business 411 A-LISTS
NEW OWNER OF OBELISK:
Brett Serwalt by tim parks
Even though Obelisk is often referred to as a bookstore, it now offers the deni- “He immediately asked me if I would partner up with him and create some type
zens of Hillcrest much more than the newest hardback novel by Christopher Rice of ownership situation,” he said. “And through that, we eventually decided that I
or the latest issue of Out magazine. would buy the business from him. There’s a lot of potential for the store, so I just
When you step across the threshold at 1029 University Avenue, there is plenty took the opportunity.” And with LGBT-oriented bookstores, such as Different
for the eyes and ears to behold. A cornucopia of sensory delights can be experi- Light in WeHo and Oscar Wilde Bookshop in New York City closing and competi-
enced; first from the music, which subconsciously beckons shoppers to the wall tion for
Amazon.com and Netflix, Serwalt believes that Obelisk still has staying
nestled behind the register featuring (on what could only be described as a divas power under his guidance.
shrine) the familiar faces of Madonna, Kylie and Lady GaGa, et al, peering out from “The writing’s on the wall, if we just stick with books and magazines—we’ll go
CD covers and encouraging you to give them a good home. out of business,” he stated. “We need to evolve. So, I want Obelisk to still mean
Yet, there seem to be new items intermingling with the familiarity that patrons something to the gay community, but it’s going to have to be more of a lifestyle
have grown accustomed to seeing over the years. Display cases now house wal- store that also sells books.”
lets and watches; a toy “Gaydar Gun” makes its comical presence known with its “We’ll keep books, music and video rentals as long as people keep coming in
kitsch factor. There are also Zirh and Anthony grooming products for men. Don’t and getting them, but we need to depend on them less,” Serwalt professed. “Over
worry! The adult movie section is still located at the back of the store. Still, this isn’t the past year, I’ve gradually been making some changes—more jewelry—we just
your father’s Obelisk, and that’s because new owner Brett Serwalt is breathing introduced two lines of men’s grooming products. We want to get more into that,
new life into this Hillcrest mainstay, which he has anointed as “a lifestyle store.” with colognes and things like that. We’re going to get into comics. I need to do
Serwalt, a San Diego resident since 1997, has a...well...storied connection with the things to attract a younger clientele.”
establishment. “I worked here in 2005,” he explained. “I had been managing coffee For Serwalt, his approach to revamping Obelisk is nothing short of a love affair.
houses for a while and decided to join the Peace Corps. And when I mailed my And, as is the nature of such a relationship, there are high and low points.
application, I quit my job and told myself I’d take some time off and then I would “I love Hillcrest,” he said. “I’ve been here for 12 years. I love that this store is right
come and work part-time in the neighborhood, just to pay my bills. So, I came in in the center of Hillcrest, and that I get to do this in my community and all my
here and asked for a part-time job. customers are my people in my community. I like that.”
My application with the Peace Corps got so screwed up that I ended up working “This is going to be a work-in-progress,” he explained. “We’re going to have a
here for a year-and-a-half.” lot of failures in the next couple of years, while we try to figure out what works
From that point on, Serwalt became a recognizable face to clientele, until he and what doesn’t.” While Serwalt finds his own way with Obelisk, some things will
left for a few years time and returned in the latter part of 2008 as a consultant. Dur- remain the same, such as customer satisfaction.
ing his absence from Obelisk and prior to his purchasing it, he wondered about “We try to be attentive to the needs of the community,” he said. “I hope people
the direction the business may be heading in. “Even before I left I was talking to find it to be a very friendly, comfortable environment. We want to be here for
Bruce [former owner] about what he was going to do to the store,” he recounted. people and create a dynamic retail environment for people in Hillcrest, in our
“Because he had been here for well over a decade, but really wasn’t doing too local community independent store.”
much with the business; and sales were going down a little bit.”
His jumping off point from employee to owner came about thusly. Obelisk is located at 1029 University Avenue. For more information call 619.297.4171.
February 2010 | RAGE monthly 9
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