Lullaby Lane Says Goodnight

Barry Gevertz grew up in his parents’ San Bruno baby store . Newlyweds Rosalie and Harold Gevertz opened the San Mateo Avenue business after World War II in 1947, just in time for the baby boom.

“You could buy a crib for probably $39,” Barry Gevertz said. But prices and competition increased.

Now customers can buy cribs and baby chairs used on websites like Craigslist, eBay or Amazon. “We give out a lot of great advice, and they walk out the store and buy it online,” Gevertz said. “We became the showroom for the Internet.”

Online shopping coupled with a stagnant economy have driven the baby and kids superstore out of business. The retailer, a downtown institution for more than 60 years, is having its final closing sale from 10am-5pm on Saturday.

Gevertz said his parents were in their 20s when they bought the business from a merchant who operated Lullaby Lane for about a year at 488 San Mateo Ave. The store was a modest 2,000 square feet.

“They just wanted to be in business for themselves,” he said. “They didn’t know what they wanted to sell.”

In 1977 the family expanded the business to its current location when they bought property previously occupied by Chapman’s children store, he said.

Three years later, Gevertz and his sister Debbie Gevertz-Licolli took over the business, growing it to 20,000 square feet of retail space and about 50 employees, he said.

But overtime Lullaby Lane couldn’t compete with used furniture websites. “The products that we sold are very durable,” he said. “People are reselling them. I can’t compete with used.

“We kept losing money. You want to see a light at the end of the tunnel and all it is is an oncoming train.”

Although Lullaby Lane employed three generations of the Gevertz family, Barry said it will be a relief not to have to worry about the business anymore.

Downtown San Bruno won't be the same, however. The closure of Lullaby Lane leaves a large vacant stretch on San Mateo Avenue. Other storefronts have recently shuttered as well, including Straw Hat Pizza.

“I am a little concerned about what is moving out and how much is moving out,” said Laura Baughman, CEO of the San Bruno Chamber of Commerce. “Lullaby Lane leaves quite a big chunk of empty space for us.”

Baughman said she is talking to the property owners about breaking the Lullaby Lane parcels into smaller spaces for startup businesses.

With the void of merchants comes opportunity, she said.

“When we do have this many vacancies we can bring in different businesses and it gives the city a chance to look at those businesses that we don’t represent now down here,” Baughman said.