Anawalt Lumber Moving Into Norris Space

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Since Norris closed in July 2018, countless Palisadians have requested the return of a hardware store—and now, their wishes have been answered.

Anawalt Lumber will be taking over a portion of the space formerly occupied by Norris Hardware, President/CEO Rolando Robles confirmed to the Palisadian-Post on Monday, February 17.

The 12,400-square-foot building has sat vacant since Norris’ closure after serving Pacific Palisades for nearly 40 years.

“Nineteen months they’re without a [hardware] store, I know how hard that is,” Robles said about what inspired Anawalt to sign onto a Palisades store, adding that he is looking forward to serving the community.

Since Norris closed, rumors have swirled about what will occupy the space—with everything from a Pilates studio to an Apple store suggested.

Anawalt, a family-owned and operated company that was founded in 1923, has four home improvement locations across Los Angeles: Malibu, Pico Boulevard, West Hollywood and Hollywood.

Robles reported that the Palisades location would be similar to Anawalt’s others, but instead of a lumber yard, the space will be a full-service hardware store. Offerings will be a similar mix to Norris, including plumbing, electrical and items to maintain a nursery, though there will not be any plants.

The store will be designed by the same team that remodeled the Pico Boulevard location, which features antique fixtures.

“It’s going to look nice,” Robles shared.

Robles said that when he noticed the space was still empty in October 2019, he revisited the conversation with the Ford family, who owns the property, and they were able to reach a deal at that time.

Since shuttering, the Norris building has been divided into two leasable spaces: Anawalt will operate in a roughly 7,900-square-foot space. Details were not yet available for who would take over the rest of the building.

Norris had deep roots in the community, originally founded by Palisadian pioneer Robert Norris in 1925. First a plumbing shop on the corner of Temescal Canyon Road and Beverly Boulevard (now Sunset), the store moved to Swarthmore Avenue and finally settled in April 1979 at 15140 Sunset Blvd., taking over the space formerly occupied by the Bay Theatre.

The plan is for Anawalt, which will have the address of 15130 Sunset Blvd., to get into the building in the beginning of April, have a soft opening in the first couple weeks of May, followed by a grand opening in June.

“Things can change but as of today we look to be on schedule for an April 1 entry date,” Robles said. “We are thinking four to six weeks to get the store ready for business.”

Robles said the store will soon be hiring new members to join its team.