Birthday Express & Comic Book Coincidences

[captain_slinky]

VERY recently, Corner Comics (formerly of Kenmore) moved to a new location just off of 124th St in Kirkland, kind of near the Totem Lake Mall.

Hey, that's cool.. I know that area! I used to work in that area! It's near the old Birthday Express offices!

Since I was already over there I figured I'd drive by the old BDXP building and see how it looked.

And right there, in the office building where the Business Offices of Birthday Express had been? BEL-KIRK COMIC, STAMP & COIN has relocated there! To me, that is just the weirdest location EVER. A dilapidated early 80's office building in an industrial park, very low visibility... it's just WEIRD.

BTW, locals who remember BEL-KIRK COMIC, STAMP & COIN will fondly remember that the store, regardless of location (3 different ones I've known of over the years) always had the look and feel of your average episode of A&E's "Hoarders" TV show with half-open boxes everywhere and stacks of random comic-related stuff from floor to ceiling. No real organization or reason to the madness, right? Well I can proudly say that, having looked in the window and checked things out, that tradition is alive and well in the bowels of that industrial park office storefront :)

It's weird to me that two different East-Side comic book stores that had long histories of being the only place to get comics in their prospective communities both moved to within 4 blocks of each other, within the span of just a few weeks. I wonder if they're even aware?

Comments

[cunninggod.livejournal.com]

Wow - I used to go to that shop years ago...the original location and then when he moved the comic store into his brothers shop by the DMV in Houghton. I may have to stop by and check it out.

I know what you mean about it being an odd location....last time I drove by the old BDXP it was a carpet warehouse.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

As soon as I saw it I remembered your allegiance to the old Bel Kirk and thought "Oh I HAVE to tell Lurch about this!"

[cunninggod.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, thank you for sharing! I did a drive by this morning on my way to work for a bit and saw where they are. The carpet warehouse is in the original building where the store was at, I forgot that just before I left in '99 that BDXP set up some people in that other building. Small frakkin world, eh?