Arcadia's Fresh and Easy (grocery store) market at 133 East Foothill Boulevard to shut down April 3. The chain is closing about 30 stores, including ones in Arcadia, Azusa, and Pasadena.
Major changes on tap for Arcadia in the new year. Delta Marriott Hotel slated for the old Santa Anita Inn; Arcadia's tallest building, currently housing Bank of America at 150 N. Santa Anita Avenue, has gone up for sale. The current Arcadia Self Storage at 35 W. Huntington Drive is proposed to become a modern food vendor location, reminiscent of the Grand Central Market in Downtown Los Angeles or the Anaheim Packing House.
Downtown Arcadia businesses create "Community Benefit District." Each business owner would pay extra in property taxes to go into a fund to better market the area to customers and visitors. With the Gold Line Station at North First Avenue and East Santa Clara Street scheduled to open in 2015, efforts to help brand the area have been fast-tracked.
Albert Chu and Patricia Huang, the people behind 626 Night Market, now selling chef-made foodie boxes called ChefBox. It is a takeout establishment in South Pasadena that offers high quality meals that can be quickly heated up.
Downtown Arcadia business owners establish a Community Benefit District, mandating they each pay an annual assessment on their property taxes to fund marketing programs and activities in hopes of bringing more people to the area. It is called a Property-Based Business Improvement Model. It is a private-sector initiative that bills local businesses by the same criteria used in Old Pasadena--according to their frontage, lot size and scope of any buildings on a given property. 60% of downtown Arcadia owners chose the plan, the result of a three year effort.
Hong Kong Supermarket, a New York-based company, will open a 25,000 square feet market at 935 W. Duarte Road, at the Mon-Arc Retail Shopping Center. It is the fifth Hong Kong Supermarket in the San Gabriel Valley, specializing in imported Asian groceries. It will serve customers from both Monrovia and Arcadia. Asians account for 10.9% of Monrovia's total population while Arcadia's Asian population is at 58.9%.
The changing face of Arcadia--commercial brokerage firm NAI submits proposal for downtown districts. The City of Arcadia hired NAI to assess the city's five business districts and make recommendations to improve them and bring in appropriate, compatible businesses. See hard copy in VF Business and Industry.
Arcadia launches the new Arcadia Downtown Business Association, with plans to revitalize the downtown district. Matt McSweeney is the association's chairperson and owner of Matt Denny's Ale House Restaurant on East Huntington Drive. City officials will spend about $90,000 on a parking study and about $18,000 in redevelopment funds to get Arcadia Downtown Business Association off the ground. The revitalization plans should work nicely with the slated opening of the Gold Line station at the northwest corner of North First Avenue and East Santa Clara Street by 2014.
Arcadia City Council approves $70,000 to help the Downtown Business Association set up a business-improvement district. The district would tax commercial property owners to revitalize the area.
Singpoli, an Arcadia-based investment and development firm, bought a 1.6 acre property at Lake Avenue and Union Street in Pasadena and plans to build a $60 million mixed use project, including a 165-room hotel and condo complex with 60 units. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 11, May 11, 2017.
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.
Highlighting Downtown Arcadia: Arcadia Blues Club: one of the city's best kept secrets, located at 16 E. Huntington Drive since 2005. The small business is operated by a husband and wife team with a passion for blues music.
Business profile on Fitness Factor in Arcadia. Maggie Riddle and Kevin Riddle are the co-owners. They do personal training and small group fitness at 24 N. 1st Avenue in Downtown Arcadia.
New indoor playground, a business called Precious Ones, in Arcadia, raises safety concerns for children, in opinion of Planning Commission Board member Kenneth Chan. Despite concerns, the Board was satisfied with owner Sandy Joo's responses and approved her business for operation given she meets all the conditions laid out, which include background checks, CPR training for staff, among others.
Business spotlight on Hyper Coffee at 203 S. First Avenue in Arcadia, in a historic Art Deco building. It has been in business 17 years. By Helen Wang.