Hurry up and visit Famima!! before you hate it
By Ellen Griley

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

Southern Californians have about six months to enjoy Famima!!—six months, or maybe 10 months, or however long it takes before there’s an outlet of the Japanese-owned convenience stores next to every Starbucks and Quizno’s. But until then, you should enjoy the excessively-punctuated company’s take on quik-mart culture: clean, airy shops with an emphasis on design—everything from cutely packaged Hint Mints to pretty Fujiyama dragon notebooks to parrot-shaped bottle openers, not to mention an entire wall of Papyrus greeting cards and giftware (tissue paper, bags and the like) inside each location. Oh, and lots of food and drinks, too.

To some, Famima!! translates into little more than a fancy 7-Eleven; to the rest of us, it holds the promise of a better future for on-the-go Americans, a future where we won’t have to settle for cold roast beef sandwiches and a bottle of Gatorade to cure our hangovers on the way to work, but rather a delicious Thai chicken wrap, with maybe a small cup of corn chowder, perhaps, topped off by a can of VitaminEnergy (the carbonated alternative to the wondrous cure-all that is VitaminWater). And while we’re at it, throw in a bottle of Sriracha, a father’s day card and a kai gardenia Japanese candle, too.

It will likely take some time before Long Beach residents—and the folks living in Pasadena, Santa Monica, Culver City and downtown LA, some of the other cities that can boast the store—recognize Famima!! as more than just an overpriced AmPm. That’s okay—at-the-ready eating and shopping like this can take a little getting used to. What’s funny is that we’re so behind the rest of the world when it comes to convenience: there’s something like one Famima!! per household in Japan (approximate) and in Europe, 7-Elevens like the ones we have here would not last a month.

It comes down to standards—the British, for example, want their curry all the goddamned time, and they want it hot. So the Spars and the Tesco mini-marts make it available in all varieties: just-add-water curry, microwaveable curry, plus refrigerated, made-the-same-day curry dishes you can purchase and have the store warm for you. Famima!! functions in a similar way, with an expanded menu: dim sum (try the totally delicious Combo B with pan fried spicy chicken bun, chicken siew, shrimp dumplings and mushroom potstickers), pasta (spaghetti bolognese and puttanesca), panini (turkey and Havarti, grilled Italian vegetable, Philly cheesesteak), and sushi (california rolls, rainbow rolls, an extra spicy tuna roll—though I’d skip that last one).

There’s also just-add-water ramens of very nearly every variety, ice cream—both Japanese and American—and a wide array of awesome Pocky (which, love it or hate it, is so fun to say). And drinks: not alcoholic drinks, but sodas (Izze), waters (Pelligrino, obviously), teas (including something reputed to be a magic elixir) and the seriously captivating Japanese Ramune soda (see Miles Clements’ Drink of the Week in this issue).

Like the British stores, Famima!! recognizes that even though you’re stressed and 15 minutes late for work—or a party—it doesn’t mean you can’t be happy. And if, say, you forgot your reporter’s notebook—or birthday gift—at home, well, they’ve got you covered there, too, with sleek stationary and notebooks (I especially like the orange Rhodia line), rows of toy machines filled with Hello Kitty baubles, Japanese incense, anti-stress eye pillows, a fairly large selection of beauty products from Avalon organics and, of course, DVDs (Catwoman!).

Should you find yourself stressed in the next days, weeks or months, rest easy and shop happy. One trip to Famima!! is all it takes—until one block is all it takes before you hit the next Famima!! Then we’ll all go back to being miserable. But at least we’ll have some import-only Cup of Noodles Curry.

FAMIMA!! 5094 E LOS COYOTES DIAGONAL | LONG BEACH 90815 | 562.597.8900 | AND 4816 E SECOND ST | LONG BEACH 90803 | 562.434.3000