Diane’s Hallmark to close after 31 years

Diane’s Hallmark store at 659 Foothill Blvd. will close its doors Saturday after 31 years in La Cañada Flintridge. Original owners Durwood and Darlene Barnett cited the ill effects of the economic recession and a failure to reach a new lease agreement for the closure.

The shuttering of Diane’s Hallmark signals the end of an era for the local small-business community and the Barnett family, which has owned and operated several pharmacies and gift shops in La Cañada, La Crescenta and Montrose during a 45-year span. The Barnetts will continue to run their single remaining Hallmark store in Laguna Niguel.

“We were always very steady until the last two years when the recession hit,” Durwood Barnett said. “That didn’t leave any type of business untouched.”

In an effort to remain profitable, the Barnetts sought to downsize the store to 3,000 square feet from its current 4,500 square feet, Durwood said. But they were unable to negotiate an agreement with Safeway Company, which owns Plaza de La Cañada.

The nostalgia was palpable as longtime customers and friends trickled through the store this week to say their goodbyes.

“Now I don’t know what I am going to do for cards and little gifts,” lamented customer Mary Strauss.

Customer Dottie Hazel said the Barnetts built a familial relationship with their customers that has endured for several decades. It is their personal touch that drew people back again and again, she said.

“Even though I might not buy something, I would come in to say hello,” Hazel said.

Partnership in life, business

Durwood and Darlene’s partnership in life began more than 50 years ago when they met while living in the same apartment complex in Dallas. Durwood, a Glendale native, was working on a pharmacy degree at the University of Texas. And he soon began working on Darlene, convincing her that a move to Southern California would put her an hour from the beach, an hour from the mountains and a whole lot closer to Hawaii.

They married in 1959, and moved to the area shortly thereafter.

In 1965 they started their business partnership, opening Barnett’s Pharmacy in Montrose.

“Every community should have an independent pharmacy where you can go in and talk to somebody…so you can have a personal one-on-one relationship with them, because they are a good source of information,” Durwood said.

The Barnetts worked long hours, often on weekends and holidays, to build rapport with their customers.

“A lot of customers called him Doc,” Darlene said. “They just felt like they could ask him questions that maybe they couldn’t ask their doctor or somebody else because it was such a personal business.”

They expanded their family — welcoming daughters Diane and Donna — and their entrepreneurial efforts. They went on to open and operate two pharmacies and eight Hallmark stores in La Cañada, La Crescenta, Montrose, Valencia, Palmdale, Sherman Oaks and Laguna Niguel.

Durwood focused on pharmaceutical and business aspects of the stores, while Darlene worked as the buyer.

“He is the business head and I am the visual [head],” Darlene said. “It has divided itself naturally; he does his thing and I do mine.”

They watched trends — Pet Rocks, Beanie Babies and Webkinz, to name a few — come and go. And there was the occasional difference in opinions, such as when Durwood wanted to veto a certain line of merchandise.

“It’s not like we don’t scream every once in a while,” Darlene said. “But we sleep together, live together, eat together, work together, and we are still together.”

Scaling down

In the 1990s the Barnetts started scaling down the number of simultaneous operating stores from a high of seven. They moved from their Burbank home to San Juan Capistrano and began to ease into retirement.

Three years ago, their daughter Diane took over daily management responsibilities at her namesake Hallmark store in La Cañada.

“A lot of the people that shop here have known me since I was 3 years old,” Diane said. “So I have seen them throughout their lifetime, and they have seen me throughout my lifetime.”

The Barnetts said that what they will miss most about Diane’s Hallmark store is the customers and the strong community atmosphere.

“We have had a lot of fun,” Darlene said.

“Yes, we have,” Durwood echoed.