A new Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has opened in Arcadia. It is owned by Tesco, a British food giant. Tesco's labor practices have come under fire for relying on part-time workers, which may limit the ability of workers to earn a living wage.
British food giant Tesco is going to open Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Markets in West Covina and Arcadia on November 8, 2007. Fresh and Easy stores are relatively small and lean heavily on fresh food offerings, including prepared meals and sushi.
Arcadia City Council has adopted an ordinance officially awarding a cable television franchise for the city to Altrio Communications. Adelphia was the last cable provider.
A $30 million plan to provide standardized breathing equipment for every fire department in Los Angeles County has been suspended after a lawsuit alleged the contract process was mishandled and firefighters complained about the quality of the equipment. Arcadia-based Allstar Fire Equipment is suing the city and county of Los Angeles, contending the contract process was improperly handled in a manner that ignored firefighter input and unfairly favored the winning bidder, L.N. Curtis and sons.
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.
Kohl's has opened a new department store at Rosemead Boulevard and Huntington Drive, in unincorporated county area between Arcadia and San Marino. It will create 150-200 jobs for the area. Yvonne Barnes of Arcadia is pictured.
Rusnak Mercedes-Benz has moved from Pasadena to the old Foulger Ford property at 55 W. Huntington Drive in Arcadia. A photo shows city officials and top business people at the ribbon cutting on the site.
Rod's Grill, in Arcadia since 1956, fights City Hall's eminent domain proceedings. This article gives the history of the restaurant started by Rod Wellman and the history of current owner Romero's battles and City's negotiation efforts.
A state law scheduled to take effect in September is expected to set standards in the massage industry. Arcadia City Manager Don Penman commented that the new law may not stop people who want to commit a crime and do illegal acts. In the last few months of 2008, Arcadia shut down seven massage busineses for illegal activities.
A 2-year-old legal battle between the city of Arcadia and Taboo Gentlemen's Club, a strip club, will most likely result in the club being closed or sold off by April, 2009. The federal court case started when the city revoked Taboo Gentlemen's Club's business license for breaking the city's adult business codes. The club's owners Bill Badi Gammoh and Chawkat Jajieh sued in response, claiming city and police had obstructed business and violated their civil rights. The city's adult business ordinance prohibits lap dances, sexual contact, private dance booths and direct tipping. It requires licensed dancers to perform on an elevated stage.
The history of local restaurant The Derby, since it was originally founded in 1922 as Proctors Tavern, to being bought by jockey George Woolfe in 1938, then sold to Dominic and Lorene Sturniolo, or Sturinolo (article has it spelled both ways) is presented. See VF "Restaurants, Bars, etc." for copy of article.
Goldstein's Bagel Bakery will shut down on March 31 after nearly 16 years in Old Town Pasadena. Goldstein's has two other locations on Verdugo Road in La Canada Flintridge and Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia that will remain open.
Macy's and Robinsons-May will merge in an $11 billion deal that will reshape the southland retail landscape. The Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita currently has both stores.
Sporting goods retailer REI has completed a solar retrofit of its Arcadia store. The roof of the store is covered with photovoltaic solar panels, which will self-generate nearly 112,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and up to 30% of the store's annual energy needs.
Robert Zook, co-founder of Douglass and Zook Mortuary in Monrovia, has died at the age of 78. His is the second oldest business in Monrovia. The article includes a biography.