In the Los Angeles Times piece "Final chapter for a Mar Vista bookstore - and its unique community" Jeffrey Fleishman quotes hatmaker and owner of Meshika, Alberto Hernandez about the ever changing community writing:
"It is late morning, and the air is cool on Venice Boulevard. Benesty stares out the window. Voices of children at the preschool next door pierce and fade. The tattoo artist down the street is blaring heavy metal, the barber shop on the corner is open, and a few doors down, Alberto Hernandez, who makes hats for celebrities, is bent over a vintage sewing machine. A boy whistles. Lovers pass. Lives like novels, here and there, gathering in tiny splendors.
Hernandez knows well the Darwinian map of gentrification, commerce, parking battles and changing lifestyles that are altering the geography and spirit of neighborhoods across the city. Sitting amid threads, pins and brims, Hernandez, who emigrated from Mexico more than a decade ago, found refuge on the block after soaring rents forced his shop out of Venice.
“I was on Abbot Kinney in Venice for five years,” says Hernandez, his voice as quick as a bobbin. “It was insane because GQ magazine came in and wrote a story that the street was cool and had a vibe. You could see Bob Dylan buy a sandwich. My rent went from $1,050 to $10,000. I moved to a place around Glendon and Venice, and in two years, my rent went from $3,500 to $6,000. I came here in 2018...click here to read the whole article.