Backside Pushing Forward Into Echo Park

With the ever-changing selection of one-off boutiques and specialty stores in Echo Park, discovering a worthwhile shop tends to be a bit of a hassle for those dedicated to supporting local businesses.

Luckily, Eastside residents in search of hip, affordable and ready-to-wear clothing need look no further than the region’s newest resident—Backside.

Focusing on contemporary streetwear, joins the vibrant and eclectic group of retail shops and restaurants lining Sunset Boulevard, stocking men and women’s clothing that appeal to the wide range of young, diverse consumers in the area.

Although the store has yet to celebrate an official grand opening and is still undergoing construction, Backside’s doors are currently open to the public. Tt’s a move motivated by Backside’s desire to become a recognized, well-respected retail presence in the Echo Park community.

“We looked at other locations,” says partner Tony Essa, “but nothing seemed to fit as well as Echo Park.”

Essa adds that strong community ties to the Echo Park area, both by Backside’s employees and by its customers, played a large role in facilitating the conception of the new Sunset Boulevard location.

Backside’s flagship location in downtown Burbank originally began as a record store specializing in niche genres—such as hardcore punk and hip-hop —before expanding to include clothing from known streetwear brands including OBEY and Mishka on its shelves.

The Echo Park location features many of the same designer brands carried at Backside’s Burbank store.

However, Essa says that unlike the Burbank location, Backside Echo Park’s music offerings will concentrate less on vinyl records and more on CDs and cassette tapes from bands and labels aligned with the local scene.

“Our selection will be a lot more focused,” he states, noting Backside Echo Park’s close proximity to local powerhouse Origami Vinyl.

“It seems like you can buy an indie record anywhere on this street. We’re going to try and bring in mainly hip hop and punk rock—but not as much indie music.”

"I think there will be many synergistic ways the two shops can work together," said Neil Schield ofl in an email to Echo Park Patch.

"It's great to see more community minded business owners open stores in Echo Park," he added, noting that he did not expect Backside to be selling vinyl but "a tiny amount and that won't overlap with what we have at Origami" would be okay.

Grand opening festivities are slated for some time in mid-May and, amongst the day’s expected features, will include local DJs performing in the store’s loft, live music and drinks.

Those interested in attending are encouraged to keep tabs on Backside’s Echo Park operations via Twitter and the store’s blog.