Time Travel Mart: A Convenience Store for Time Travelers on Sunset

The Echo Park Time Travel Mart describes itself as a convenience store for time travelers. Its slogan is "Whenever you are, we're already then." The store says it was established in an unknown year and dimension, with the exact details lost to a black hole. It opened its doors in Echo Park in 2008 and added a Mar Vista location in 2012.

The store says it is the only Los Angeles purveyor of quality goods from the past, present and future, shipped to whenever you are. It also says many of its customers have been coming for centuries. Most of its goods are artisanally crafted in this dimension and are available to buy online and in stores.

A Storefront for 826LA

The Time Travel Mart is the storefront for 826LA, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Los Angeles students with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. All proceeds from the store help support the free writing programs for students at 826LA. The store says the proceeds help keep all programs free for its students.

826LA is part of 826 National, described as the largest youth-writing organization of chapters around the US. 826 National was co-founded by Dave Eggers and Nínive Calegari. The store says it has time-traveling writers and designers who volunteer with it.

Barnacle & Barnacle Publishers

The Time Travel Mart is also the headquarters of Barnacle & Barnacle Publishers, a publishing house that specializes in original student-authored books. The store says the Time Travel Mart and Barnacle & Barnacle Publishing are always spaces where visitors are encouraged to be their most creative selves.

In Echo Park, the organization also runs an Artist Residency.

Shop by Collection

The store organizes products into collections including Prehistoric Period, Far Future Travels, Wormhole Travel and Time Scouts. The Prehistoric Collection includes a self-defense guide, dinosaurs that are soft and/or unhatched, and a poster.

Specific items include Mammoth Chunks, described as tomato-based mammoth goodness imported from the past by Mac Barnett & Jon Korn, relabeled to meet tomorrow's standards by Stefan Bucher, with interior booklets illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo, and Dino World: A 3-D Prehistoric Dinosaur Pop-Up with artwork by paleoartist Julius Csotonyi.

The store says it has everything needed for time travel and creative writing.

Visiting the Echo Park Shop

The Echo Park Time Travel Mart is at 1714 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026. Its phone number is 213-556-4861. Hours are Monday through Sunday, 12:00pm to 6:00pm.

The Mar Vista Time Travel Mart is at 12515 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, with phone number 213-584-1870. Its typical hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 2:00pm to 6:00pm. The store says Mar Vista hours may vary and recommends calling ahead or checking Instagram for the most up-to-date information.

The contact email is timetravelmart@826la.org.