Peter Bahlawanian and wife Bronwen Tawse opened a Silver Lake spice emporium called Spice Station on November 17. The shop is near Sunset Junction, down an alley in a former antique furniture shop. The couple sells about 140 spices, herbs, salts, peppercorns and chilies, which are available by the ounce, quarter-pound or pound.

Leading up to opening, Bahlawanian earned a living by hosting live events. Tawse continues to conduct research for a celebrity biographer when she’s not working in Spice Station.

The entire store is constructed from reclaimed wood, and the displays are former pallets. Jars decoratively display the spices on shelves. Options include Indian Fenugreek, Argentinean coriander, Egyptian dill weed, Syrian Aleppo pepper, Indonesian nutmeg and Szechuan peppercorns.

Colorful index cards list the price, country of origin, uses and medicinal purposes, where applicable. The spices are ground free of charge, or you can take the whole pods, berries and seeds to go.

You can buy 9-tin gift sets ($45-75) in options that include salt, chilies and starter spices. Spice Station is currently selling a Holiday set that contains bay leaves, green cardamom, juniper berries, cinnamon chips, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, anise and allspice berries. This packet is designed for baking and mulling for spiced rum or cider.

They sell mortars and pestles, 15 teas from San Francisco’s Tea Fountain and rubs that cost $8-10. Consider Shawarma Rub, Magic Chicken Rub, Swimming Fish Rub and Beef Kebab Rub.

The couple plans to host weekend events on the brick-lined patio, which features a trellis and goldfish fountain. They’ll have cooking demos involving spices and catering chef Anahid Boghosian.

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6 Comments

1. mattatouille, December 7, 2009:

   oh that’s cool that you went to check this place out afterwards. the opening night was fun. I used the peruvian pink sea salt for the butterscotch budinos. worked perfectly.

2. gus, December 8, 2009:

   Interesting. I wonder how quickly the spices are turned over, generally, I’m skittish of any spice store that displays large quantities of spices in clear glass jars. Or are they sufficiently away from light that they’re good?

3. Joshua Lurie, December 8, 2009:

   Gus, the spices are kept out of direct sunlight.

4. Bronwen, December 8, 2009:

   Hi Gus, This is Bronwen the owner of Spice Station. Your concerns are totally valid. Our store never receives any direct sunlight because of the way its situated in the courtyard. This was a very important factor in selecting the location. We also keep the temperature of the store on the cool side to prevent any kind of drying out. Also, we keep a very small inventory of each spice to maintain the freshest product as possible.

5. Sez, December 20, 2009:

   this is genius, good luck to them, I’ve been in twice while cooking new recipes, prices, selection and services are good. So much better than buying grocery store spices.

6. Denise Michaelides Haddaway, June 27, 2011:

   Hi Bronwen, you probably don’t remember me, but was Aunt Joanne and Uncle Pete’s niece. You were probably about 4 or 5 years old the last time I saw you and Jennifer! Uncle Pete told me that you were recently in touch, and then my mom found the article about the Spice Station in Oprah magazine, so I picked one up today. Best wishes to you and your husband. The Spice Station sounds awsome!

This entry is filed under LA Culinary Compass.