As they stocked up one last time on nuts, bolts and nails, some were worrying Monday that Larchmont Village was being hammered.
The quaint shopping district's 82-year-old hardware store was closing Monday, the latest victim of what many fear is an assault on mom-and-pop businesses by developers who are buying up the storefront shops and boutiques.
Anguished locals threw a farewell party on the tree-shaded sidewalk in front of Larchmont Hardware, serving pizza, cake and cookies to shoppers stopping in to say farewell.
"Bye-bye, Larchmont Hardware store," said Melissa Carrey, cradling a piece of window screen and a pair of houseplant holders as she stood in the cash register line and took one last look at the tiny shop's towering shelves, now mostly empty.
Carrey has patronized the store since moving into the Larchmont area 18 years ago. Near the front door she spied store manager Bertha Arroyo, who has worked 21 years at the shop. "Goodbye Bertha, I'll miss you!" she cried out.
A string of longtime patrons, some with small children in tow, sought out Arroyo to hug her.
"I'll miss these people. I'll miss seeing these little kids grow up," Arroyo said. "One guy, 19 or 20, came in to say goodbye. He's been coming here with his dad since he was a toddler."
That small-town atmosphere is increasingly under siege in Larchmont Village, said those visiting the hardware store for the last time.
The sale of another Larchmont Village building forced the September closure of the 17-year-old La Luna Ristorante. That eviction order led to an ultimately futile community-wide campaign to save the family-friendly Italian restaurant.
La Luna's former chef and co-owner, Robertino Giovannelli, stopped in the hardware store Monday to say goodbye.
"They're destroying the village," he said. "The people in this neighborhood are great. Those who are destroying it are not."
An investor purchased the 6,720-square-foot building housing the hardware store, Van Dry Cleaning and Shoe Repair shop, and Sam's Bagels shop for about $8 million in November, according to Los Angeles County records. All three commercial tenants, along with occupants of four small apartment units above the stores, were evicted.
The new owner, Albert Mizrahi of Beverly Hills, could not be reached Monday.
But hardware store operator Russ Wilson said the rumor on Larchmont Boulevard was that a Panda Express takeout restaurant may move in.
