Thrasher has had offers to open stores in fancier shopping districts in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, but Vitello always turned them down. He wanted to locate in a part of the city that hasn’t been transformed by tech money. Sixth Street — with its collection of residential hotels, social service agencies and underground economy — fit the bill.
“I always go back to being a kid skating in the old Union Square — before it was fixed up,” he said. “It was gritty and gnarly, and I thought it was the coolest place on the face of the earth.”
Sixth Street has been attracting other new businesses lately — the bar Rumpus Room, Pentacle Coffee, a Greek deli called the Argentum Project and the kosher deli Frena Bakery and Cafe. The trendy clothing store Supreme recently was granted city planning permission to open a 10,000-square-foot store right around the corner from Sixth on Market Street.
And Vitello has been talking to city officials about creating a skating feature — it could be as simple as a Jersey barrier — those modular barriers used to separate lanes of traffic — on Minna Street next to his store so that skateboarders will have another reason to go to Sixth Street.
The street still needs to evolve enough for a teenager to feel comfortable rolling down the block. Right now that’s not always the case — there are opiate addicts with needles in their arms, fencers selling stolen goods, overturned shopping carts next to heaps of trash dumped on the sidewalk.
The article also mentions that Corey Duffel, Chico Brenes, and Al Davis all work at the store, which is another reason to stop by if you’re in town. Head over to the Chronicle’s website to learn more about Thrasher’s flagship location.