The Urban Dictionary offers many definitions for the noun “baller,” including this one: “An individual with status derived from possession of ‘game.’ “
I like that. And it might also be applied to Baller Hardware, the store that has been a Silver Lake staple for 66 years. It’s clearly a place that’s gained status, derived from the possession of a certain kind of old-school game.
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That game involves fairness, customer service and heart. When I dropped by Tuesday for a visit, customers couldn’t tell me enough about how much they love the place and its employees for being so relentlessly familiar, noncorporate and adept at advising on everything from kitchen cleaners to bathroom remodels.
I visited Baller because Essential California reader Laurie MacDonald wrote when we asked readers to name local businesses they couldn’t live without. The E.C. team still wants to hear about other essential local places, from Imperial County in the south to Siskiyou County, way up north. So write EssentialCalifornia@latimes.com with your favorites.
What makes Baller (the name rhymes with “valor”) so unusual is that it has been run by the same family for four generations, since Edward and Edith Baller founded the place in 1959. The Hyperion Avenue store is a throwback to a time of individualized service in an era of big-box anonymity and diminishing expertise. (There’s a second store in Highland Park.)
Put it on my tab
Among the things you can get at Baller that you’ll find almost nowhere else: a personal store account. Once approved, you can come in and buy whatever you want and the checker will just add it to your tab, to be billed later, when you’re not in such a hurry.
“I think especially for people who live here in Silver Lake, they just love this place,” said Michael Koepke, a 30-year customer who works in the entertainment industry. “It has kind of a family, small-town feel in the middle of the big city. I’ve seen everyone here get older, myself included. That’s what this represents: Just local. No big-box.”
Koepke stopped in Tuesday to pick up a Baller hoodie for his daughter, away at college in Boston, so she can rep her Silver Lake pride. The hoodies and T-shirts have been flying off the shelf recently, an ode to both the store and the street cred of being associated with all things “Baller.”
David Woodard, a producer in show business, said he’s not the least bit mechanical. “The people here really know what they’re doing. They can tell me what I need,” said Woodard, who lives nearby and stopped by Tuesday for some paint. “If they sold food, I wouldn’t have to go any place else.”
That feeling of security became even more important recently, one shopper said, when federal immigration agents began regularly detaining workers outside Home Depot locations in Southern California.
“I was here early one morning and all of a sudden there were a lot of Black and brown people here and they were like, ‘No, we’re not going to Home Depot,’ “ said Jan Jacobsen, a former executive in Disney’s theme park division. “You could see the relief on their faces to be here. And it warmed my heart, because everyone is treated with dignity and respect here.”
Four generations selling bolts, bulbs and mixing paint
Baller isn’t big. Or fancy. It’s got gray linoleum floors, worn to nothing in front of the cash register. Tools hang from peg-board walls. Trays of nuts, bolts and screws mean you can buy just as much as you need. The family also operates an art supply store, just across the street.
Joe Klaas, 46, is one of a fourth generation of descendants of the Baller family elders who founded the place. He’s been stocking shelves and mixing paint here since he was 10 years old. Asked if he is now the manager, Klaas replied: “We don’t really do titles here. Everyone just kind of does what needs to get done.”
Klaas said many regulars take seriously a local business promotion that urges “Keep the silver in Silver Lake.”
“I have people who want something common like a light bulb and if we’re out of it, we will put in on order and call them when we get it,” Klaas said. “They’ll wait a week to get this light bulb, just from us. That’s how loyal they are.”
Klaas and his brother, Derek, run the place along with a couple of uncles. Joe Klaas’ two teenage children have shown no interest in taking over.
“But I don’t think I’d ever want to retire,” he said. “Mostly now, I’m coming in and talking to customers and hanging out with them. That’s what I like more than anything.”
Today’s top stories 
Residents confront ICE agents on Atlantic Boulevard in the city of Bell in June.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Public outrage grows as immigration chaos escalatesPalisades High reopens after a year of instability
- Palisades Charter High reopens after the fire destroyed a large swath of the campus.
- Community members and parents greeted students with signs and pom-poms, offering support after a year of displacement and instability.
- In the immediate aftermath of the Palisades fire — which destroyed or damaged about 30% of the campus — the school operated online for four months.
Is social media harmful for kids? Meta and YouTube face trial after TikTok settles suit
- Jury selection was set to begin in L.A. County Superior Court on Tuesday in a lawsuit that alleges social media companies caused harm to children.
- TikTok and Snap reached settlements before the civil trial, but Meta and YouTube appear set to proceed.
- The L.A. case is a forerunner for at least 2,500 similar lawsuits pending in state and federal court.
- In other TikTok news, Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched an investigation into reports of TikTok suppressing anti-Trump content after complaints that videos critical of the president received zero views or dramatically low engagement.
What else is going onCommentary and opinions
- They said Katie Porter was dead politically. Columnist Mark Z. Barabak checked her pulse.
This morning’s must readsOther must readsFor your downtime 
(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: Where can you see the best sunsets in California? (Send us your photos!)
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
Photogenic Bixby Bridge is now accessible from the south after Highway 1 reopened in both directions on Jan. 14.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Myung J. Chun at the photogenic Bixby Bridge, which is now accessible from the south after Highway 1 recently reopened after a three-year closure due to landslides.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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