Business & Tech

Harmony Works Searching for New Storefront

Longtime Riviera Village gift shop Harmony Works will close June 1.

Harmony Works, a Riviera Village institution for nearly 20 years, is looking for a new home, the store announced this week.

According to owner Michael Morales, the building housing both Harmony Works and Redondo Hair & Beauty Supply was sold in late 2012. The new owners gave the existing tenants until June 1 to vacate the property.

"We literally got the final word on Tuesday of this week," Morales told Patch. He and his wife, Royce, had tried to delay the closing.

The store is "in the midst of" a closing sale, he said.

"It's what it is—it's business," he said. "it's reality. It's one of the things you don't have control over in life."

Since the email went out, the store has been flooded with customers and well-wishers, according to the couple.

"I've probably gotten 150 emails in the last day," Royce Morales said Thursday.

To aid in their search for a new location, the couple is offering a crowd-funding opportunity for fans to become investors in the store, according to an email sent to customers:

"Also, we decided to offer "Crowd Funding" opportunities for those of you who feel strongly enough about Harmony Works continuing in our next location to become investors.
 
"What this means is that you come up with an amount of cash you want to invest ($100 and up) and we will hold it until we find our next space. 
 
"Of course, there will be perks that come with this such as a forever discount, or a gift certificate based on how much you invested.  The money would be put into a special account so that if we decide not to relocate you would get a timely refund."

Michael Morales said he's already scouted a few potential new locations for the store; in the meantime, he and Royce are just appreciative of the support the store has received.

"This is breaking our hearts since Harmony Works is truly a labor of love for us," Royce Morales wrote in an email to reporters. "It has been such an amazing journey getting to know the community personally … they feel like family. We are forever grateful for all the support all these years, through thick and thin."

"This is family," Michael Morales told Patch. "This is our family."

Harmony Works is currently located at 1705 S. Catalina Ave. in South Redondo Beach. The store will be open Memorial Day.


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