Optometrist Thomas Kutrosky has been running his practice at the same location on Weddington Boulevard, a block from the North Hollywood subway station, for 36 years. Since the station opened last month, business has doubled, he says, thanks in part to a subway token dispenser in the reception area of his office. “A lot more people come into my office,” Kutrosky said. “Some come in for tokens and see what I do and come back (for an eye exam or glasses).” The subway opening on June 24 has brought with it more people, if not yet actual customers then at least increased foot traffic for North Hollywood businesses. The parking lot at the North Hollywood station is generally full, and people wander in and out of the station throughout the day, with traffic being heaviest in the mornings and evenings. According to the latest numbers from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the North Hollywood station is the seventh busiest in the 16-station system, with an estimated 19,488 daily boardings and arrivals. Many business owners in the area say they have changed their own transportation habits, taking the Red Line trains to business meetings and restaurants downtown. “In the last month, (the Red Line) has changed a lot of people’s minds who were not really in support of it,” said Larry Applebaum, owner of musical instrument repair shop MusicTek and president of the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “For us, it’s vindication that (the subway) is being used and people are grateful for it.” Applebaum said one of his customers was so thrilled with the subway that he sold his car and now commutes by train downtown each day. That kind of enthusiasm may be rare, but there is little question that merchants who were once doubtful about the subway are now welcoming it, because it is driving traffic to their neighborhoods. Kutrosky said he was nearly forced to close down his business during the six years of subway construction, when motorists steered clear of the area. Now he rides the subway to occasional meetings with colleagues on the other side of the hill, and his wife rides it to her downtown job every day. “I was pretty pessimistic a couple months ago,” he said. “Everyone said they wouldn’t ride it. But now they’re riding it.” Merchants near the Valley stations have high hopes about the new subway. Many report seeing new business since it arrived, though few have been overwhelmed. David Dion, owner of women’s clothing store VaVoom, which sits directly across from the subway station on Lankershim Boulevard, said it has had a negligible impact on his business so far, though a few customers who identified themselves as subway riders saw the shop and wandered in. “When more people are here, maybe it will help,” Dion said. “I’m cautiously optimistic.” Dion himself takes the trains and buses to the garment district downtown. “I think it’s cool,” he said. “I wish I could use it more often.” Less enthusiastic is Brian Sheehan, owner of Eclectic Cafe on Lankershim Boulevard a block or so south of the station. He hasn’t seen much of an impact since the subway arrived. “I think people in Los Angeles who dine out are the type of people who don’t want to give up their cars,” Sheehan said. “It also might be too soon. But so far, nothing’s been increased and we haven’t had very heavy traffic.” Sheehan is still paying off half of the $120,000 loan he took out to keep his business going during subway construction. Sheehand believes business is probably better for merchants near the Universal City station, because many tourists get off there to visit the Universal Studios theme park. He just wishes more would stay on for the North Hollywood station. “The question is, are they going to continue on one more stop to NoHo, and I don’t think the area has enough attractions to do that,” Sheehan said. The El Portal Center, a block north of Sheehan, is hoping to be just such an attraction. The playhouse, the largest in the San Fernando Valley, hasn’t seen a big change in business since the subway opened, but director Pegge Forrest said she’s still optimistic. Forrest plans to market the theater to the Hollywood community, believing the subway will make it more convenient for people living on the other side of the Hollywood Hills to make the trip. Her goal is to boost the theater’s current 7,000 annual subscribers to more than 10,000. “The (MTA) is really trying to help us,” Forrest said. “They have us on all their maps and books and they hand out our flyers for shows. People are starting to see that we’re here.”
