Photo: Ruth-Ann Thorn bought the Yuma Building, which is next door to her rented space for EC Gallery inside the Combination Store. (Photo by Tim Trevaskis)
Entrepreneur Ruth-Ann Thorn is opening a new store in the Gaslamp and with it, has become the first Native American to buy land in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter. Native Star will sell luxury beauty products, fashion and jewelry, including from Thorn’s own brand N8iV Beauty. This will be the first brick-and-mortar location for the beauty brand, which features acorn oil.
The store is slated to begin opening in late January. Thorn already owns and operates another store in the Gaslamp, art hot spot EC Gallery, which she opened in 2023. The gallery has sold art from huge names like Dr. Seuss, rock n’ roll artist Stickman, and even John Lennon. In addition, she highlighted many Indigenous artists like Gloria Lee, Cara Romero, LX Lewis, Ruben Chato, George Rivera, Jeremy Salazar, Votan, Cody Sanderson and Stuart Sampson, and puts on an annual Native American art show.
Native Star builds on this advocacy for fellow Natives with curated products exclusively from Indigenous makers. Thorn rents 621 Fifth Ave., known as the Combination Store built in 1880, for EC Gallery. Native Star on the other hand is on land Thorn bought through her holding company Land Back Property Management. She bought the historic Yuma Building in November.
“This is a pivotal moment as a businesswoman, an artist and, most importantly, a tribal member of the Rincon Band of Luiseño/ Payómkawichum Indians in Southern California. The Gaslamp district is so significant because, in 1830, the Indian Removal Act was a genocide and how my ancestors ended up on the reservation I reside on today. I named my holding company Land Back Property Management to begin a monumental revolution that I hope will be the beginning of countless more,” Thorn said.
When the Gaslamp area was developed in the mid-1800s native people were not allowed to own businesses and could be forced into indentured servitude if found “idling” in the area. Thorn was the first tribal member to open and operate a business in the area— a historic milestone for Downtown. Before her, a tribe, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, entered business in Downtown by acquiring the historic U.S. Grant Hotel in 2003.
The Yuma Building also shares a significant connection to San Diego’s Black community in the early 20th century. Following a raid on it for being a brothel in 1912, it was sold as a boarding house that served many African American tenants. Mrs. Carrie De Frantz, a prominent Black woman leader, was also the proprietor for many years.
Ahead of the opening of Thorn’s second store in the Gaslamp, Thorn bonded with her new employees and the local community by inviting them to harvest acorns at her tribe’s land in North County. The annual acorn gathering is an important aspect of harvesting Black Acorn Oil for her N8iV Beauty products, which relies on Indigenous wisdom in its skincare line.
