After the successful opening of its New York City store in 2023, Korean-inspired fragrance brand Elorea set its sights on expansion. With its burgeoning growth and shared Korean heritage, Los Angeles’s Koreatown seemed like the perfect fit. “We could have easily gone to Beverly Hills and we could have easily gone to The Grove, but it just didn’t feel right,” said Wonny Lee, founder and CEO of Elorea. “We wanted to create a space that was special and part of us.”
Lee signed a Koreatown lease in January 2024 with plans to open in July, but faced delays while navigating California’s strict regulations and a malfunctioning elevator in the building. After repeated starts and stops, Elorea’s Los Angeles store officially opened to the public on January 6. On January 7, winds reaching 50 mph swept across L.A., breaking the store’s windows and forcing it to close again. Those same winds spurred the breakout of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, burning more than 37,000 acres, destroying or damaging more than 7,000 structures and taking a reported 24 lives.
Facing harmful air quality and a battered community, L.A. retailers that are still standing are figuring out their next steps.
“This is going to be our home, and we want to be there for a long time,” said Lee. “We signed a 10-year lease, so we have to be part of the community no matter what.”
Out of precaution, Franco Wright, co-founder of niche perfume retailer Luckyscent, closed both of Luckyscent’s Scent Bar locations in Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood on January 8 and 9. The two stores fully reopened on Friday with air purifiers and masks to keep staff safe. “Once we reopened, foot traffic was minimal but picked up through the remainder of the week as customers trickled back into the stores,” he said.
Many retailers and brands have used their platforms to encourage their audience to send donations to those impacted by the fires. Luckyscent has used its website and Instagram to provide links to donate to organizations like Pasadena Humane and Baby2Baby. Clean beauty retailer Credo Beauty, which has three stores throughout L.A., is offering care packages to those impacted. Concept store Apt.4B, located in The Row shopping center Downtown, has invited those impacted by the fire to shop free of charge at its store.
Local businesses impacted by the fires are also asking for help in building. A GoFundMe for Palisades nail salon Be Rosy is seeking $100,000 to help owner Catherine Baek cover the costs of rebuilding her salon that was lost to the fire. Altadena esthetician Helen Lam is raising $18,500 to rebuild her business destroyed in the Eaton fire.
On Friday, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that low-interest federal disaster loans would be available to businesses across L.A. and neighboring counties. “As heroic firefighters and first responders continue to battle the devastating wildfires sweeping across Southern California, the federal government is surging resources to ensure that Angelenos are prepared to recover and rebuild from this catastrophe,” SBA Administrator Casillas Guzman said in a statement.
Lee said he and his 10-person Los Angeles staff have discussed ways to aid the local community, though he is hesitant to promote such efforts on social media. Since reopening Elorea’s store, he said the few shoppers that have trickled in have found comfort in visiting the space.
“It’s a very depressing situation for a lot of folks,” he said. “They were grateful for the fact that we were able to provide at least just a semblance of normalcy and to be able to sit down, have a cup of coffee.”
But with the state’s strict regulations, expensive commercial real estate and higher taxes compared to other states, Lee believes it may be even harder for all but mass corporations to come back from disaster.
The Palisades Village, home to mass retailers like Sephora and Alo Yoga, is among the structures still standing in the Palisades. The complex’s owner, Rick Caruso, the developer behind The Grove and 2022 L.A. mayoral candidate, reportedly hired private firefighters to protect the property.
“I hate to say it, but something desperately needs to change in the small business arena, particularly for California,” said Lee. “My prediction is if things are not changed in a very, very short period of time, … you’re gonna start seeing a lot more chains than new, fresh, mom-and-pop and small business ideas come to fruition. Because it’s just impossible to navigate and too expensive.”