By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
After losing her Swarthmore store in the Palisades fire, Erica Simpson is gearing up to welcome customers—and employees—back “home” to Paliskates at 212 26th Street in Santa Monica next to Brentwood Country Mart.
“The shop has become more than a retail space—it’s a second home for generations of skaters and surfers,” Simpson said. “What began as a hub for local kids has grown into a multi-generational community, with parents now bringing their own children to share in the vibe and values they grew up with.”
Owned and operated by Simpson, the skateshop and team has roots in Pacific Palisades dating back more than 25 years. Since Paliskates first opened in 1999, Simpson has served as a mentor, trainer, confidant and second family to dozens of her employees—often guiding them to their future career accomplishments.
“There are no words for what happened,” Simpson said of the fire when speaking to the Palisadian-Post on Wednesday, October 22, at the store. “Three of my kids that were currently working for me lost their homes and 90% of people I know lost their homes … it’s a literal tragedy.”
After the fire, she said she stayed in constant contact with her employees. She remembered telling them, “I feel like I should go over there and do something, and they’re like, ‘Erica, your store burned down. You can stay home right now.’”
What helped raise her spirits were the people who reached out to help from the Palisades and Los Angeles at large. She said it “made all the difference in seeing hope, seeing that there would be another way forward.”
Paliskates has remained active since January, including being featured at the Grammys, hosting several pop-ups, launching a collaboration with pop-punk artist Avril Lavigne and selling merchandise online.
Of returning to the Palisades in the future, Simpson said that she has every intention of going back. For now, she is focused on the brand and helping the kids who frequent and work at her store.
Simpson said they got “really lucky” with the store: “It’s a great space and a good location,” near Paul Revere Charter Middle School, Archer School for Girls, Brentwood School and Palisades Charter Elementary School’s temporary shared campus at Brentwood Elementary Science Magnet.
“We wanted this to be more of a hangout space again and more of a homey, re-grounding place for people—and specifically for the kids and our customers,” Simpson described.
At the time of the fire, Simpson said she had six employees working at the store in addition to their skate teams. Employees tend to stay on for several years, working part-time through high school or college and beyond.
“Some of them never left,” Simpson said of her employees after losing the store. In particular, her manager stayed “the whole time,” helping launch a website.
“It was a connection for them,” Simpson said. “It made them feel good to still be involved.”
Following the fire, Simpson described a period of “disappearing”: “I didn’t leave the house for weeks.” She said that for many years, the Swarthmore store was where she did everything (besides sleep) but her home is on the eastside of Los Angeles, where she had moved while construction was underway at Palisades Village and the store was closed for three years.
Simpson described feeling a level of “survivor’s guilt” because her home was not located in the Palisades, which motivated her further to continue putting on events and fostering community where she could.
At the store, similar to the Swarthmore space, Simpson will host events, as well as collaborations with different brands and artists.
“I feel like my job right now is to stay positive,” Simpson said, “to keep moving forward and to bring some connection and joy back into people’s lives.”
There will be a soft opening at Paliskates on Wednesday, October 29, while the store is being set up, with plans for a grand opening in November. Paliskates’ hours will be Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Follow instagram.com/paliskates for more information. The Post will also update this story with the grand opening date when it is available.
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