The Pacific Palisades skate shop was a safe haven for many teenagers, but like many of the fire’s casualties, it was now destroyed within minutes.
The Paliskates skate shop, even if it was near the village of Palisades, owned by developer Rick Caruso, did not survive the January 7 fire.
Nonetheless, owner Erica Simpson said she is determined to rebuild her business and skating family.
Many children considered Simpson to be his second mom and parised the second home before being burned to the ground.
As Simpson walked on the dirt, when her skate shop was standing for the first time since the lot had been cleaned up, memories of the 25-year-olds (some children from the broken house managed to find a safe space.
“If you can’t have your own child, stay there for others. So I’m just like being given that gift. And on top of that, I’ve become a cool mom,” Simpson said.
The cool mom is trying to keep her business and family alive with skating events and online stores in her local park.
A month after the fire, she got a big assist. The Grammy Awards commercial features the world’s most famous skateboarding singer Avril Lavigne. In the commercial, Lavigne urged people to support Simpson’s business.
“You can go to Paliskates.net to support this amazing business,” Lavigne said.
“It really lifted all the kids’ spirits. So, honestly, when she first appeared, I cried,” Simpson recalls.
However, Simpson doesn’t know if she can return to the location of Parisades, as she says she is left to her landlord. But she said she hasn’t given up on her shop – or her children.
“It’s very difficult to experience when you’re 16 or 15. I’ve seen them struggle,” she said. “Just because your physical location burns out doesn’t need to mean you’re done.”
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