Fans commiserate in closing of their beloved bookstore. 78-year-old Karen Kropp, owner of The Book Rack, a bookstore in Arcadia, has closed the store on First Avenue, after taking over the reins 18 years ago. Declining sales worseneed by the pandemic, as well as her upcoming 80th birthday, precipitated the closure. The store's address was 204 South First Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006.
Bookstore fights to survive in middle of global pandemic. Karen Kropp, owner of The Book Rack in Arcadia, says she'll weather the pandemic storm for the love of reading. Kropp took over the business 17 years ago from original owner Pat Carlson, who started the business 35 years ago.
Pasadena's Lighthouse Christian Store on Lake Avenue closed its business earlier this month, due to tough competition from bookstores like Amazon and big box stores like Costco, Sam's Club and Target. Lighthouse still has locations in Long Beach and Orange, but their stores in Glendale and Arcadia both closed in recent years.
Margaret Pappas, who runs the Back on the Rack consignment shop at 118 South First Ave., says the store is "99.95% women's clothing" that "must be impeccable." Items not sold in 90 days either go back to the customer or are donated to charity.
Arcadia's original Din Tai Fung location at 1108 South Baldwin Avenue is closing for two months for renovations, but a bigger, 9000 s.f. flagship store at Westfield Santa Anita mall opened yesterday. The other Din Tai Fung location at 1088 South Baldwin Avenue will be permanently closed.
Spotlight on local business, a hair salon called 1st Ave Salon, located at 10 N. First Avenue, Arcadia, CA. Owner is Veka Estrada, a Temple City resident.
Presidential history in good hands with Arcadia car detailer Jerome Holland. Holland, owner of Car Bath Mobile Detailing in Arcadia, was one of 40 handpicked automotive detailers who spent 6 days restoring the first Air Force One jet at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
Old Town Monrovia's Underdog Bookstore--an LGBTQ-owned book shop uplifting diverse authors and local presses--fights intolerance with inventory. Bookseller Muse Lee was confronted by a customer, a woman who felt "oppressed as a white person" and voiced objections that included racism and homophobia. Emily Lindley-Rodriguez, who works in Arcadia, is saddened to hear of the hate experienced at Underdog.
Arcadia resident Gloria Horstman, a book columnist for San Gabriel Valley newspapers, begins a monthly book review program at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena.
State offers funds for LGBTQ center in Whittier. The closest center like it are in Arcadia, Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles. The San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center is located at Prince Erik Hall, 2607 South Santa Anita Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006, behind Arcadia Congregational Church--which is temporarily closed due to COVID-19). The SGV location was found on the website sgvlgbtq.org
Arcadia police arrested Jaime Elvis Elizondo, 33, a sex offender from San Gabriel, on suspicion of attacking a 5-year-old girl at Borders bookstore at the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita mall.
Horse lover and photographer Karen Davis has published a book called "Santa Anita Morning Rhapsody." It is a photographic collection of the Santa Anita Park race track in the early morning.
Business profile of Move It Aerobics Studio, an exercise facility that offers fitness classes for overweight students. Michele Silence is the owner. Her business is located at 40 E. Live Oak Avenue.
Monterey Park mass shooting one year later. City still lives in massacre's shadow. Permanent memorial to the 11 victims is still in planning stages. In Arcadia, doughnut business owners Francois Ung and his wife Shally Ung remember and honor their friend Andy Kao, a victim of the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on January 21, 2023, with a pledge that they will send proceeds from sales at their Arcadia Donuts store on January 20 and 21 to the Monterey Park Hope and Resiliency Center and the Andy Kao Memorial Ballroom Dance Group to assist funding the nonprofit organizations. See also related article, "Who were the Monterey Park shooting victims? A year later, a reflection," Pasadena Star News, p. A13, January 21, 2024.
Gloria Horstman, former library board trustee, former columnist for the Pasadena Star News, and reviewer for the Vroman's bookstore newsletter, returns to Arcadia to present a book review program in honor of the city's centennial.