Eagle Rock's One-Stop Shop For Printing is Like a Family-Run FedEx

“We’re a place where people can get everything done,” says Payam Ayazi, explaining the host of services available at his family-owned, one-of-a-kind store in Eagle Rock. From photocopying, printing, scanning and graphics to signs, banners, stationery and digital fingerprinting, Super Copy is a one-stop shop for just about every printing and business need.

For the past 23 years, around the time that the legendary Art Snyder was re-elected to the City Council for the third time and the Eagle Rock Library opened on Caspar Avenue, Super Copy has been in the same mini mall opposite the Bank of America building on Colorado Boulevard, sandwiched roughly between Yogurt Haven and a laundromat that attracts its share of drifters. Roughly equidistant from the borders of Glendale and Pasadena, the printing store's location is a striking symbol of much that continues to be prized about Eagle Rock, itself lodged between two large and bustling cities.

“It was a good pocket neighborhood where things were affordable, manageable and people were friendly,” recalls Payam, whose father Alan started the business. (He died about four and a half years ago, and a large, framed photograph of him hangs prominently on one of the store walls.) “We’ve been very lucky to be here—things are a lot more challenging running a business in Glendale or Pasadena.”

Super Copy does a lot of things big companies such as FedEx do, says Payam’s mother Zora, who helps manage the store. “And we don’t have those crazy overheads, so it’s easier on customers, too.”

The Ayazi family leases the space where their thriving store is located, so it's tempting to ask what kind of relationship they have with their landlord in a business area where some commercial property owners have been known to demand higher rents of successful stores. (Case in point: Colorado Wine Company, which was forced to relocate across Eagle Rock Boulevard last year to a spot coincidentally across the street from Super Copy.)

Turns out the Ayazis have a long-term lease on their store space. In response to a question about whether they consider themselves lucky to have a "good landlord," Zora quips: "He's lucky to have us, too—we always pay the rent on time."

A lot of students, artists and musicians get their work done at Super Copy. And getting things done on time is probably the store’s biggest challenge: “A lot of customers come in with last-minute jobs,” as Payam puts it.

Occasionally, to finish jobs, the store remains busy late into the night or opens earlier than usual in the morning. “That’s fine with us,” says Payam. “But sometimes it takes a lot of energy.”

Three employees, all from Eagle Rock, and three members of the family (Payam, his mother and sister Gwen) keep the wheels turning at Super Copy. “We have a lot of repeat customers,” says Payam. “Everybody seems to leave happy.”