Obelisk Mercantile

Nick (employee) sent me here to review Obelisk so I will.
Both Nick and Brett are very attentive and give great feedback. Doesn’t hurt that they are both nice looking as well.
I’m admittedly cheap. I would not spend $ 20 or more on a simple t-​shirt. But I did. It was a cute design. Oh darn they got me!
And Nick gave me a glass of wine. I immediately warmed up a little. That helped me cope with a chilly November night in San Diego.
That’s enough excitement for one evening.

I visited Obelisk for the first time yesterday and I was impressed. The sales staff were very helpful and the store has a good selection of clothing. I love that they carry Super Dry! Like many other Unilocalers on here I have to complement the store for its interior design as well, It is pretty nice.

I chatted with the owner while I bought a Marvel Comics Messenger Bag I’ve been coveting since I saw this past January elsewhere. I told him «there’s so much cool sh*t in here», to which he laughed and asked me to please state that, if I gave a Unilocal review. His staff is very friendly, has so much great stuff, and even though it’s clearly mostly men’s apparel in what is lovingly the gay district of San Diego, I was welcomed as a female customer. I love the Human Rights Campaign merch in there, as well. I really recommend this shop when visiting Hillcrest, if you want one of a kind pop culture trinkets, HRC stuff, and random novelties!

The new Obelisk is a fun place to shop! More upscale than its predecessor, this store has a variety of gifts for the fashion savvy. They have everything from books, clothes, jewelry, accessories, novelty items and, of course, the mandatory gay underwear and swimsuits. The interior of the store is chic and sophisticated. For those of you who may not realize, the Hillcrest sign they have behind the counter is the old one that was replaced by the current one. I guess you can say the owner saved a piece of Hillcrest history.

Great place! Not the same feel as how they where before the fire: they had books, gadgets, calendars, movies to rent (this was the best part). But now like any other typical gay theme store, it has changes it’s ways and become another cute and sheik expensive clothing store. I do have to agree there is a lot in here that I wool love to have and wear but the prices make it that u can’t but multiple things without paying a Hefty price. In the heart of Hillcrest.

Loved this place but just got to the location at 11:10am 10 minutes after they are supposed to be open and no one is there to open the store. Second time this has happened. Guess they don’t care about losing business.

The new Obelisk Mercantile is a great improvement over it’s previous incarnation. No longer your neighborhood gay bookstore, the focus now is clearly fashion and lifestyle brands, which increases its relevance immensely. Fun brands like Superdry; in house lines of t-​shirts and hats celebrating San Diego, Hillcrest, and Blacks Beach; and HRC merch to show your pride; plus trendy underwear, cards, and lots of jewelry.
The two best features of the new store are the assortment of product at a variety of price points and the gorgeous retail space, featuring the original Hillcrest sign. Just feels very hip and cool to shop there. As well, the staff was very friendly and offered info on incoming merchandise.

This store is pretty cool! I’ve walked by it a lot but never went in. Fun gag gifts, great underwear, cool equality jewelry and the guys inside are chill. I had a Unilocal deal and forgot to say I had it until I was walking out the store. Nick was cool about it and allowed me to get the 10% even though he technically didn’t have to. Brett, who I assume might be a supervisor was cool about it too. Great service will definitely bring me back.
Awesome greeting card selection too. Hilarious!

The new Oblisk is a fun place to shop and nice staff to help you.
It’s the upscale and well laid out look from the one that burnt down a few years ago. It has everything from t-​shirts, hard cover books to jewelry.
Well worth visiting when in Hillcrest.

I strolled into Obelisk after running a couple of errands close by, & I found a cute hoodie and T-​shirt. The sales staff were friendly and helpful, even pointing out a phone app that I could get a discount on the order with. I will definitely go back.

Great store, great selection, good layout, personable service, well merchandised and organized… what else can you ask for!

After a delicious brunch at Great Maple on Christmas Eve, my friend Mike and I had to really walk off a few miles (and the bourbon!). We stopped at Obelisk for a little last-​minute Santa shopping. What a cool store! I only had a few small treats for Chun P. and Obelisk really saved my ass!
Obelisk has a variety of smart gifts for the tech — and fashion minded. In my bag went a canary-​colored tee featuring a squirrel (wearing an aviator suit!!!) and a Marvel belt with all the hubby’s favorite characters. I also nearly died because the cards they had there were the best I’d ever seen and I wished I would have stopped there before I sent out my boring ones! Next year, I’ll know better!
After I had paid, I was checking in on Unilocal and noticed the $ 10 off a $ 50 purchase. (Note to self — remember to check in when you arrive!) But the staff was really friendly as they were ringing up my friend Mike, re-​rang me up and gave me the $ 10 back. Now that’s service!

Just gay crap, i used to go out of my way to visit the bookstore but now my coffee table has more books than they do. A strange assortment of titles laid around a circular table is all that remains of San Diego’s gay bookstore. The assortment of magazines-​DNA and perhaps four other titles. For their book selection they deserve one star. For their lack of friendiness on the part of their staff they deserve one star. I wish them well but I have absolutely no use for gay boutique stuff. Three stars for memories of a useful book and video store.

This is an amazing store. I bought a watch for my wife, and t-​shirts for my 3 teenagers, and I was 4 for 4 on Christmas! That has to be some kind of record!
If you’re looking for unique, fun and great values, shop at Obelisk. It’s a little gem here in San Diego.

Visited Obelisk last Saturday during one of those ‘shop local’ events in Hillcrest and got fascinated by the fuchsia neon Hillcrest sign, replica of the famous one. Very cool first impression. Then my eyes could not stop checking out fun message t-​shirts, luxuriously chic watches (for men. But who cares), cards to commemorate gay marriages and divorces and all sorts of great gifts. Sexy underwear included. Mostly catering gay community, but this store is a must to find a special gift for that special one.

The store and staff are so cute!
Putting the old Hillcrest sign in there was such a good idea.
It should be you first stop for gift shopping. It has something for everyone and at reasonable prices.

Talk about reinventing oneself! The original Obelisk as mentioned on this Unilocal page started out with books and media stuff, and now they have all sorts of fun things!
You will find all sorts of different brands inside from UK based Superdry, Cobian footwear, and even some really nice t-​shirts by a company called PalmerCash. Don’t miss out on one of the nicest shops in Hillcrest for sure. I bet you can’t go inside and walk out without wanting something!