The Coast News Group
Travel in style with the finest gear from top brands like Briggs & Riley, Tumi, Bric’s, Patagonia, Thule, Cotopaxi, Secrid, Topo and Fjällräven. Your next adventure deserves nothing less than luxury and durability, and you can find these brands and more at Index Urban in Encinitas and Hillcrest. Courtesy photo
Marketplace News

Travel solutions at Index Urban

With three generations of family ownership, Index Urban knows how to make the destination feel like home for the traveler.

“We are a travel goods store, carrying brands that provide the solution of travel,” owner Jon Cantwell said. 

For the modern adventurist, the problem is maximizing what can be packed while minimizing the space it takes to do so. 

“Our best-selling brand Briggs & Riley makes such a good bag,” Cantwell said. “Often, people are looking for carry-on only. They want to get there with whatever they have onboard, and they want to get going. They have learned to edit down what they pack.” 

The Briggs & Riley bag fits the airline appropriate dimensions of carry-on luggage, but, when opened, expands out beyond the normal width of what is allowed and compresses down. 

“The experienced traveler wants to cut down a lot, but that is tough to do if you are going on a two-week trip,” Cantwell said. “If you are going to a colder climate you are going to need heavier jackets. We want to make it easier to get to where you are going.” 

For those looking to reduce, a wallet made in Holland by the brand Secrid, is a current top-seller. The minimal wallet is good for men and women. It fits in the front pocket or a handbag. Flat and compress, stored credit cards are hinged up and staggered and with the tap of a lever you can remove the card you want easily. 

“it’s the craziest thing I’ve seen in 40 years of retail,” Cantwell said. “Most people who buy it don’t wake up in the morning thinking I am going to buy a wallet. When one member of the family gets it, it blossoms to a son or daughter or someone else wanting it.” 

Brand loyal consumers find the recognizable as they walk Index Urban: Patagonia for the adventurer; Bric’s with an Italian flare; Tumi known for the high-end; Fjällräven from Sweden; Topo Designs out of Colorado.  

Now open at 967 S Coast Hwy 101 in Encinitas, Index Urban’s sister location has operated in Hillcrest since the late 1950s, when Cantwell’s father-in-law John Balistreri, an immigrant from Palermo, Italy, opened it as a shoe repair shop. It then evolved to luggage repair and then, naturally, travel goods. 

Cantwell’s son Jordan – Balistreri’s grandson – is also involved in the business. 

“Three generations is tough to do in retail,” Cantwell said. “You have to try to get better every day and help the customer more than the competition would.” 

“He was the quintessential success story,” Cantwell added. “He came from Italy alone at 18, with $36 in his pocket. He learned to be a cobbler on fifth avenue [in Hillcrest] and then when the owner retired, he bought the store. Then he started carrying luggage brands.” 

Grandson Jordan’s presence is noticeable throughout both locations with his original abstract paintings featured throughout the store. An art studio that both father and son use is found on the second level at the Hilcrest location. 

“We get plenty of people that just come in to look at the art,” Cantwell said. “It helps personalize the store.” 

True to Balistreri’s original concept, Index Urban still provides luggage repair services. 

As it goes in Italian “Le tradizioni sono tramandate di generazione in generazione.” – Traditions are passed down from generation to generation. 

“So much of what we sell we can fix if something goes wrong,” Cantwell said. “That’s important to us too.” 

967 S Coast Hwy 101, Ste 105B, Encinitas, CA (in the Lumberyard)

760-230-2006

indexurban.com

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