A three-foot-tall child walking into Tula Ru will most likely find the pink and white striped floor under the colorful vintage chandeliers — and the visions of toys and tutus — exciting. However, even a 6-foot adult might react with jubilance. Casey and Damon Brossard purchased Tula Ru on July 1 and have been busy putting their own spin on the already-established children’s resale business. “We’ve always known about the store,” Damon said. He has watched the children’s resale shop change ownership over the past 20 years, but the offerings never seemed to change. Now, the couple hopes to add to the vivid assortment of goods and, eventually, add children’s enrichment classes to the repertoire. The previous owner of the shop remodeled the interior and Damon credits her with giving the store a vintage boutique ambiance. “This is sort of like a hidden gem in PB,” Damon said. Damon is a Pacific Beach native and a graduate of Mission Bay High School. He sees classmates with whom he has not spoken in years come in with their children, and notes how life goes full circle. “This is a store with a lot of history,” Damon said. The store came with an established loyal customer base. “We were blessed,” Damon said about the purchase timing and painlessness of the transition. While Damon has watched the community change over the years, he said he is still quite proud to call Pacific Beach his home. “A place like this [Tula Ru] reminds me of my childhood,” Damon said. Men will enter the store with their girlfriend and leave with visions of a talk about the couple’s future plans on the walk home, Damon said, chuckling. That time comes for every couple, he said. “We like this because it serves the community and serves all of the families as well,” Damon said. Because it is a resale shop, this enables the store to serve many different price points. The name Tula Ru, while brainstormed by the couple, is really credited to Casey. Her father used to sing to her the Irish lullaby “Turaluralura.” The couple decided that name, however, was too long to use. They then thought about Damon’s father’s middle name, Lereux. They opted for a blending of the two phrases and came up with Tula Ru. On the shop’s sign, the words Tula Ru are followed by three heart-shaped ellipsis. “We try to just make it a fun, positive place for parents and kids,” Casey said. She and Damon have a two-year-old daughter, Avery. Damon and Casey said they are thrilled they can contribute something to the community and to the local economy while having their own business and working for themselves. Kids are always growing and can be wearing a new size in a matter of weeks. The store is ideal for a simple candy-stop or to purchase resale clothing items or brand-new toys for gifts. While most apparel items are resale, they do sell environmentally-friendly baby shoes from Rileyroos. Lauren Brewster and her daughter, Abigail, are from Point Loma and heard about the store through word of mouth. She said it was easy to shop at Tula Ru because the store is contained, which beats going to the mall to try and shop with a young child. The true mom-and-pop shop is located at 5005 Cass St., and is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, call (858) 272-5622.
