Pacific Beach’s Underground Furniture was once based out of a California Fresh Eggs truck. Owner Cory Pagano fondly recalls building a cult furniture business out of the motorized business, bumming lawns off all-too-willing college students. A quasi garage sale turned underground retail outlet, it is not surprise 13 years later — now with a permanent address — that Pagano chose the name Underground Furniture for his now-stationary showroom. “Nobody did what I was doing,” he said in the shop at 1345 Garnet Ave. “There’s nothing more underground than that.” While the business has changed in more than a decade, Pagano’s unwavering passion for the unconventional has not. He came into furniture as a “fluke,” as he likes to say, and grew to enjoy architectural designs in nearly every piece. Initially, he filled his store with reworked antiques and vintage mid-century furniture. Pagano would take leftover pieces from estate sales, fix them up and sell them for a bargain. But when antiquing became the latest trend, Pagano took his underground furniture shop to the ultra-modern clean lines of the 1950s and 1960s. “I knew I was a small store and I had to be different,” he said. After expanding in Little Italy with a coffee house filled with procurable sofas and chairs, the shop cornered Pacific Beach. Locals have probably seen the trademark marketing techniques Pagano has implemented over the years, from the “ultra pimpin’” Cadillac parked throughout the area to the van speckled with flowers. “PB has always been good to us,” Pagano said. Specializing in custom designs, the large showroom offers just a sprinkling of available furniture. VIP rooms in On Broadway, the old Moondoggies, downtown’s Red Circle and Aubergine are all on Underground Furniture’s resume. The company’s accent for originality is showcased in a sofa structured for the local Harley Davidson. Besides using company colors and custom throw pillows, the sofa was built around a pillar. “[The owner] wanted to see a lot of people in a small space,” Pagano said. Musicians have enjoyed the comforts of Underground Furniture’s styling on backstage interview sets at local shows. You might find some Pagano’s signature pieces in the background of MTV or “Rolling Stone” stories during interviews with stars like Jessica Simpson and Ozzy Osborne. Pagano struggles to find the words to define his store. Offering alternative designs perfect for any home, Underground Furniture is “a mix of traditional and new furniture” with forte in custom design. For more information, call (858) 581-0229 or visit www.underground-furniture.com