One of Silver Lake's most magical places for many years was Spice Station, a heavenly-smelling shack behind a retail row on the north side of Sunset Boulevard. Customers would walk down a brick path to get to the courtyard, complete with pergola and fountain, onto which opened the small store. The walls of Spice Station were lined with glass jars of bulk spices, which could be purchased whole or ground up to order. And the wildest part was, these spices were noticeably cheaper than those sold in grocery stores, where apparently you're mostly paying for the container. Spice Station handed over its product in Ziploc-style bags of varying sizes.

Sadly, Spice Station closed in January, as the owners could no longer afford the rising rent — a common problem in many parts of L.A. these days, and certainly in Silver Lake.

But, just as many restaurants are no longer brick-and-mortar, so too go the gourmet stores. Spice Station is making a comeback, at various locations around town.

You'll want to check its Facebook page for updates, but the spices are currently available at Cheese Store of Silverlake, the Friday Echo Park farmers market, the Saturday Pasadena farmers market, the Tuesday Silver Lake farmers market, and Smorgasburg L.A. on Sundays, where it looks like it's paired with the michelada vendor already.

Let's keep L.A. spicy.

Various locations. facebook.com/spicestationsilverlake.

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