Rosa’s Registration and Old York Vintage occupy the same building on York Boulevard, offering customers a vehicle registration service and a place to shop curated vintage styles from various eras in time.
Current owner Elizabeth Throckmorton said that her mother first started the car registration business 19 years ago, when Throckmorton was 13 years old. Throckmorton said the business started out in a little office in the back of the building.
“We’ve been lucky to be able to rent the whole space, which has been amazing,” Throckmorton said. “We’ve been able to develop this whole community space.”
Fashion designer Angel Gentle is the current manager of Old York Vintage. He said he went to Throckmorton’s store to fix his motorcycle, where he and Throckmorton came up with the idea to have Old York Vintage share a space with the auto registration store.
“I went to Elizabeth’s auto registration, and she was telling me that she would like to have the front of her store be more inviting,” Gentle said. “I built my team and she hired all of us, and then we just started to curate the space and get everything going.”
Gentle said that when selecting vendors, he considers their prior business experience and commitment.
“I see if [vendors] would be good to run a store and to organize one. How well do they keep up with their projects? Are they able to supply good quality pieces?” Gentle said. “It’s also the presentation of the products, the quality of the products and the time they put into it.”
Juan Castro, one of the vendors at Old York Vintage, said that he admires his co-workers’ unique styles.
“[My co-worker] used to be a skater, and he used to be a graffiti artist, so he’s more an urban, streetwear kind of guy,” Castro said. “But then he also loves the ’90s and 2000s.”
Gentle said he believes a large part of the business appeal is the diversity in what each vendor has to offer. He said that one of the vendors selects items that have a Southern aesthetic, such as cowboy boots and suede jackets.
“I pretty much love everyone’s stuff in the shop, and that’s why they’re in there,” Gentle said. “I love their curation and how they find their stuff and the whole package.”
Throckmorton said that at Rosa’s Registration, despite first starting with a primarily Spanish-speaking client pool, customers have diversified over the years.
“[Our clientele] is anyone that could use our services.” Throckmorton said. “Over the years, we’ve definitely expanded and [now] help all kinds of people. I’ve had people [that are] immigrants. I’ve had people that are locals.”
Castro said the clothing shop prioritizes keeping their clothes affordable, which is a big part of why there is a thrift store section in addition to the vintage clothing section. Castro also said he believes the business as a whole — including the registration services — supports people on a budget through their accessible pricing.
“There’s all kinds of people that go [to Rosa’s Registration], and they need a jacket or a button up. They can always stop by,” Castro said.
Gentle said that in the future, he aims to expand the items offered to include books and vintage action figures.
“Maybe students are wanting to find nice used school books that are unique,” Gentle said. “I think the vintage toys hit on nostalgia, where you walk in and you see an action figure and you’re like, ‘Oh, that was from my childhood. I want to capture those moments.’”
Throckmorton said there has been a lot of change in Highland Park over the years, but the down-to-earth atmosphere of both Rosa’s Registration and Old York Vintage is what makes the business unique.
“What I honestly think makes it so special is the grit,” Throckmorton said. “I feel like a lot of the newer businesses are a little too polished, a little too clinical feeling. And that’s not real, you know. That’s not grit. That’s not human and local, and we’re human and local.”
Contact Allyson Chan at achan2@oxy.edu and Diana Trutia at trutia@oxy.edu
