With Closing of Mainly Seconds, Employees Find New Place to Grow; Bent Up Cycles Moves to NoHo

Many new businesses have opened up along a short stretch of Burbank Boulevard in North Hollywood over the last few months.

It was a wild ride of emotions last week for Ingrid Ward and Jose Bautinta, who helped close a 36-year-old business and open a brand-new one, all in a few days' time. 

The store where they both worked, , closed Thursday. Beloved by neighborhood residents, Mainly Seconds was an independent plant and pottery store in Valley Village.

"It's been a real mixed bag," Ward said. "Jose was there for eight years. I was there for 17. I haven't even begun to process being gone from there. But then there's the excitement of this."

By "this," she meant the grand opening two days later of House of Plants at 11312 Burbank Blvd. in North Hollywood. Bautinta and another partner, Jose Sanjines, own the store, and hired Ward as the assistant manager.

They moved the new shop into a house that used to be a day care facility in a commercial corridor. The building had been empty for at least two years, Ward said.

House of Plants is an indoor-outdoor venue, with pottery, plants, fountains and  gardening accessories for sale in a beautifully renovated space. A pleasant outdoor display features many sitting areas for customers to relax and enjoy the serene garden.

The store also offers a landscaping service and in-home consultations about plant care, and on-site gardening classes are planned.

Mainly Seconds owner Jim Herzoff said competition with giant chain stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's played a big part in his store ceasing to be profitable. Ward said it was the sadness that many of the customers expressed over the store closing that inspired them to open House of Plants.

"The economy is rough right now, but if you don't take your shot, you never will," said Ward. "People were so upset when they heard the store was closing, we just heard it 50, 100 times a day, and I told Jose, 'We can do this.' "

House of Plants is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bent Up Cycles recently moved from Van Nuys, where it had been for eight years, to 11522 Burbank Blvd. in North Hollywood. 

"It's a nicer location, and it's closer to easy public access for transportation, the Orange Line; you've got the Chandler bike path right here," said shop owner Dana Lieberman. "For a bike shop, it makes sense."

Bent Up Cycles moved four months ago and specializes in recumbent bikes, the type in which riders sit in a full seat with their feet in front of them. Bent Up claims to be the biggest retail seller of recumbent bikes on the West Coast.

"I opened my bike shop to sell recumbents," said Lieberman. "There are a lot of regular, good bike shops around, but I've been riding recumbents for about 10 years and saw a niche that needed filling."

Lieberman said there are a lot of advantages to riding a recumbent bike over a regular one.

"First of all, you're sitting on three square feet, not three square inches. And you've got a great view of the road, you're not staring down at your front wheel. It doesn't look like a regular bike so people tend to see you a little bit better because you look different, so I would argue they're safer," said Lieberman.

"In some cases they're faster. In fact, t0hey were banned from racing back in 1934 because of their inherent speed advantage. ... They're easier on the back, you're sitting and have full back support. I get a lot of people with back issues, neck issues, and they can't ride a regular bike."

Bent Up Cycles is open from Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Several new restaurants have opened at the shopping plaza at 11009 Burbank Blvd. over the last six months, which offer flavors from different countries.

The strip mall was already home to , an Armenian Bakery, and , a Lebanese restaurant that is a cherished secret to many North Hollywood residents. 

SIS, an Armenian bakery, opened several months ago and specializes in Lahmajune, spicy cheese beorek, Tahini bread and other items.

, an Argentinian deli and market, opened in September and sells Argentine delicacies with its distinctive Spanish, French and other European influences. It is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Also new to the mini-mall is Kayf's Kabob House, still celebrating a grand opening after starting up a few months ago.