This summer a man stood on a ladder in front of a white storefront on York Boulevard and painted a red arrow next to the words "We Moved! 5110 York." The LA Local published the photo. It showed Sip Snack's old storefront, and right next to it was the empty window of Two Sons, the shop next door.
That sign sums up the year on York. The tenancies that ended or came under threat ran seven, twenty and twenty-five years. Under California law, cities cannot cap what the building owner charges for rent, and there is no just-cause standard governing whether a commercial lease gets renewed. The ones that are still in the neighborhood managed it because a nearby storefront opened up at the right time.
A Forwarding List for the Block
Here is where each business stands, based on the most recent reporting and the shops' own websites as of early fall 2026.
| Business | Time on the street | Where things stand |
|---|---|---|
| Sip Snack | Seven years, month-to-month | Moved from 5003 York to 5110 York. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Luca Essentials | Not reported | Moved across the street. The shop's site lists 5727 North Figueroa Street |
| Two Sons | Expanded into the building about two years earlier | Evicted. No new location reported |
| Junior's Discount Party Supply | 20 years at 5001 York | Still operating as of mid-September while facing eviction |
| Crazy Scissors | 25 years | Owner displaced. No new location reported |
| Be Nice Have Fun | Seven years | Closed in March. Selling online, with a summer pop-up at 5335 N. Figueroa St. |
| Plus Bus | Not reported | York storefront closed |
Junior's is the one to keep an eye on. The Occidental reported on September 16 that the store was still open and that the Los Angeles Tenants Union was involved. We haven't found a more recent report.
How One Phone Call Cleared a Block
The Sip Snack story started with a phone call. According to The LA Local, owner PJ Roden had been on a month-to-month lease for seven years when her landlord called in April to say someone was coming to measure the building. He told her he was selling for around $4 million. It sold for $5.1 million in cash within a few weeks. A few weeks after that, a law firm representing the new owners sent tenants on the block a letter giving them 60 days to vacate.
Roden told the outlet that month-to-month arrangements are common on purpose. "They want you month-to-month because that way, if they sell the building, they can raise the rent by a lot, or kick you out," she said.
That one sale accounts for most of the table above. Two Sons, Junior's and Crazy Scissors were all named in the same report. Be Nice Have Fun closed for a different reason: its landlord declined to renew, and owner Destinie Escobedo held a farewell on March 21. Plus Bus closed over the size of the rent increase. Owner Mercy Guevara told The Occidental that her York Boulevard rent went from $3,500 to more than $5,000.
So the shops left in three different ways, through a building sale, a non-renewal and a rent increase. In all three, the outcome was the owner's call under state law.
The Rule Written in 1987
The Costa-Keene-Seymour Commercial Property Investment Act of 1987 bars California cities from capping commercial rent increases. California also has no just-cause eviction standard for commercial tenants. The LA Local's reporting explains that this lets a commercial landlord raise rent or end a lease with few restrictions. Apartment renters in Los Angeles have state eviction protections. The shop downstairs has none of those.
A newer state law fills in part of that gap. Senate Bill 1103, the Commercial Tenant Protection Act, took effect in January 2025. It requires landlords to give "qualified" micro-businesses 90 days' notice before a rent increase over 10%, and 60 days' notice before ending a lease. It generally covers businesses with five or fewer employees, restaurants with up to 10 and small nonprofits with up to 20. It sets no limit on how large an increase can be.
The year's numbers show what that means in practice. The Plus Bus increase was more than 40%, four times the 10% line where SB 1103's longer notice period starts for businesses that qualify. Even for a qualifying business, the law doesn't stop an increase that size. In Eagle Rock, READ Books owner Jeremy Kaplan told The Occidental the bookstore left 4972 N. Eagle Rock Blvd. after a rent increase of more than 133%. Ritu Mahajan, an attorney at Public Counsel, told The LA Local that her organization has represented commercial tenants whose rent went up as much as 200% in a single year.
Why the Shops That Stayed Moved One Block
This explains the short moves in the forwarding list. The LA Local reported that Sip Snack moved a block down York and Luca Essentials moved across the street. Both landed on their feet because a nearby space happened to open at the right moment.
A move like that still costs a lot. Roden told the outlet she had put close to $100,000 into the build-out, the equipment and the license to sell wine, and that getting the wine license back at the new address could take up to a year if the city grants one. Luca Essentials co-owner Judith Goldstein told The LA Local she worries the same law could catch her again if her new building sells.
"There's no cap. They can literally say tomorrow your rent is $30,000. It sounds crazy, but they can do that."
Roden described Sip Snack as a corner errand stop. In The LA Local's account, she pictured neighbors walking over for milk, eggs or a popsicle for their kid and then crossing the street to the park. That park is York Park at York Boulevard and Avenue 50. The city built the half-acre park about a decade ago on the site of a former gas station. Sip Snack's new address at 5110 York keeps it within walking distance of the same corner.
The City Hall File
Los Angeles can't cap commercial rents, but it can look into other protections, and this year the City Council started doing that. Here is the record from Council File 26-0588:
- April 22, 2026. Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado, Eunisses Hernandez and Heather Hutt introduced a motion to study a Commercial Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance. It would be modeled in part on the city's existing residential Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance.
- May 19, 2026. The Economic Development and Jobs Committee approved the motion 4–0, with one member absent.
- June 9, 2026. The full Council adopted it 15–0, and the action became final on June 10.
- June 18, 2026. This is the last activity listed in the file.
The adopted instructions ask the Chief Legislative Analyst to work with the Economic and Workforce Development Department and City Planning. Together they are to report back within 90 days on possible commercial tenant protections and on whether the ordinance is feasible. The City Attorney is asked to report on the city's legal authority and to recommend draft ordinance language if appropriate. Counting from the June 9 vote, the 90 days ended around September 7. The public file shows no report as of this October.
Some coverage still describes the measure as being in committee, including The LA Local's August story. The official record is newer than that. The motion has cleared committee and the full Council, and the city is waiting on the report it asked for.
Jurado has also raised a tax question. Owners with several properties may be able to claim an empty storefront as a loss instead of lowering the rent to keep a small tenant. "That's the perverse incentive of having a vacancy," she told the Los Angeles Times.
Shop Owners Are Organizing Too
After READ Books lost its Eagle Rock space, Kaplan teamed up with local activist Cyndi Otteson to found Save Northeast Los Angeles Shops, known as SNELAS. According to The Occidental, the group held a rally in Highland Park at the end of July that drew about 100 people. Business owners attended, along with representatives from the offices of Nithya Raman, Kenneth Mejia and Eunisses Hernandez. Guevara told the paper the gathering "was really healing for me." She encouraged anyone interested in small business to come to the next meeting. No date has been announced yet.
READ Books has found a new home in Cypress Park on West Avenue 28. The Occidental gives the address as 594, and The Eastsider lists 586. The store hoped to open by October, so check before you go.
New places are still opening on York too. Toward Eagle Rock, Zero Fox held its grand opening on September 26 at 4607 York Blvd., in a former auto shop. Eater LA reports that siblings Robby Herrera Jr., Ingrid Herrera and Cindy Lemuz run the all-day brunch spot and bar. On the block where it all started, Sip Snack is open seven days a week at 5110 York, one block from its old door.
At SJLA Real Estate, we keep our own running list of who opens, moves and closes on York and Figueroa. We think a block's storefronts are part of how a neighborhood is lived in day to day. If you've spotted a new "We Moved" sign or a reopening we missed, we'd love to hear about it. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.