Business & Tech

Greeko's to Close After 46 Years

The smoke and eclectic gift shop is closing its doors because its owners can't afford the rent.

, a longtime Hermosa Beach landmark, will close its doors permanently in the near future, the Easy Reader reported in its most recent issue.

According to reporter Ed Pilolla, the 46-year-old shop is closing because the owners can't afford the $6,000-per-month rent. Though the owners are looking for another South Bay location, they doubt they'll be able to find an affordable option.

Greeko's is known for selling pipes and other tobacco-smoking instruments, candles, incense and sandals.

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John Warren, also known as "Johnny Greekos," in a spot at the corner of Hermosa and Pier avenues next to John's Barber Shop, but moved to the present location at 1120 Hermosa Ave. only three years later.

During the early years, the store sold drug paraphernalia because there was no ordinance on such merchandise. It was "a small part of our display but a big part of our business," Warren told the Los Angeles Times in 1982, the same year the state passed a law banning the sale of materials intended for drug use.

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In 1991, Steve Yerkes took over the store, moving the smoke shop to an enclosed area in the back of the store, but closed it in 2008 after sales plummeted. The current owners, who were employees at the time, reopened Greeko's in 2009.


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