Silverlandia | Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz & Atwater Village News

Silverlandia is a community based project aimed to promote exploration and growth for small and local businesses in the four neighborhoods of Silverlandia:
Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz and Atwater Village.

August 14, 2020

Dedication to Clients During the Pandemic with Marketing Packages

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses are in need of support. It’s more important now than ever to evaluate the online presence of your business. Digital marketing, advertising, web design, and search engine optimization can make the biggest difference in the success of your business. It can also attract the attention of more potential customers. Website Depot is here to help clients develop an effective online presence for their business. Website Depot will support you in any means possible with a variety of marketing packages to fit your needs.

marketing packages

The Importance of a Commercial Online Presence

For businesses to survive these tumultuous times, it is essential to use digital marketing strategies. This way, they can increase web traffic, build an online reputation, boost online sales, and improve Google rankings. Television advertising, radio ads, and billboards no longer generate the traffic needed to maintain customers and to draw more customers to your business.

Website Depot is focused on breaking even during the pandemic. Their utmost priority and goal to support clients and team members. Clients come first and Website Depot is dedicated to serving client businesses to help it succeed. To support clients, Website Depot is giving away one hour of free web maintenance to five clients and one company newsletter to five clients every day. Website Depot also offers free marketing consultations with experts and you can also request a free SEO audit to evaluate your business.

Contact Website Depot for Marketing Packages

Website Depot has many digital marketing packages and SEO marketing packages available. Whether your priorities are affordability or your goal is to optimize your business online presence, you are sure to find one to perfectly fit the needs of your business. Contact Website Depot through email at contact@websitedepot.com, over the phone at (888) 477-9540, or visit our website for more information.

August 13, 2020

VanillaBlack: A Black Female-Owned Coffee Shop in Silverlake

Working from home should not stop you from getting your daily caffeine intake. You might need coffee more than ever because you might feel demotivated and sluggish from never leaving your home. Meet VanillaBlack, a Black, female-owned coffee shop in Silverlake that can satisfy your cravings while keeping you energized for the day.

VanillaBlack’s Story

The story behind VanillaBlack is interesting in and of itself. Vanessa Butler, the owner, opened this coffee shop with her best friend Justine Zimbron in December 2017. Butler purchased the property, started the business, and managed it for the first few months with the help of her brother while living in Scotland. Even better, the incoming revenue from the shop gave Butler a golden opportunity for Butler to move back and start a new life in Los Angeles.

VanillaBlack is all about giving back to the community and creating new opportunities. Butler wishes to provide a more authentic and affordable option for her community to enjoy good quality coffee. One of the most affordable drinks VanillaBlack offers is the Neighborhood Brew, which is a 12-ounce coffee drink priced at a reasonable price of $3. Furthermore, VanillaBlack reflects Butler’s love and appreciation for her family, friends, and employees.

Family and Friends

“The Vanilla Bomb is one of our specialty drinks named after one of our former baristas, and the Layla Latte was created by my best friend,” Butler said. “We’re really open to involving our baristas and our friends having an influence on what we offer to the community”. It is no doubt that Butler’s appreciation for her loved ones is what drives the business to success.

VanillaBlack and COVID-19

Amidst today’s pandemic, VanillaBlack is open, implementing many safety precautions and practicing them daily to protect the community. The coffee shop is available for take-out and outdoor dining. This way, you can still enjoy the Black-owned goodness from the comfort of your home. Also, VanillaBlack employees have been wearing masks, washing their hands regularly, disinfecting surfaces, and asking customers to socially distance.

Try This Coffee Shop in Silverlake

VanillaBlack, which is located at 1825 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90026, is open Monday through Thursday from 7 AM to 4 PM and Friday through Sunday from 7 AM to 6 PM. Click here to learn more about VanillaBlack and Vanessa Butler.

August 12, 2020

Here’s How the Silver Lake Community Came Together to Support Each Other

As reported by The Eastsider, several members of the Silver Lake community have been coming together to support each other through tough times. Neighborhood residents recently founded Hey Neighbor. Through this project, schools and communities come together to raise funds for those in need. They have helped organize non-profit organizations such as Friends of Micheltorena, Friends of Ivanhoe, Hunger Action LA, and Silver Lake Neighborhood Council. Through these organizations, they have managed to raise emergency funds for Silver Lake families. These provide relief for families struggling with the prospect of an upcoming virtual school semester. After all, parents are concerned about who will take care of their kids while they stay home for school.

Hey Neighbor

In the face of a virtual semester (and perhaps a virtual school year), a lot of families, particularly low-income ones, are concerned about how they will manage to make ends meet while also taking care of their kids during their virtual classes. This is further causing strain on families after the general effects of the pandemic. Because of this, the non-profits organized by Hey Neighbor have raised funds for local schools to distribute accordingly among families. Each school is determining how they will relocate the funds. Some schools, such as Mayberry, are providing $100 grocery store gift cards for families that already qualified for free lunches. Others are giving families a choice between gift cards for different purposes.

Supporting the Silver Lake Community

As the Silver Lake community comes together to support families in need, other neighborhoods can begin to establish similar communal aids. In order to help with that endeavor, Hey Neighbor has created a guide to help others start their own fundraisers. If you are interested in it, you can email them at neighbors.main@gmail.com and request it. You and your community can also come together to help each other.

August 11, 2020

Stories, Resident Echo Park Bookstore, is Again Open for Browsing

Stories, the small Echo Park bookstore on Sunset Blvd, has always been a wonderful little place to spend time at. With its little open patio, its delicious cafe, and its cozy reading room, Stories provides reading fans with a great getaway. For the last few months, Stories has been fulfilling online orders and curbside pickups. However, they recently opened back up for browsing books in a safe way. Not only that, but the outdoor patio is open for eating as well. This way, if you wish to grab a new book, you can head over to Stories. Then, you can read through the first few pages as you enjoy a coffee in their little patio cafe.

Stories Echo Park Bookstore

The charm of Stories is simply undeniable. After all, by merely walking into Stories you are stepping into a wonderful little paradise for book lovers. This Echo Park bookstore has everything you might wish for. Between their extensive book collection, independent atmosphere, and quaint cafe, what else could you possibly ask for in an escape to the bookstore? Of course, right now it’s probably not the best time to sit down in a bookstore to read, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get to grab a new book and a coffee. After a few months of only offering curbside pickup, you can finally indulge in the simple pleasures of browsing for books again.

Grab a Book and a Hot Beverage

Located at 1716 Sunset Blvd, this resident Echo Park bookstore is back open for your enjoyment. Overcoming the effects of the pandemic entails a lot of different things, including adapting to a new normal while still being cautious. For example, we may not be able to go sit at a bookstore for a while and just read. However, we can at least go browse through a bookstore with a mask on. To learn more about how Stories is operating, head over to their website and see what they’re up to.

August 10, 2020

Cuties, Silver Lake’s LGBTQ Coffee Shop, Needs Your Help

Public LGBTQ spaces in most cities tend to be relegated to very specific environments. Most of these places are clubs and bars. This ends up being a problem for LGBTQ people underage, as well as those uncomfortable with alcohol-heavy environments. There is a void, even in cities such as Los Angeles, for LGBTQ-friendly spaces open to all ages. In the last few years, that void has been filled by Cuties, an LGBTQ coffee shop in between Silver Lake and East Hollywood. They have provided plenty of LGBTQ people of all ages with a safe space for them to interact with each other and meet new people. Right now, however, they are struggling to stay afloat and they need your help.

Cuties LGBTQ Coffee Shop

According to their website, “Cuties is a queer social space that isn’t a bar or nightclub, making it accessible to young people and anyone uncomfortable in alcohol-oriented environments, which is rare and important”. Under normal circumstances, this LGBTQ-owned and operated coffee shop hosts a variety of weekly events. This makes them more than just a passive location. They are an active part of the neighborhood. Their effort doesn’t stop merely being an LGBTQ coffee shop. Instead, they aim to create a stronger sense of community among queer individuals of all ages. It’s this active role in the LGBTQ community that makes Cuties so beloved by their loyal customer base.

Support Cuties

Of course, Cuties is currently unable to operate full service as usual. Conveniently, you can still order delivery from them using GrubHub. However, they are looking for support beyond just ordering from them. If that’s the only way through which you can help them, it’s definitely a lot! But, if you can help beyond that, Silver Lake’s resident LGBTQ coffee shop has a Patreon you can support. By ordering something from them, and maybe donating some money, you can help this social beacon for LGBT individuals to stay afloat during the pandemic.