Gift Shop Puts Ventura Train Car on Right Track for Holidays

Depending on when they arrived in Ventura, residents have first known the historic orange railroad car at 3029 E. Main St. as either a restaurant and dance hall, an antique store, a motorcycle dealership or a hobby shop.

Originally a dining car on the Southern Pacific line and then a circus car, the train car has been reincarnated several times since it was parked near a three-parcel piece of land near the Five Points intersection in 1933.

And this holiday season, the train car, which had been vacant since April, has become an arts and crafts boutique--a cooperative venture supported by more than 30 artists, predominantly from Ventura County.

The At the Side Car gift shop opened Nov. 17 and will close Christmas Eve.

Artists displaying their work from the day the store opened were required to chip in $75 rent for the six-week period, give 10% commission to the store on all sales after the first $100 and work 20 hours total behind the counter over the length of their stay. Artists who joined the co-op in subsequent weeks received a discount on the rent.

Cathi Nye, who with her husband oversees the daily operation of the 3,000-square-foot train car, said the idea for the retail shop began percolating in late October. Nye said she knew the car was available so she quickly went about selecting craftspeople and artists.

“We wanted quality work that was handmade,” she said. “I wanted a variety of collections, but not just a variety. I wanted things that appeal to everyone.”

For Jim Nye, the opening of the train for the holiday season means keeping alive a piece of family history. It was Jim Nye’s grandfather, local sign maker Jimmy Vavruche, who first brought the train to Ventura, purchasing it for about $10,000 from a circus owner who was trying to raise money for a tour of Japan. Nye’s grandmother, Juanita Vavruche, and his mother, Carol Nye, own the side car and its adjoining 27,000-square-foot property.

“People have a lot of affection for this place as a landmark in Ventura. It adds character and I think many people identify Ventura by its character,” Jim Nye said. “It had suffered some neglect over the years and it was getting to the point where it either got taken care of or torn down.”

So Nye and his wife, Cathi, became the property’s caretakers and started making renovations. He said about $40,000 has gone into upgrading the train and more than $100,000 will be spent on the remainder of the property.

The property, which borders Dos Caminos Avenue, is also the site of a 1,236-square-foot building that is being converted into office space for Jim Nye’s graphic design business and an 850-square-foot art gallery / performance studio set to open New Year’s Eve.

Dramatic changes, to be sure, for a location that for most of its existence--from 1933 to 1970--was a hot spot for dining and dancing. Though the holiday boutique has taken on the same name as the original establishment, and the train looks much like it always has, that’s where the similarities end.

At the center of the car, where the dance floor used to be, is a pottery display by Pacific Clay Works of Ventura. One end of the train, where diners once occupied booths, is now decorated with whimsical clocks by Ojai artist Chuck Burright. Floral wreaths, sarongs, holiday gift bags, dolls, clothing, jewelry, woodcraft items and other artwork fill the remainder of the space.

For the craftspeople, the train means an opportunity to make a few more holiday sales and to advertise their work in hopes of drumming up future business.

“We’re looking at this as supplemental to our regular sales,” said Peter Eller of Santa Barbara, who with his partner, Sandy Timm, is selling stained-glass kaleidoscopes At The Side Car. “This is a busy time for sure. Generally, we sell at craft shows. I like being in a store and still doing the shows.”

As for Michele’ Shoesmith, displaying her bead jewelry at the boutique is just another step toward her goal of opening her own retail business selling beads.

“The advantage of having a place like the side car is they can draw people in from all walks of life,” said Shoesmith, who also has bead booths in two local crafters malls, the Crafters Showplace in Oxnard and the HomeSpun Treasures Crafters Gallery in Camarillo. “When people come in to see what is here, they will stumble on my items.”

Though the Nyes say they have had requests to keep the boutique open past the holidays, they have no such plans. “We’re hoping to just break even,” Cathi Nye said. “We would need to be in an area with much more foot traffic.”

Instead, Jim Nye said he is in negotiations with tenants looking to put a day spa inside the train at the start of 1996. The spa would offer aromatherapy, massage and other cleansing and make-over services.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in the past. This could have been an automotive-related business, an electrical supply store. We’ve talked to quite a few people interested in opening another restaurant,” he said. “We’ve spent a long time trying to find someone. . . . We wanted a tenant who appreciated what the building was.”