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Here are some people who found RUST General store worth writing about.  Check out their articles below.

In Print

A nice mention about the shop in the Fall issue of Where San Diego Magazine written by Ashok Sinha.

Thank you to Anne Maclachlan for sharing this article with us. 


San Diego City Beat – Holiday Gift Guide by Kelly Davis (December 5, 2012)

STRIKING TIN:  Speaking of packaging, (see “Cool beans”): Harney & Sons tea tins are so pretty, especially when there’s a bunch of them stacked next to each other. You can find the eye-candy display at Rust General Store in Old Town (2720 Calhoun St., rustgeneral.com). Pick up a tin or two ($9.50 each) to give a tea drinker. The Vanilla Coromo comes highly recommended. (If tea’s not what you’re looking for, check the back wall at Rust for equally cool spice tins.)

RETRO GLOW:  While tea shopping at Rust General Store, we couldn’t help but spot the display of Dietz lanterns. Modeled after the ones sold by the iconic lamp company in the mid- to late-1800s, they’re powered by kerosene or lamp oil (or citonella for outdoor use) and come in red, blue, black and silver. Get one for backyard barbecuers or someone with an eye for unique-yet useful decorative items. 

Available in Print Issue as well as online ay sdcitybeat.com.

( http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-11268-2012-holiday-gift-guide.html )

Blog Posts

"Cross the street and head to the square. You’ll spot an old-time General Store. Go in. It’s called and it was opened by a pair of San Diegans, who, while obviously appealing to the tourist (they are in Old Town’s square in old time-y clothes after all), are also appealing to the locals with tasting events and pairings of local goods including Saint Jacques Chocolates. Skip the Old Town Candy Store and get your sweets here (unless you crave taffy.). As far as gifts go, it’s all here: sweets of all sizes, local honey and hot sauces, coffees and teas and also candles and cutlery, sugar scrubs and soaps. But it’s the Amana Woolen Mills plaid blankets that I covet."

~ Clea Hantman, Urban Scout


"For sites who have concessionaires and/or offer immersion historic experiences, you are always looking for seamless retail examples. I am happy to report that we have an excellent example in San Diego now, a new business that’s part of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, RUST General Store. Rust represents the American time period of the park (1860s), when early San Diegans were trading with Northern European countries as well as local purveyors, and places around the Pacific. They offer seasonal items, like this picnic basket…or the holidays, they featured a gluten-free (and vegan!) chocolate tasting from Saint Jacques Chocolat, a local company producing some of the most amazing chocolates I’ve tasted.  These chocolates are carried exclusively at RUST.  The visuals are clearly carried throughout, the store smells amazing, and they are great about doing events and offering tastings. My best wishes for success to the young entrepreneurs who are running the store."

~ Stephanie Weaver, Experienceology


Hear ye, Hear ye, Calling All Hipsters to Old Town San Diego

Yes, Old Town San Diego bears a striking resemblance to a tourist trap. But stick with me on this one — there is actually some old charm to this joint, and if you are sporting ironic-but-not-totally-ironic suspenders right now, I’m going to need you to keep reading. Your country needs you.

The Rust General Store is perfection. Inside, wall-to-wall shelves display a variety of candy cordials and licorice in apothecary jars in addition to a selection of jams and condiments. At a counter across the way you can pick up a fresh Bavarian “Pretzle” which was delicious. The store also sells luscious soaps and home goods, chocolates and teas. Everything seems to be sourced from surrounding southern California towns. The proprietor behind the counter was ideally outfitted in a tight-fitting vest and knickers ala “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” ala Every Hipster in Brooklyn.

I picked up an assortment of hazelnut, caramel, and cherry cordials. (There are dozens of flavors, ranging from fruits to nuts to liqueurs.) Each is about the size of a Whopper and are a sucker punch to your taste buds. Warning: once you start eating them, you won’t be able to stop.

As I stood there eating my pretzle and pounding cordials, I had an Old Town epiphany. Rust General Store needs to be the springboard to a better Old Town.

This place needs to be turned over to the hipsters.

I hope the powers-that-be at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park realize how HOT the 1800′s are right now, and start shipping in hipsters by the scores before they move on to some other century. I’m seeing a tourist-trap-turned-hipster-commune-turned-historic-reenactment-travel-destination of cured meat and sausage shoppes, suspender makers, and organic breweries. Handle bar mustaches encouraged but not required. Can’t you just see it?

Old Town could become a model of synergy between historic associations and history obsessed hipsters all across the country. We need to make this happen.


~From Far Out City Blog – May 9, 2012 (http://faroutcity.com/2012/05/09/san-diego-on-the-cheap-part-4-hear-ye-hear-ye-calling-all-hipsters-to-old-town-san-diego/ )

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