|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The 40-year-old Redwood City costume store is back to its former size, just in time for Halloween.
House of Humor, a longtime source for year-round costumes and accessories, closed its storefront at 747 El Camino Real in 2024 after a 30-year run, according to owner Mark Greenbaum. The shutdown stemmed from “issues with the building” that the landlord “didn’t want to fix,” he said.
“At the time we didn’t know what we were gonna do,” Greenbaum said. “It took us about six months to find a new location, two stores down, on the same block.”
The business moved into a space at 729 El Camino Real that House of Humor had already been using for storage. But the new storefront was about 1,000 square feet smaller than the old shop, forcing Greenbaum to keep some inventory in a separate storage facility.
In June, House of Humor regained the missing 1,000 square feet of space by expanding into the unit next door at 731 El Camino Real, which previously housed an accounting firm. After breaking through the walls between the two spaces, the expanded shop reopened on Sept. 1. Greenbaum said the extra space will help the business head toward Halloween, its busiest period.
Greenbaum said Christmas and the Bay to Breakers dress-up race in San Francisco bring the shop a lot of business too, as do school plays. “There’s always a reason to party in the Bay Area,” he said.
Greenbaum’s father first opened the business in the 1980s, he said. Initially, it was a magic shop that later became a Halloween store. The original business was also located on El Camino Real.
The store owner highlighted House of Humor’s selection of wigs, which he said is the largest in the Bay Area, as well as high-end pirate jackets and renaissance wear, masquerade masks, makeup and “things you just will not find in your temporary pop-up stores” for purchase, rather than rent.
Newsom signs law to let these Californians get out of jury duty — for goodSeptember 15, 2026 2:43 pm
