Those driving down westbound on Olive Avenue have been greeted by a new mural that has been painted on the side of Starz Liquor, located at 1800 Olive Avenue.
The mural, which takes up the entire side of the building, features Shohei Ohtani on the left and Mookie Betts on the right with amazing attention to detail for each player.
After taking over the store in September of 2022, co-owner Mery Dada came up with the idea and is very happy with the final result. When asked why she decided to do this, she replied, “It was just this huge, empty wall right here. We realized a lot of our customers are sports fans and Dodgers fans.
She had noticed the artwork done on the side of the Mariscos’ restaurant on the corner of Buena Vista and Empire and saw the artist’s name there. She contacted the artist (Alex Ali Gonzalez) through his social media contacts and asked him to come up with the mural during conversations that lasted about a year. Having to dodge some bad weather here and there, it basically took him six full days of work to create the work.
Once the Dodgers signed Ohtani, it became clear he had to be one of the players to center the artwork around.
The mural has proved to be beneficial to the new owners. Dada says that not only do people talk about it and come to see it, but it has also brought new business to the store. She also says that the local neighbors love it and have been complimenting them.
It is just another form of media that makes Burbank the Media Capital of the World and not only helps beautify a boring wall, but brings smiles to a lot of local Dodger fans.
