All the news that fits

   In the historical Artists Village neighborhood in Santa Ana, near the corner of Fourth Street and Broadway, sits an old fashioned, flash-from-the-past newsstand. Though a small store, Rags International provides local residents with current news, literary gems, and hard to find diamond-in-the-dirt publications.
   Owner James Kendrick says his idea for the stand emerged from nights of sitting in coffee shops and lounges throughout the Artists Village listening to young residents voice their wish for more services within the village area. One of these included a place to purchase newspapers, magazines, and books. After five years of contemplating ideas for catering to residents’ needs, the idea for a newsstand and the name Rags was born. The stand adds to that already old time feeling one gets when visiting the village. “People look for the urban experience,” he says.
    The selection of newspapers and magazines makes the stand unique.
   His international collection covers Spanish, British, French, and Italian, and he carries a wide variety of trade magazines including dailies and weeklies. Other popular local publications can be found at the stand such as the Orange County Business Journal, the Los Angeles Business Journal, the Orange County Register, the OC Weekly, and Town & Country magazine.                         
   The stand also carries a wide variety of leftist reads, like Social Anarchism, High Times, and a publication that debunks big business advertisements called Adbusters. “I try to cater to the college, art, and business community,” he says.
    For customers who enter the store but are unable to find what they’re looking for, Kendrick says that he will take special requests, and if he doesn’t carry a certain publication and people want it, he will do everything he can to get it.
   Aside from its large selection of newspapers and magazines, goodies and treats add a reason to stop by. Lining the walls and shelves are everything from hard candies, gum, and quality chocolates to soda, energy drinks, chips, cigarettes and
fine cigars.
   Kendrick understands that times are rough economically and students in college need a break, which is why he offers a special 10 percent discount on all publications to students with a college photo ID.
    Plans for other Rags newsstands are in the works. Kendrick, a 23-year Santa Ana resident, says that within the next few years he would like to see his business grow to other historical locations throughout Orange County. Currently his sights are set on opening a stand in the City of Orange at the Orange Circle.
    Rags is located at 454 N. Broadway, and the store hours are weekdays 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-Midnight, and Sunday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.