Obelisk Mercantile, at 1037 University Avenue, is set to permanently shut its doors at the end of July. An institution in the heart of Hillcrest section of San Diego for more than 22 years is going out of business.
Owner Brett Serwalt has been affiliated with Obelisk since 2005. He purchased the store in 2010 and now is preparing to close the business that was a mainstay of the LGBT community and a gathering place for gay people for more than two decades. “The community’s tastes have changed,” Serwalt said. “While the rest of the country seems to be rebounding from the recession, Hillcrest doesn’t seem to quite be there yet. It was hit differently and any business owner along University Avenue knows how hard it is to make it here.”
Obelisk went through some major changes over the years. It was hit hard as were all bookstores when online retailers began to dominate the book market. Obelisk shifted to selling more gift items, clothing and other merchandise. Then in 2011, a fire badly damaged the building and for two years Obelisk was unable to reopen in its same location. Finally in 2013 it moved into the space next door. After that long hiatus, the store was reborn with a new look and new line of goods.
Business never fully came back and Serwalt decided, “I’m done with this phase of my life.” He had spent two years in the Peace Corps in Vanuatu and returned there earlier this year to help them rebuild after a cyclone devastated the Pacific island nation. After being reminded of the work to be done around the world, the challenge of running a retail store no longer holds the joy it once did. “I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life, living outside of the United States again, and experiencing more of the world. I’m exploring getting an MBA overseas, or perhaps rejoining the Peace Corps on an interim basis with one of their disaster response team.” Those teams work in a country for a few months after a disaster to help the communities get back on their feet.
As the LGBT community becomes more mainstream—a trend accelerated by recent changes in many laws making the once-marginalized group less of an outlying minority—gay-themed stores across the country have been forced to adapt or close. Similar stores in other cities have struggled or given up. Serwalt says that he still believes there is room for a store like Obelisk in Hillcrest, but after working most of his life in retail, his heart is no longer in it and he wants to pursue his passion of international development. The New Jersey native has lived in Hillcrest for 18 years.
Serwalt is still entertaining some offers from possible buyers for the business. His efforts to sell it over the past few months have so far not produced serious interest so he is conducting a going out of business sale with the goal of selling all of the merchandise, furniture and fixtures by his closing date of July 30.
