Since Faye Leevin opened “The Knot KnewShop” 30 years ago, it has become a gatheringplace for friends, old and new.
Was in Old Towne OrangeKNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS
Remembering the Way ItMuff’s Antiques was established as
a used furniture and second-handstore in Anaheim, and the Knot-KnewShop was started with a friend as aconsignment store at East Chapmanand Esplanade. Both relocated to OldTowne Orange because the ownersliked what they saw. But the timelineand the retail story is a little differentnorth and south of the Plaza.
“The Plaza reminded us of our
Remember when . . . J. C.Penney, F.W. Woolworth and AlphaBeta Supermarket were among theretail anchors on Glassell Street? (Andwhen Alpha Beta became SatelliteMarket, then an antique mall?) WhenFirst National Bank of Orange held 90percent of home, business andautomobile loans in the City ofOrange? When Felix was strictly abreakfast house, and you could still geta fine plate lunch at Watson Drugs andelsewhere for 75 cents?
Long time Plaza Square merchantslike Hank Mascolo (The Plaza BarberShop, Est. 1954); Tom Licata (Licata’sNutrition, Est. 1962); CarrollJohnson (Sir Wicket Men’s Store, Est.1967); Faye Leevin (Knot-KnewShop, Est. 1972), and Gary Hahn(Muff’s Antiques, Est. Anaheim ‘71,Orange ‘75), sure do – even if it wasmore than 25 years ago.
Of course, dates are approximate,because Hank worked for CharlieCaster where Sir Wicket is now fornine years before Charlie died andHank bought the The Plaza BarberShop. He’s just been in his currentbuilding at 30 Plaza Square for 48years. The Honorary Mayor of OldTowne Plaza says, “There was a strongGerman heritage in Orange, and Ireally wasn’t sure they were going toaccept a guy of Italian descent, but wegot along fine.” “In fact, I still havesome of the same customers, andcustomers who are second and thirdgenerations of the same families.”
And he was the talk of Old Towne17 years ago when, as a widower, hesuccessfully courted his second wife,Renee, who owns Renee’s Jeweler’s at138 N. Glassell.
hometown in Iowa, where thecourthouse was always in the squareand businesses were located aroundit,” says Gary Hahn. “In fact, ourbuilding housed F.W. Woolworth inthe mid-fifties. But when we got here,this area was filled with empty stores,and we got the largest one at 135 S.Glassell. It was about 15 years beforewe were able to buy the building, andI’m sure glad we did because rentshave skyrocketed.”
And their business has changed abit, too: “When we moved to Orange,we started going to auctions andbuying antiques. Then we addedhardware and now we have a hugebusiness in antique locks, likepadlocks and furniture locks. I'vebought blanks (from which keys aremade) for 25 years. When companieslike Taylor and Eagle locks went out ofbusiness, I bought their inventory. Wehave our inventory in a catalog and myson is putting it all on our web site, sowe get business from all over.”
But Faye Leevin remembers being“in the middle of everything” whenshe moved into her space at 148-A N.Glassell, “There was a lot morediversity. There was a dime storeacross the street, and a shoe store, and
a store that sold fabrics. And, ofcourse, Faye remembers vividly whenthe theatre still showed movies. Infact, Faye mourns the lack of diversitytoday-except in her own store, whichfeatures a remarkable array ofmerchandise that has been acquiredthrough swaps, sales and donations.“When a couple of people go shoppingtogether, they may not both want tolook at antiques. I think the area losessome customers because we’re toofocused on antiques.”
Tom Licata agrees-and disagrees.“We (on north Glassell) were more inthe center of the shopping but J. C.Penney had moved out when myfather, Vincent, opened Licata’sNutrition in 1962 a few doors downfrom our current location at 162 N.Glassell. This caused a decline in retailaround the area,” he remembers, “sorent was cheap. Now I have noproblem filling vacancies in ourbuilding,” he says. “The antique storeshave been great for the area and lots ofpeople find us during the annual streetfair. When we get them on our mailing
When Gary Hahn moved Muff’s Antiques fromAnaheim to Orange in 1975, he expanded hisinventory from “junk” to antiques.
Before he went to barber college, Hank Mascolowas a commercial fisherman.
Carroll Johnson has maintained a niche at SirWicket’s Men’s Store, which still caters toclientele needing business suits to zoot suits.
Tom Licata, son of store founder VincentLicata, carries on Licata’s Nutrition Centerwith the help of his wife, Judy, and a dedicatedstaff. The concept was developed by his uncle,Dr. Frank Varase, an Anaheim physician whobelieved that proper nutrition was the key togood health and longevity.
list, they become devoted customers.And I think there’s a lot more diversitythan people realize. For example,there’s a lock and key place on thecorner, and a paint store, and a photoshop all right across the street.”
Then there’s Sir Wicket Men’s Shopat 100 S. Glassell, which continues tofocus on what Carroll believes is themost under-served market in men’sclothing: dark suits in the $88-$149price range, affordable formalwear,and the zoot suit popularized in thelate 30s and early 40s, including all theaccessories from head (hats) to toe
(two-toned shoes in every appropriatecolor) and everything in-between(colorful ties and suspenders). “Hecarved this niche for himself,” says sonFrank, who runs Frank’s ItalianMenswear in Tustin.
At age 84, Carroll probably has thebest overview of changes both acrossthe city, and in the Plaza on the Square.“When we opened in 1967, there washardly anyone in this block exceptArnold Behrmann, who had a high-fidelity shop. He retired in 1992.Orange was a desert city. I’ve seen thetown double in size, and massivechanges in city government. Weencouraged antique dealers to locatehere, and it revitalized the area.” •
