Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Del Howison. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Del thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Dark Delicacies (my store) was having to leave its location due to rent hikes (rent was doubled). We found a suitable place but the building was basically trashed. It needed almost $40,000 to bring up to snuff. A friend talked us into GoFundMe, for which we had our doubts. On the third day Director Guillermo Del Toro saw it and put out a post telling the Horror community that it would be a shame to lose their beloved Home of Horror. Within 2 days of his announcement there was $33,000 in the fund.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Dark Delicacies, created by my wife and I, was the original Home of Horror. We both enjoyed horror books and films. The store carries everything from books to action figures to clothes to collectibles. We have held thousands of signing events with people in the industry (writers, actors, composers, directors, artists, etc). We are so proud that we have been able to provide a place for people whose genre interests are many times considered less that many street interests

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

My wife worked for Nestles and I worked down in the Los Angeles garment district for Fastener Supply Company. 9-5 jobs that paid the bills but didn’t allow for much savings or a chance to move up any ladders. My mother saved up $5000 to give both of her kids to help them get started. My wife and I took that small amount of money and our own collection and parlayed it into Dark Delicacies which changed the way Horror was seen and shopped. It allowed fans to meet with there heroes and became known worldwide. As far as my writing I have been short-listed for several awards and won some. As we are winding down the operation of the store (22 months to go) I am ramping up both my fiction and nonfiction writing

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During the Covid we had to do some hoop jumping to keep cash flow happening. At one point we were not allowed to be open (masks or no masks) but the town didn’t want us to do curbside sales either. However they said nothing about alleyside. People would call in or email us their order and along with being able to ship to them we would have them pull up behind the building and we would meet them in the alley with their item. I also started offering free delivery inside a small radius to help people out. We made it through and are still standing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.darkdel.com
• Instagram: darkdelhorror
• Facebook: Either Del Howison or Dark Delicacies
• Linkedin: Del Howison
• Twitter: @DarkDel