All he had to do was find a new location, raise thousands of dollars for the second shop, endure six months in jail, and go through another round of city bureaucracy.
Jonathan McCarthy, 24, gained a conditional-use permit for a new tattoo parlor in the 1300 block of West Main Street this week from Merced's Planning Commission.
The decision capped a nearly two-year odyssey for the Merced native that tried his patience and riled some opponents so much they hurled bricks through his first shop's windows.
"Even if they told me 'no' this time, I just would have raised the money again and come back again," he said.
His journey began in April 2003, when the Planning Commission approved a conditional-use permit for him to open a tattoo parlor in the 600 block of West Main Street next to the Mainzer Theater.
The owner of a nearby bridal shop appealed the commission's decision, sending it before the Merced City Council the next month. The council reversed the commission's decision on the grounds that McCarthy's shop didn't fit in with the city's plans for that block.
Just days later, McCarthy was arrested on suspicion of committing a parole violation stemming from a burglary charge from his teenage years.
McCarthy was released from custody in November. He immediately set to work on raising cash to open a new shop.
"I'm one of those people that when I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I don't think about what's in between," said McCarthy, a 1998 Golden Valley High School graduate.
McCarthy has worked at a number of tattoo shops around the area in the past year, all the while focusing on opening his own parlor. He and friend Spencer Beckstead were at work Thursday in the new location, preparing for the shop's planned opening on Nov. 1.
Beckstead, 25, recently opened his own carpentry business. He has a tattoo by McCarthy.
McCarthy plans to offer custom tattoos and piercings in his new shop. He said he began designing tattoos as a 13-year-old, and started performing piercings just a few years later.
"This is what I wanted to do," he said.
He said he'll offer a clean, sanitary shop with polite employees to attract customers. One day, he said he'd like to move closer to the new University of California, Merced.
But right now, he's savoring the commission's OK.
"There's no way for them to turn it over now. No one appealed it," he said.
Reporter Adam Ashton can be reached at 385-2484 or aashton@mercedsun-star.com.
