Tankfarm Drives Home for New Store

There’s no place like home for Orange County fashion label Tankfarm.

The 7-year-old Tankfarm has sold its menswear in Macy’s, Nordstrom and Fred Segal, but the lure of the founders’ hometown proved more powerful than any fancy address when the label went looking for real estate to open its first flagship boutique. On Dec. 4, Tankfarm founders and brothers John and Mike Anderson debuted their new 2,000-square-foot store and design headquarters at 10900 Los Alamitos Blvd. in Los Alamitos, Calif. The north Orange County town is located 22 miles south of downtown Los Angeles and seemingly far from anything glitzy or fashion savvy.

“We wanted to bring some edge to Los Alamitos,” said John Anderson of his hometown, which is the address for the USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center, an army base and small, independent, neighborhood dentists’ offices, delis and groceries.

He also said he thinks the town will be a laid-back place to experiment with new Tankfarm styles before sending them off to the more hipster neighborhoods of Hollywood and nearby Costa Mesa.

Anderson plans to give discounts to kids from Los Alamitos High School, his alma mater, as well as army personnel working in the town. He also expects surfers and hipsters from adjacent Seal Beach will make a 10-minute drive to check out his store. Like many manufacturers, Tankfarm set up a flagship store to display the full collection of T-shirts, wovens, jackets and fleece for men, Mike Anderson said. “You got the best of who we are; we don’t have to appease any buyers here,” he said.

The store also sells brands the Andersons believe complement their label. There’s a wall of Levi’s jeans, with an emphasis on the venerable denim label’s classic looks—think Levi’s blue 501, 505 and 511 jeans. Also prominent in the store are Red Wing motorcycle boots and Cockpit leather jackets. Decorations are a celebration of chic, classic biker looks. There is a 1970 Triumph motorcycle in the store window and pictures of movie star and biker aficionado Steve McQueen wearing a motorcycle helmet. In back of the store are the company offices and a bar serving Widmer beer and Red Bull.

Los Alamitos might be home, but it is not the final note of the label’s retail dreams. The Andersons plan to build a fleet of Tankfarm stores, probably 10 stores in the next five years. The label is scouting real estate to open a Hollywood store in Summer 2011. However, the label’s main business will continue to be wholesaling, John Anderson said.—Andrew Asch