Gayle Brewer, a 26 year-old Arcadia resident, runs a Pasadena-based business called Celia Caseta Inc. She provides professional makeup services. She plans to open locations in Arcadia and Northridge.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.
Pest control in Arcadia by Chino-based Animal Pest Management Services Inc., allegedly killed coyotes with sodium pentothal, a controlled substance. It is being investigated.
Arcadia-based grocery chain Vons, a division of Safeway Inc., headquartered in Pleasanton, California, is closing its Vons supermarket at 2340 Foothill Boulevard, LaVerne, California. It has been there for 10 years and is underperforming.
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.
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.
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.
Arcadia is ranked 44th safest city in California this year, according to “50 Safest Cities in California for 2018,” a report recently released by SafeWise. In order to produce these rankings, analysts at SafeWise reviewed FBI’s crime statistics and population data for 2016. The criterion for a safe city was based on the number of reported violent crimes in each city per 1000 people. See also Mountain Views News, p. 6, October 20, 2018.
The changing architecture of Arcadia. Rusnak Mercedes Benz--in town since 2000 and currently at 55 West Huntington Drive--broke ground last December on construction of a 22,500 s.f. 2-story structure around the corner from its current base of operations. The new location will be on the 100 block of Santa Anita Avenue and will also include 78,000 s.f. for vehicle service, repairs, storage, and parking. The dealership's annual sales for 2014 was $170.5 million.
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.
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.