{"id":549383,"date":"2026-01-28T14:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/549383\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T14:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:48:16","slug":"hip-l-a-loves-this-family-run-hardware-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/549383\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip L.A. loves this family-run hardware store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Urban Dictionary offers many definitions for the noun \u201cballer,\u201d including this one: \u201cAn individual with status derived from possession of \u2018game.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

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\u2019s clearly a place that\u2019s gained status, derived from the possession of a certain kind of old-school game.<\/p>\n

You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n

That game involves fairness, customer service and heart. When I dropped by Tuesday for a visit, customers couldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

I visited Baller because Essential California reader Laurie MacDonald wrote when we asked readers to name local businesses they couldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

What makes Baller (the name rhymes with \u201cvalor\u201d) 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<\/a>. The Hyperion Avenue store is a throwback to a time of individualized service in an era of big-box anonymity and diminishing expertise. (There\u2019s a second store in Highland Park.)<\/p>\n

Put it on my tab<\/p>\n

Among the things you can get at Baller that you\u2019ll 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\u2019re not in such a hurry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think especially for people who live here in Silver Lake, they just love this place,\u201d said Michael Koepke, a 30-year customer who works in the entertainment industry. \u201cIt has kind of a family, small-town feel in the middle of the big city. I\u2019ve seen everyone here get older, myself included. That\u2019s what this represents: Just local. No big-box.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, an ode to both the store and the street cred of being associated with all things \u201cBaller.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Woodard, a producer in show business, said he\u2019s not the least bit mechanical. \u201cThe people here really know what they\u2019re doing. They can tell me what I need,\u201d said Woodard, who lives nearby and stopped by Tuesday for some paint. \u201cIf they sold food, I wouldn\u2019t have to go any place else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was here early one morning and all of a sudden there were a lot of Black and brown people here and they were like, \u2018No, we\u2019re not going to Home Depot,\u2019 \u201c said Jan Jacobsen, a former executive in Disney\u2019s theme park division. \u201cYou could see the relief on their faces to be here. And it warmed my heart, because everyone is treated with dignity and respect here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four generations selling bolts, bulbs and mixing paint<\/p>\n

Baller isn\u2019t big. Or fancy. It\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joe Klaas, 46, is one of a fourth generation of descendants of the Baller family elders who founded the place. He\u2019s been stocking shelves and mixing paint here since he was 10 years old. Asked if he is now the manager, Klaas replied: \u201cWe don\u2019t really do titles here. Everyone just kind of does what needs to get done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klaas said many regulars take seriously a local business promotion that urges \u201cKeep the silver in Silver Lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have people who want something common like a light bulb and if we\u2019re out of it, we will put in on order and call them when we get it,\u201d Klaas said. \u201cThey\u2019ll wait a week to get this light bulb, just from us. That\u2019s how loyal they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klaas and his brother, Derek, run the place along with a couple of uncles. Joe Klaas\u2019 two teenage children have shown no interest in taking over.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever want to retire,\u201d he said. \u201cMostly now, I\u2019m coming in and talking to customers and hanging out with them. That\u2019s what I like more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s top stories \"Residents <\/p>\n

Residents confront ICE agents on Atlantic Boulevard in the city of Bell in June.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Public outrage grows as immigration chaos escalatesPalisades High reopens after a year of instability<\/p>\n