"Last Grenadier closing its doors..." Topic

on April 1st.They will be doing some internet sales but das store ist kaput :( Ah remember gaming at the first one next to the bar in the 70's

Ah… it was the first game store I ever saw/visited. Sold me my first Ral Partha and Minifigs… long ago.

That is too bad. I used to drive up there when I was in The Corps to buy boardgames. It was kind of a haul but always worth it!

That's a crying shame. Back when they had multiple locations, I frequented the one in Long Beach. I never had the chance to get to the one in Burbank, unfortunately.

For those who are not from the area, Brookhurst, The Warhouse, Last Grenadier and Aero Hobbies are the longest-running gaming shops in the area. All date from the 1970s.

Aero has always been a small one-man shop in Santa Monica. The War House is slightly bigger and to the south. Brookhurst has grown to become a destination and Internet powerhouse, even outlasting Games Workshop's location in Orange County. Last Grenadier had two or three locations (I misremember whether the two locations I shopped at were the same store after a move) and was a larger operation than just about everyone except the 'Hurst.

Wyatt

The only thing surprising about this is how long they lasted. I went in there a number of times and apparently barely merited acknowledgment unless I was handing someone a credit card. Classic grumpy game store stuff.

Very glad to have Aero close by – a genuinely friendly local game store.

I used to work there in the mid 1990's. I loved that dusty place.

Guess that explains why they have been doing so much on ebay lately…

What is their ebay handle?

Skeptic:

Ebay handle is Iquisitor.

I was just there today… *Sigh* Sorry to hear this.

I had a client in Burbank and would often stop by the Last Grenadier whenever I was in town. While their stock of miniatures were rather limited they did have a great book collection.
I also remember the place needed a good cleaning. Even the layer of dust had a layer of dust on it.

As stated earlier, the best thing about that store was the book collection, the service was old-timey annoying nerd-style and, of course the layer of dust…Aero has the dust as well but that shop is so much more inviting than the Last Grenadier.
So, normally I would mourn its passing but not so much as I probably should.

I remember when Brookhurst had two locations. A model shop and a wargame shop. I am sorry to see Last Grenadier go, but even I have not been there in years.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

That's very sad – I'll miss that place. Time is moving on, gents.

Bummer. There were stores in Ventura, Reseda, and two different places in Burbank (at different times) that I remember…

Wyatt the GW shop was owned by Rocky of Last Grenadier. Last G had two locations. The Burbank store,(originally next to the J.C. Penny's) and the Northridge one on Reseda @ Arleta IIRC. I think the Ventura store was one where he sold use of the name. When Norm Flam owned them, I believe he also owned Napoleon's Headquarters in Chicago and one that may have been in Australia!

Norm Morris managed the ventura store, then the Northridge store for Norm Flam. Think the Ventura store was gone by the time the business was sold to Rocky ? The best store was the one next to Ross, in Burbank, with the lower level and lots of gaming tables.
As a side note…there may still be an AK walled up in ventura ? :0 <lol>

I gamed in the Ventura store a few times when I was home on leave, and went clubbing with Norm Morris (cool guy) when he was at the Reseda store. Visited the Reseda store mostly, some trips to the Burbank store in the mall, and one visit to the later Burbank store on the street.

Dang – thats been 30 years ago for Ventura, 15-25 ago for Reseda and the mall store, and 7 years for the later Burbank store. I really need to get back to the left coast more often… pity I can't drive interstate from here.

The Last Grenadiers quality of service was slowly declining over the years it started in mid 1980's and with each move to a different location just kept going down. I started the Grenadier in 1983 in my last semester of owhigh school. I liked it when Norn Flam ran the place, when the current owner took ownership it started its very slow decline.

The Last Grenadier had a location in the Pasadena area, but there was a bad situation had with Rocky and the partner invloved at that location an left a bad feeling the Last Grenadier.

Minor correction to the original post. Last business day for the Last Grenadier is this coming Sunday, 24th March. The last week they will be busy packing remaining stock as they need to be out before April 1st, so they won't be open for business.

Sunday hours are 11 AM – 6 PM.

OH-MY-G-D-NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Drove by taking out-of-town visitor to Burbank Airport and thought the place looked empty, raced to computer and did a Google search for: Last Grenadier Burbank closing" but came up empty that time. Been very busy with work and family stuff, but today -- a few weeks after the fact -- I managed to stop by, and it was confirmed: the place is done, and apparently forever, as there's no notice of new location up in the glass windows or doors up front. Only after seeing it with my own eyes did my Google searching skills manage to unearth this thread, on a site I frequent every day.

Man… I've only lived in LA for about 14 years, but as a historical miniature gamer in the Valley, it was the only place to go. Everything people say about piles of dust on the piles of dust is true, but I could still buy a new Osprey book in person, or check through the stacks of military history books arranged by subject, or pick up a new or old set of miniatures rules, or copy of a miniature wargaming magazine, or maybe even a piece of store-bought terrain. I buy all my miniatures over the web and through the mail, since the periods I game are obscure, but wargamers don't live by miniatures alone.

A good friend of mine played for about a year in a Napoleonic campaign that held its map moves and fought its battle on the tables in back. To be honest, I never understood why the owner kept the place in such shoddy shape, since it would only have taken a few people ready to work for one day cleaning stuff out to make a huge difference in appearance, but that was his business. I got a bunch of stuff there, and at the previous location in downtown Burbank, over the years, and once, maybe 12 years ago, I drove out to the Reseda/Northridge store to pick up a very nicely painted unit of Medieval crossbowmen or handgunners I had won in an eBay auction. The seller left them with the guy at the register. I remember the place was surprisingly packed. But that was at least a decade ago.

I guess there's really not much point to posting this comment, just wish I'd spotted this original post in time to stop in and say goodbye to the guys who worked there, and maybe pick up a last batch of books, Ospreys and otherwise.

Thanks Wolfshanza, for posting this topic to begin with, and RIP "The Last Grenadier."

Who knew they could get it so clean :)

I was also surprised by this… I even called and asked if they had moved, but was told they are focusing on online sales now…

I frequented the store when Norm owned it in the late 70's and early 80's. I went to the Original Store in Golden Mall. He later moved up the street to the one with the basement gaming area, which I visited twice once when I dropped by to say hello to Norm and pick up a few Napoleonic Command figures, (that I could not find anywhere else.) The second after Norm sold and the New owners acted as if I was from another planet. I asked them about gamers I had known, only to get blank stares. My last visit.
I enjoyed the store and most of the gamers, although some tended to look down their nose at you. Nevertheless, I have/had good memories of that store and Norm.
Sad to see it go away.

This makes me think of all of the gaming stores I a had supported over the years. The first one was the War Club in La Canada, CA, that was the first store that open a door to a new and very interesting hobby.

Now as a the years go by, I think about all of the stores and people that I have been to/met over the years that are no longer around.