bar trivia, and they’re hoping to get a community running club started soon.
Gym membership is $55 per month, with discounts for veterans, first responders, students and seniors. A two-person membership is $90 per month. Family memberships are $130 per month. They also have small group fitness classes and offer personal training for $90 per hour or $45 for a 30-minute session.
Barnett seems at peace with his decision to not become a police officer and happy with his role serving his community through fitness.
“ I’m 26 now. I do a bunch of combat sports. I do jiu jitsu, judo, wrestling. I do coaching for all three of them,” he said. “And I own a gym with my best friend. What more could you ask for?”
Berkeley Barbell Club, 3318 Adeline St., Berkeley. Hours: Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday -Sunday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Follow along via Instagram.
Open South Berkeley
You’ll notice Berkeley Phone Repair’s flashy signs at Telegraph and Ashby
A new phone repair shop has opened at the corner of Telegraph and Ashby avenues in the building that once housed Cricket Wireless and the tattoo removal service, Inkoff.me.
The shop, Berkeley Phone Repair, is co-owned by Eli Gousi, who has three other phone repair shops, all located at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.
Gousi has actually had his eye on the location for seven years. His father once owned a used clothing store on Telegraph Avenue called Fashion Exchange, “so I always loved Berkeley,” he said. “I’m like, ‘OK, one day we’re going to open Berkeley.’”
When the location was looking for a tenant after Inkoff.me’s departure, Gousi jumped at the chance.
“I’m like, ‘OK, let’s try to see if we can get it this time,’ and then, with God’s grace, we did,” he said.
Gousi is also drawn to the high visibility aspect of the corner building, and he’s upped the visibility quotient even more with flashing signs and large banners that advertise the shop’s services.
“I’m big on marketing,” said Gousi about the signage.
Gousi got his start in business selling sunglasses at flea markets and mall kiosks across the Bay Area, although it was a business venture that almost ended before it really even started. His first day, a Saturday, selling sunglasses at the San Jose Flea Market only garnered Gousi $20. He didn’t want to go back the next day, but his girlfriend talked him into giving it one more try.
“I ended up making $800, and I was so excited,” said Gousi. He went on to open four mall locations selling sunglasses and then made the pivot to phone repair and accessories, which is more lucrative.
Berkeley Phone Repair’s services include phone screen repair, battery replacement, and charging port replacement and repair. The business also buys and sells used phones, and offers phone accessories such as chargers, cases, and screen protectors. Most phone repairs run from $50-$100 but can be more expensive depending on the phone, said Gousi.
“It’s not just retail, it’s service, too. So, you’re not only catering to what people need, you know, you’re doing a service, you’re fixing their phone. So, with praises of God, it’s been good to us. I mean, you can’t be rich, but it pays our bills,” he said.
Gousi, who was born in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. when he was 5, supports his parents with his business ventures. “In our culture, you know, I’m the oldest son, so I take care of them,” he said. “I supported my brother, sister for school, so yeah, I try my best.”
Berkeley Phone Repair, 2999 Telegraph Ave,, Berkeley. Phone: 510-833-4202. Hours: Wednesday-Monday, 10:15 a.m.- 6 p.m. Closed Tuesday.
Moved West Berkeley
Marisa Mason Jewelry moves from Temescal to bigger space on Fourth Street
Marisa Mason, the jewelry boutique that began as a one-woman studio in Oakland’s Temescal Alley in 2008, has found a new home on Fourth Street in Berkeley.
“The space is probably twice as big as our old space and it just seemed like a good next step for the company,” said Fiona Higgins, one of the store’s managers. “We loved the Alley, it was definitely our little home and community, and we miss it, but, it’s definitely a sort of more hidden away space.”
Echoing the boutique’s founder, Marisa Haskell, Higgins said the rise in burglaries in North Oakland also played a role in their move. “ We did have a break in, and before that we would have never considered leaving,” said Higgins. “Once that happened, we were like, ‘Well, should we think about it?’ And then this popped up, and we were like, ‘OK, we should go.’”
Haskell grew up in Santa Barbara, where she also has a Marisa Mason shop. Her grandmother and father were antique dealers and the family spent time in Sayulita, Mexico. She was “always surrounded by unique beautiful treasures and striking nature, forming her strong aesthetic early on” according to a bio on her website.
Haskell hand-designs all the brass, sterling silver, and gold jewelry. “She carves them from wax and then we get molds made,” said Higgins.
The shop also carries earrings, which range from $70-$220, rings ($45-$80), cuff bracelets, ($80-$245), and other fine jewelry designed by Haskell, along with jewelry from outside designers that match the Marisa Mason aesthetic.
But the shop is best known for their “statement necklaces,” according to Higgins, which she described as long-chained necklaces with unusual and abstract pendants. Those range from $75-$185.
Marisa Mason, 1803 Fourth St., Berkeley. Phone: 510-289-6002. Hours: Monday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Follow along via Instagram and Facebook.
In brief
Biz Buzz: Berkeley FILM Foundation to launch new film festival in San Rafael; Berkeley Food Institute appoints new director
- The Berkeley FILM Foundation (BFF) has received a $1.5 million grant from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, according to a press release. The grant will help fund local independent film projects and educational programs for filmmakers. BFF also announced the first annual Saul Zaentz Film Festival, which will be held this September in San Rafael in partnership with the California Film Institute. Zaentz, who died in 2014, was a film producer and record executive at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. During his lifetime he received 34 Academy Award nominations and claimed the Academy Award for Best Picture for three films: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient.
- The Berkeley Food Institute (BFI), the research and policy center based at UC Berkeley that seeks “more resilient and just food systems,” has announced the appointment of a new executive director. Jeanne Merrill, who took the helm on Jan. 8, comes to BFI from the California Climate and Agriculture Network, which she co-founded in 2009, according to a press release. “I’m excited to join BFI as the institute celebrates ten years of cross-disciplinary research, education, and community engagement to inform state and federal food systems policy initiatives,” Merrill said in the release.
- Tanya Nickel, the director of sales and marketing for Two Men and a Truck in Sacramento, has won the annual Mary Ellen Scholarship Award, which grants her $50,000 towards establishing her own Two Men and Truck location, which she will open in Berkeley this April. Nickel has worked for Two Men and a Truck since moving to the United States in 2015. Named for the moving company’s founder, Mary Ellen Sheets, the scholarship gives employees training and mentorship opportunities to open their own franchise locations.
