The Echo Park Time Travel Mart

A Store Straight Out of Science Fiction

Walk into the Time Travel Mart and you’re greeted by shelves packed with products that don’t exist. Cans of Primordial Soup sit next to jars of Mammoth Chunks. Robot Emotions are sold as USB drives (Schadenfreude is a popular choice), you can buy Barbarian Repellent (warning: doesn’t work on Ostrogoths), Bottled Time in various sizes, and factory-sealed packages of air from different centuries.

The staff plays along. They might greet you as if they’ve already met your future self. Signs advertise a Time-Freezy Hyper Slush machine, permanently out of order today but working yesterday. The whole setup commits fully to the bit, right down to the caveman mannequin shaking hands with a robot in the window.

But look past the gags and you’ll notice something real: books. Lots of them. Many are written by kids and published through 826LA’s student programs. They’re displayed in a freezer, naturally.

The Real Mission Behind the Storefront

Here’s the backstory. In 2002, author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari wanted to open a free tutoring center in San Francisco. The landlord told them the space was zoned for retail—they’d need to sell something. The building’s stripped-down interior looked like a ship’s hull, so they opened a pirate supply store. The concept worked so well that when 826 expanded to other cities, each chapter created its own themed storefront. Echo Park got the Time Travel Mart in 2008.

The setup serves multiple purposes. It funds the nonprofit’s programs entirely through product sales. It advertises 826LA’s services to the neighborhood without looking like a typical education center. And it creates an environment where creativity feels natural. Kids aren’t walking into “the place for students who need help”—they’re entering a time travel headquarters.

Behind that secret door in the back, 20 to 30 students show up each day Monday through Thursday for free one-on-one tutoring. Volunteers help with homework, but they also work on ambitious projects: poems, comic books, self-initiated research. The best work gets compiled and published. Some students have even had their songs performed by bands like Cold War Kids and Fiona Apple as part of a 2010 benefit album.

What You’ll Actually See

The store itself is small: 400 square feet of products, signage, and visual jokes. You can browse freely. Staff and volunteers are friendly and happy to explain the 826LA connection. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of students working in the tutoring space, though the classroom operates separately from store hours.

Products range from practical (t-shirts, tote bags) to purely decorative (robot toupees, dinosaur eggs in cartons). Prices are reasonable for what you’re supporting. The store also sells McSweeney’s publications and special Poketo wallets featuring student stories illustrated by artists.

The whole visit takes maybe 15 to 30 minutes if you’re just shopping. Longer if you’re genuinely interested in the program’s work or want to chat with staff about how it all operates. There’s no pressure to buy, though most visitors leave with at least one absurd souvenir.

Why It Works

The Time Travel Mart succeeds because it treats a serious mission with a light touch. Literacy education doesn’t announce itself through earnest messaging or institutional branding. Instead, it hides behind jokes about woolly mammoths and robot maintenance. The approach disarms visitors and makes the cause memorable.

For students, the payoff is real. Many arrive lacking confidence in their writing abilities. Through personalized attention and a genuinely fun environment, they learn that writing can be playful, creative, and worth pursuing. The published books on those shelves represent actual achievement, not participation trophies.

It’s a retail concept that could only work as nonprofit fundraising. No real business would stock these products. But as a front for youth education, it’s brilliant—weird enough to attract attention, sincere enough to inspire support.

Second Location in Mar Vista

If you’re on the west side, you can visit the sibling store of The Mar Vista Time Travel Mart.