A store on Abbot Kinney
There's a store on Abbot Kinney where you can't buy anything. It's on the ocean side of the street, near the Zinqué* end, and it sells curated, designy knick knacks and wellness products, presumably for gifts or staging an Airbnb. Each product has a QR code displayed next to it. If you want to buy something you scan the QR code and order it online, through your phone. The store has no stock, and no cashier.
Still, it very much presents as a store you can buy things in. We perceived it as a store, as did the older guy who came in after us and tried to buy a fancy pencil set.
"Where do I pay for this?" he asked.
"If you scan the QR code, it will take you to our website, and you can order it there," said the shopkeeper.
The man looked confused. "But can I just buy it right here?"
"Well," said the shopkeeper, "I know everyone lives in a world of instant gratification now, but that's just not how we operate."
The man left without buying the fancy pencil set.
We didn't get the name of the place. We were too busy replaying the scene to each other, over and over, as we walked out and up the street, into the early night.
*By the way, I learned recently that Zinqué is not pronounced, "zinc." It's pronounced, "zinn-KAY." I had the same reaction to learning that as I did to hearing that shopkeeper explain her store.