Bears

I was walking through Hollywood and Highland and discovered that the Build-a-Bear had been closed. Must have been pretty recent: They had a promotion in September's Hollywood and Highland newsletter.

Build-a-Bear! In a place that gets foot traffic like....like Hollywood and Highland!

I am, like Scrooge, starting to doubt my senses: there is no mention anywhere of them closing stores, having significant trouble, or anything about this particular location. And considering the customization done for this particular store - including Marilyn Monroe and James Dean bear statues overlooking Hollywood Boulevard - there must have been some pressure to keep it going. Maybe it just moved.

Not that it ever had any business. The store was completely empty almost any time I walked by. Only rarely did I ever see tourists carrying the oversized boxes containing bears or beagles or whatever.

And what do you expect: Cool as customization and proper names and little hearts are, teddy bears need to be furry and should be cute and...that's about it. It's very much a top-of-the-pyramid business, and will naturally be the first to disappear if less money is flowing through a particular area.