Don Pablitos in City Terrace

Don Pablitos was located at the corner or City Terrace Drive and Carmelita.

Don Pablito the owner was a older man that wore a hard hat and a lab coat to tend to his store and always chatted up whomever came in to buy something.

Don Pablitos wife....scared me.

She looked like she would beat me up if I asked for the wrong thing.

I went to Don Pablitos since I was a little kid and thru little kid eyes she did not look like she liked kids.....(weird how we think when we are young)

They had so many things.

Don Pablitos was a corner store with a long walkway that had to large diplay windows down a narrow corridor that you walked thru to get the the door of the store and it contained..arcade games...a bunch display cased and shelves lots of shelves with a bunch of hidden treasures . The shelves were everywhere and extended all the way to the ceiling (or that is what I remember)

Don Pablitos had toys...from Mexico...Piñatas,candy,....all kinds of stuff.

I bought my little brother his first birthday present there...a wind up tin tricycle that I saved up for(see the City Terrace Label for the story) .

When you went into the store you were greeted by Don Pablito or his wife...they would ask you what you were looking for and in what price range and they would sort thru all their stuff and get it for you if they had it.

They even developed film...(probably sent it out) I was into taking pictures and would always be the one designated to go to Don Pablitos to get the film developed and pick it up when it was ready......

One day I forgot that I took the film in and about three weeks later my brother came running in the house to tell me that I had to go get the film from Don Pablitos...he was so upset and embarrased...

He said that Don Pablito posted one of our pictures on the display window of his shop and everyone could see that we did not pay for the pictures and that they were available for pick up.

I skated down the hill to Don Pablitos and looked at the picture that he had displayed and it was a picture of my cousins and my mom shaking hands with our relative that lived in TJ,.....My mom was sporting a I just woke up Fro and my aunts was also....it was a really funny picture....but not something I wanted displayed like a scarlet letter for everyone to see.

Don Pablitos is no longer there.....not sure what happened to Don Pablito and his wife...but his sons started BJ Brothers on Ford and Cesar Chavez street by the freeway(it is now called Party Planet) not sure if still owned by Don Pablitos family.

For those of you that have not been there it is a set of (What looks like) warehouses that are all on one huge lot and they sell party supplies....rent out brinca brincas and all kinds of other stuff...they even have a private investigator service in case you are looking for that long lost love.

Don pablitos was exactly like that but enclosed in a corner store that was about 40x10.

Funny how the things that you remember from your childhood are things that seemed so trivial , funny how all you want to do when you are young is get away to see new things and all you do when you get older is remember those little things that made that period of your life special.

Evilchavo Out.