The Well Introduces New Retail Concept in South Park Downtown LA

The Well is under construction at Olive and Olympic with plans to open next month

An exciting new retail concept called The Well is currently under construction in South Park with plans to open next month. Located on the southeast corner of Olive St and Olympic Blvd (not far from FIDM and LA Live), The Well will not only sell cutting edge fashion (list of brands below for both men and women) but will also house a high-end salon including a permanent spot for Nail Swag and a gallery exhibition and event space.

The brainchild of two passionate entrepreneurs, Jefferson Tangradi and Alex Weidner, The Well actually started in 2008 in another form when Tangradi (a native Angeleno) opened a creative live/work space near USC at 35th/Hill. There, he established an “all-purpose” space that ranged from being a barber shop to a photography studio to an event space. It was while Weidner was getting his hair cut by Tangradi one day when the two came up with the idea of taking The Well to the next level, which we will all be able to experience in about another month when the new flagship retail space is finished.

The Well will focus on the most cutting edge fashion trends appealing to the urban demographic befitting of the new Downtown LA fashion scene. Weidner tells me there will be “a little bit for everybody” selling a diverse range of clothing from high-end to street wear, shoes, sunglasses, watches, etc.

The space itself will be ultra-modern designed by Ivan Ivanov of H+I Design and construction build out by Dov Alon of AllonConstruction. The clean and simple store front will be painted pure white with narrow horizontal and vertical window slits (for window displays) punctuated with a vertical hot pink neon sign spelling out The Well. Inside, undulating walls made of thin vertical wood panels guide patrons from the front, where most of the clothing and accessories will be, to the back where the shoes and salon will be. A large “hidden” sliding door in the back of the store meant to blend in with the walls will be able to slide open for events, providing access to the very back of the building where a cavernous warehouse space is located.

Weidner tells me that the one-story edifice started out as a car show room in 1908 and became an FBI gun warehouse during the Prohibition Era. The most recent use of the building before The Well came in was a discount men’s clothing line that went out of business.

With plans to open by mid-November, both Tangradi and Weidner tell me that they hope to attract other urban-inspired retailers to this part of South Park, forming a “new Fairfax or La Brea urban retail corridor.”

A selection of brands that will be carried, many from LA:

Men’s

Chamber
Mishka NYC
Tovar
Roark Collection
Zanerobe

Women’s

AGAIN Apparel
Verlaine
Clover Canyon
Pour la Victoire

Men’s & Women’s

UNIF
Insight
THVM Atelier 

All renderings provided by The Well.

The front entrance along Olive will be simple and clean with horizontal and vertical window slits for use as window displays as well as a vertical pink neon sign for The Well

The interior view from the front entrance with a large projection image (an actual hidden sliding door) in the back of the store

The view from the back looking toward the front entrance

The high-end salon located in the back of the store

The large warehouse in the back of the store will become an event gallery space