 | |
| Industry | Grocery store,health food store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 (1969) inWest Hollywood, U.S. |
| Founders | Brian Wilson, Steve Korthoff, Arny Geller. |
| Defunct | July 29, 1970 (1970-7-29) |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Products | Natural organic vegetarian food, supplements, and herbs |
TheRadiant Radish was ahealth food store located at the corner ofMelrose Avenue andSan Vicente Boulevard inWest Hollywood, California, from 1969 to 1971.[1]It was managed byBrian Wilson ofthe Beach Boys, his cousin Steve Korthoff, and friend Arny Geller.
Beach Boys memberBrian Wilson opened the smallhealth food store with his cousin, Steve Korthoff, and friend Arnie Geller in mid-1969.[2] It was financed with $15,000 (equivalent to $130,000 in 2024).[3] Prior to this, Wilson had displayed a fervent interest inphysical fitness with his band's 1967 song "Vegetables".[4] When he had planned to issue the song as a single, he held a mock photoshoot at the Los Angeles Farmers Market, where he posed in front of a fruit and vegetable stand. The location was at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street.[5]
The Radiant Radish had irregular hours. Wilson would open the store whenever he felt like it, usually at night, and manage the counter while still dressed in his pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers.[2] He would also occasionally indulge himself to up to $1,000 of his own stock (equivalent to $9,000 in 2024).[3] JournalistTom Nolan recalled encountering Wilson alone at the store and clad in a bathrobe.[6] Wilson refused to sell him a bottle ofVitamin B-12, explaining that Nolan first needed to provide proof of a doctor's prescription.[3]
Nolan wrote about the experience in his 1971 cover story forRolling Stone, "The Beach Boys: A California Saga".[6] BiographerPeter Ames Carlin later wrote: "Nolan was less surprised by the robe than by the simple fact that the man wearing it was a millionaire rock star whose penchant for seclusion had become nearly as famous as the many hit songs he had written and produced. Just three years after writing and producing 'Good Vibrations', Brian Wilson was selling vitamins out of a health food store in West Hollywood."[6]
The Radiant Radish was closed by 1970 due to unprofitable produce expenditures and Wilson's lack of business acumen.[7] In 2015, Wilson said his favorite part about running the store was thecash register.[8] He also met journalist and radio presenterJack Rieley at the store, who would manage the Beach Boys and act as Wilson's principal lyricist for a brief period.[9]
34°04′53″N118°23′00″W / 34.081350°N 118.383248°W /34.081350; -118.383248