My colleague Greg Mellen recently caught up with Julian Ship Supplies owner Flo Martinez and found out that the business - which has spent 55 years outfitting outgoing ocean vessels with whatever they needed - is closing its doors.
From Greg:
The chandler was a fixture in downtown Long Beach at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Broadway in its unique historic 1931 historic that was torn down earlier this year.
Owner proprietor Flo Martinez moved the business to 16th Street several years ago after reluctantly selling her property to the Redevelopment Agency. The original Julian Ship building was an example of one of the area's first drive-in markets and designed by noted architect Cecil Schilling.
After several attempts were made to relocate the historical building fail, it was torn down earlier this year. A new courthouse is scheduled to be built where the building and a number of other razed structures stood.
Martinez, 82, said her business has struggled during the economic downturn and the slowdown of business in the port. She also said that at her age, she's simply ready to retire and "smell the roses" and has several trips already planned.
"I'm gonna take a trip through the Panama Canal," Martinez said of her first excursion.
Many years ago Martinez said she and her husband, Julian, supplied the Canadian Navy with a number of supplies and watched it pass through the canal.
"I said, 'I'm going to pass through those locks.' Now I'm gonna do it on a cruise ship," Martinez says.
From Greg:
The chandler was a fixture in downtown Long Beach at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Broadway in its unique historic 1931 historic that was torn down earlier this year.
Owner proprietor Flo Martinez moved the business to 16th Street several years ago after reluctantly selling her property to the Redevelopment Agency. The original Julian Ship building was an example of one of the area's first drive-in markets and designed by noted architect Cecil Schilling.
After several attempts were made to relocate the historical building fail, it was torn down earlier this year. A new courthouse is scheduled to be built where the building and a number of other razed structures stood.
Martinez, 82, said her business has struggled during the economic downturn and the slowdown of business in the port. She also said that at her age, she's simply ready to retire and "smell the roses" and has several trips already planned.
"I'm gonna take a trip through the Panama Canal," Martinez said of her first excursion.
Many years ago Martinez said she and her husband, Julian, supplied the Canadian Navy with a number of supplies and watched it pass through the canal.
"I said, 'I'm going to pass through those locks.' Now I'm gonna do it on a cruise ship," Martinez says.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
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