CART CHRONICLES
Why is everyone photographing a grocery store that never advertised? What we're really buying is a place we want to linger
A $20 gallon of milk and a 29¢ banana, in the same store. Laurel Supply sent no press release and didn't build a following first; it got remembered for a 1940s building and a lunch. This walks you through it, with the insider tips you'll want to save before you go.
Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.
Key points
- Field Guide：Laurel Supply: To me it's lighter than Erewhon, and afterward you can sit out in the sun.
- The hot bar: how to order the first time: One main and two sides is very Taiwanese buffet, just without scooping it yourself.
- Same store, two price points: Same cart, it can be budget or full-on socialite.
- Staff in white coats, and a whole wall of skincare: On a pretty shelf doesn't mean it works.
- Going at night? Be a little extra careful: If something does happen, hand it over; protecting yourself comes first.
Full text
01 | No ads, just 'have you been yet?'
It opened in May with no press release and no social buildup, and by opening weekend TikTok was full of unboxings. Pale wood, floor-to-ceiling windows, produce lined up perfectly, and even the staff wear white coats. The store is the marketing budget.
02｜Field Guide：Laurel Supply
From the Laurel Hardware team: a bakery, sushi, an organic butcher, a hot bar, pizza and gelato, one station after another, with a coffee, matcha and smoothie bar right in the middle. To me it's lighter than Erewhon, and afterward you can sit out in the sun.
03 | This place used to sell rattan chairs
In the 1940s, photographer Herb Ritts's dad ran Ritts Co. here, selling rattan furniture, and in 1949 it did over a million dollars in a year. The V-shaped columns still hold up the roof over your head: rattan chairs then, organic produce now, both selling a vision of California living.
04 | Spot them: 5 old stories hidden in the store
The V-shaped columns, the terrazzo sculpture by the skincare section that used to be a fireplace, the stone mill in the glass room, the 'Instagram screenshot' that looks like a Richard Prince, the tail fin poking out of the roof; and this stretch of Santa Monica Blvd out front was once Route 66.
05 | First visit? Shop it this way and you won't get lost
Grab a drink at the bar in the middle, do a lap past the bakery, sushi, butcher, pizza and gelato, then decide on lunch; at checkout, look at the hats and woven totes, then take it all out to the patio under the olive trees, where there are heaters when it's cool.
06 | The hot bar: how to order the first time
One main plus two sides is a Combo Plate ($24, as reported at opening), and staff box it up for you to take to checkout. My main was the Mushroom Tofu: golden pan-fried tofu topped with mushrooms and peas. One main and two sides is very Taiwanese buffet, just without scooping it yourself.
07 | Grab a drink first, then browse slowly
I got the Matcha Ceremony, layered green, blue and white; the popular Radiance is strawberry, almond milk, pineapple and coconut milk, and most smoothies run $14–16. The collagen, lion's mane and maca on the menu are trendy ingredients, not health advice.
08 | Same store, two price points
Surprisingly not pricey: bananas 29¢, ciabatta $6, a slice of pizza $8, a matcha latte $7. Then take a deep breath: a gallon of milk can hit $20, a pint of orange juice $18, Saint Jane lip balm $28, perfume $350. Same cart, it can be budget or full-on socialite.
09 | Staff in white coats, and a whole wall of skincare
Pale oak shelves hold hundreds of supplements and skincare products, staff wear white coats, very boutique pharmacy; there's colostrum powder, collagen, mushroom gummies, and the electrolyte powder I snapped was about $40 a tub. On a pretty shelf doesn't mean it works.
10 | Insider tips ①: before you go
Search for Laurel Supply and you'll also get Laurel Hardware, the same team's restaurant at a different address; look for the wood facade at the Olive Dr corner, next to Barney's Beanery. Open 7am–10pm daily; the lot out back has few spots, so ask about validation.
11 | Insider tips ②: in the store
For bread fresh out of the oven, go in the morning; in the bakery case, look for the apple pie, same recipe as Laurel Hardware's with a little less sugar. If the hot bar line is too long at lunch, grab salad and soup from the fridge; a slice of pizza is about a quarter pie, just right for one.
12 | Two-city mirror
Taipei turns old Dadaocheng shophouses into cafés and tea shops; LA turns a 1940s rattan showroom into a grocery store. We think we're buying groceries, but what we're really buying is a place we want to linger in.
13 | Going at night? Be a little extra careful
Put away fancy watches and flashy jewelry before you go; at night, go with someone if you can, and keep your phone away and stay aware walking back to the car. If something does happen, hand it over; protecting yourself comes first.
Last word
Would you pay a little more for a place you want to linger in? Go in the day for the sun, and stay a little more alert at night. Come for the groceries, stay for the room.
Places in this story
In this series
An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).