Luggage Repair Shop in Culver City: Savinar, Open Saturdays

H. Savinar Luggage Co., at 10730 Washington Blvd in Culver City, is a luggage repair shop inside one of the oldest luggage stores in Los Angeles. Its repairs page says it is an authorized repair center for most of the brands it carries and will take care of your bag whether or not you bought it there. The store is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and it is closed on Sunday.

The store's own history page carries the line Helping You Pack Since 1916. The Los Angeles Business Journal filled in the rest in a January 2026 profile: Harry Savinar, a Ukrainian immigrant, established the store in downtown Los Angeles in 1916 and named it H. Savinar Luggage so that his son Hyman could take over without renaming it. In 1955 the business moved to Washington Boulevard in Mid-City, where it stayed for decades.

Ownership stayed in the family for a century. After Harry died in 1967, his sons Hyman and Harold inherited the business. Long-time employee Joey Diamond took over day-to-day operations in 2010 and bought the Mid-City store in 2016, when Harold, then 94, stepped back. In early 2023 the store moved about five miles west along Washington Boulevard to its current Culver City address, so the century-old business now sits in a building that is only a few years into its run.

Most luggage stores will happily sell you a bag and then send you to the manufacturer when it breaks. Savinar went the other way. Diamond told the Business Journal that he decided the store would become the authorized repair shop for all the manufacturers whose products it sells, and the paper reports that the policy was extended to bags bought elsewhere, including from online retailers. The repairs page says the same in plain words: whether you purchased the bag from us or not.

The brands the Business Journal names are Samsonite, Travelpro, Briggs & Riley and Tumi, which together cover a large share of the suitcases that roll through LAX. Briggs & Riley's own dealer page lists the Culver City store as a full service repair center. For a warranty job, bring proof of purchase if you have it and leave the model label in place, because the warranty route depends on the brand's rules rather than the store's.

The repairs page calls the process hassle-free, and the best way to keep it that way is to arrive prepared. Empty the suitcase completely, including the zip pockets in the lid. If a wheel snapped off on a curb, bring the broken wheel and any screws in a bag. Know roughly when and where you bought the case. The staff will look at the damage, tell you whether it falls under the brand's warranty, and quote a price if it does not.

The history page says employees have been with the store an average of 25 years, which shows at the counter. Someone who has spent two decades fitting Travelpro handles or Tumi wheel modules can usually tell in a minute whether a part is in stock, whether it must be ordered from the manufacturer, or whether the case is past saving. Ask that last question directly; the answer will save you money.

The other service worth knowing about is monogramming. The homepage says Savinar provides custom monogramming while you wait on most products, whether you bought them there or not. That is handy for a repaired case going back into the airline baggage stream, since a set of initials hot-stamped onto a leather tag makes a common black spinner easy to spot on the carousel at Terminal 4.

Saturday is the useful day here, because the store keeps full hours from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM while many repair benches close early or stay shut on weekends. Weekday mornings after the 9:30 AM opening are the quietest. Sunday is the gap: the store is closed, so a bag that breaks on a Sunday return flight waits until Monday. Arrive at least an hour before closing if you want a part fitted the same day.

An honest note: Savinar does not publish repair prices online, so you will only know the cost after the staff look at the bag. If the case is an inexpensive one with a cracked shell, the quote may approach the price of a new bag, and the store has a large stock of replacements on the floor. For a high-end case with one broken wheel or a stuck handle, repair is almost always the better choice.

The company also runs a second store on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park, which the Business Journal says opened in 1986. Its website does not list repairs separately for that location, so phone the Valley store before driving a broken bag out there. In the Valley, Lazar's Luggage in Sherman Oaks is another long-running luggage store that Briggs & Riley lists as a full service repair center.

The Culver City store sits on Washington Boulevard, a short drive from the center of Culver City. Sony Pictures Studios, the former MGM lot, lies along the same boulevard to the east, and its walking studio tour is one of the more interesting ways to fill two hours. Downtown Culver City, a few minutes further, has the Culver Hotel, the Kirk Douglas Theatre and a cluster of restaurants around the town plaza.

If you have time for a longer loop, the Ballona Creek bike path runs along the edge of Culver City toward Marina del Rey and the beach, and Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook offers a stiff stair climb with a view across the whole basin. Both are easy add-ons while a part is being ordered.

H. Savinar Luggage Co., 10730 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. Hours: Monday to Friday 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, closed Sunday. Website: savinarluggage.com. Repairs: authorized repair center for most brands the store carries, including bags bought elsewhere. Monogramming is done while you wait on most products.

Bring the empty bag, any broken pieces and proof of purchase for warranty work. If you want a lunch spot in Culver City while the case is on the bench, ask the Karpo APP.