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Today’s newsletter is presented by Best of Ocean Beach.
Good morning, San Diego.
About a week ago, a shock wave was sent through Ocean Beach. The Black announced its closure.
If you consider yourself an OBcean, or have invested time into understanding the neighborhood’s odd ecosystem, you’ll know the weight of that statement. For those of you who don’t know: It’s one of the places that defined the town’s culture, which residents have clung to for so long.
It had stood the test of time, adapting to the present while maintaining the bones that made it a “hippie heaven.”
Last Monday, Feb. 2, when its owner, Kurt Dornbusch, announced its closure, I headed over there.
The store was busy. There was a consistent, seemingly never-ending line to the register. A testament to the store’s footprint on the community. Throughout last week, I spent some time talking with the owner of the store’s books and music section, Mark Parnell, as well as other longtime OB residents about The Black.
From stories of dodging the draft to backyard rock bands, I got a glimpse into pieces of a generation. Take a look at our featured story today to find out more about the store’s closure and the counterculture scene it grew around.
Thoughts? Opinions? Share them with us at news@timesofsandiego.com.
Today’s top story
After 57 years, The Black goes to ‘hippie heaven’ — behind the store’s closure and the countercultural space it created
By Tessa Balc • Times of San Diego
The Black held the essence of what defined a generation of draft-dodgers, rockers and hippies. After 57 years it has become too expensive to maintain.
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7 stories to start your day
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Today’s opinion column
Opinion: It’s fitting that San Diego will host 2028 Olympic soccer matches
Here’s hoping that the Olympic soccer matches in 2028 bring good memories to a new generation of San Diegans as did the equestrian event in 1984.
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