{"id":123901,"date":"2026-02-05T15:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/123901\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T15:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:35:08","slug":"an-era-is-ending-as-manhattan-beachs-last-newsstand-shuts-its-doors-daily-breeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/123901\/","title":{"rendered":"An era is ending as Manhattan Beach\u2019s last newsstand shuts its doors \u2013 Daily Breeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kay Nam remembers when she would arrive at her Manhattan Beach newsstand at 7 a.m. and find people already lined up \u2014 waiting to pick up the morning paper.<\/p>\n

Whole stacks of newspapers would disappear within hours, she said. Readers would linger, browsing more than 150 different magazines stacked on shelves and racks. The place buzzed.<\/p>\n

But that was decades ago.<\/p>\n

Things haven\u2019t been like that for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cTimes have changed,\u201d Kay said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no newsflash that print media isn\u2019t what it used to be. People simply aren\u2019t reading physical newspapers and magazines the way they once did.<\/p>\n

Which is why, after 28 years in Downtown Manhattan Beach, the South Bay\u2019s last traditional newsstand has finally shut its doors.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Tom and Kay Nam, co-owners of Current Events in Manhattan Beach. The couple\u2019s newsstand shop has closed after 28 years on Highland Avenue. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)\n<\/p>\n

\"Current<\/p>\n

Current Events, a newsstand shop owned by Tom and Kay Nam, has closed after 28 years on Highland Avenue in Manhattan Beach. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A rack of magazines is shown inside Current Events, a newsstand shop owned by Tom and Kay Nam. The couple has closed their business after 28 years on Highland Avenue in Manhattan Beach. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

Tom and Kay Nam, co-owners of Current Events in Manhattan Beach. The couple\u2019s newsstand shop has closed after 28 years on Highland Avenue. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Current Events, a small shop on Highland Avenue that for decades sold papers, magazines, snacks, and lotto tickets to a loyal roster of regulars, closed on Saturday, Jan. 31 \u2014 yet another nail in the coffin of the world that journalism school grads like me once dreamed of when we set out to work in the news business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very emotional for us,\u201d said Kay, who worked at the store seven days a week for nearly all of its three decades. \u201cIt is hard to say goodbye \u2014 to the store and to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kay co-owned the store with her husband, Tom. Over the years, they grew close to a family of regulars, some of whom stopped in daily or weekly, often just to chat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very strong connection to the Manhattan Beach community,\u201d Kay said. \u201cWe saw children come in with their parents, go to school, come back after school, grow up and, later, return with children of their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Kay took on a second job to help pay the rent on the space, which sits in a bustling stretch of downtown shops and restaurants. Sales had slumped, but the couple kept the store open as long as they could.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt responsible to the people who supported us for so many years, and we wanted to stay open for them as long as we could,\u201d Kay said, adding that she raised her son, Bryan, inManhattan Beach. \u201cThis store was a big part of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Tom has health problems, Kay said. He needs surgery.<\/p>\n

So they\u2019re closing the newsstand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kay and Tom, originally from Korea, came to Manhattan Beach from the East Coast in 1996. Two years later, they took over the business from its previous owner.<\/p>\n

It was originally a mail center and ticket broker. The couple kept the P.O. boxes and added the newsstand. The ticket seller rented space from them and continued operating there for many years.<\/p>\n

And over time, the shop became a daily ritual for many locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrent Events was a regular destination for my family,\u201d Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser told me in an email. \u201cAs the internet altered how news is consumed, they were a reliable resource of information and reflected our small-town atmosphere. They will be greatly missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The business took a significant hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kay said, as foot traffic dried up and many publications stopped printing altogether. It took another blow in 2021, when Manhattan Beach banned the sale of cigarettes \u2014 once a reliable source of revenue.<\/p>\n

But the deeper damage had already been done. The internet had been quietly hollowing out the business for years.<\/p>\n

Once a staple of daily life, newsstand sales have dwindled from more than 35% of magazine circulation in the late 1970s to less than 3% today, industry reports show, as distributors disappeared, and supermarkets and convenience stores eliminated or reduced their magazine racks.<\/p>\n

Bookstores, meanwhile, have experienced the opposite. After once being thought to be equally doomed by the digital shift, bookstores are now experiencing a surprising resurgence. In 2025, in fact, more than 400 new independent bookstores joined the American Booksellers Association, according to data<\/a> cited by The New York Times, while Barnes & Noble announced plans to open 55 new stores nationwide.<\/p>\n

Books are a novelty now \u2014 a conscious choice to look away from screens. Books are retro.<\/p>\n

But I still love magazines. Always have.<\/p>\n

Looking back, I can trace whole personality arcs of my life through the magazines I was reading. Highlights gave way to Ranger Rick. Teen gave way to Self. Entertainment Weekly and People gave way to Good Housekeeping and Newsweek. My magazines grew up with me.<\/p>\n

Of course, I tried to pass that page-flipping pleasure on to my kids, but with YouTube, Roblox and graphic novels competing for their attention, print media is a quick no.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, why do you even buy magazines?\u201d my 16-year-old son said to me recently after I had just stocked up on a bagful of glossies for a long flight.<\/p>\n

He was genuinely dumbfounded, and had paused the endless cogwheel of TikTok on his phone (content that I find equally unfathomable) just to ask me the question.<\/p>\n

I tried to explain. He didn\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n

The news, he argued, happens too quickly to be printed on paper. And magazines? There are apps for that.<\/p>\n

Ironically, however, people have taken to social media to mourn the loss of the beloved South Bay newsstand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to arrive every Thursday to buy the latest stash of fashion magazines,\u201d one Instagram user wrote. \u201cThank you for all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnd of an era,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n

As for what\u2019s next for the space, the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce said the store will become the new location for Gum Tree, an artsy, locally owned home d\u00e9cor and gift shop currently located on Manhattan Beach Boulevard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to pause and recognize what a remarkable run this has been,\u201d the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business + Professional Association said in an Instagram post. \u201cSmallbusinesses like this are the heartbeat of Downtown Manhattan Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magazine lovers, take heart. You can still find a solid lineup of glossies at Barnes & Noble \u2014 now the last remaining place in the beach cities with a deep magazine rack.<\/p>\n

But, for me at least, it\u2019s not the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will miss seeing our customers every day,\u201d Kay said. \u201cServing this community for so many years has been an honor. Thank you to everyone who supported us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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