The Book Rack, a bookstore that has served Arcadia for 40 years, is closing. The owner Karen is retiring. Doors close permanently on February 23, 2024. The store's address is 204 South First Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006.
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.
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.
Facing COVID-19 fines, some restaurants say the punishment does not fit the crime, as restaurant owners have found it hard to keep track of the county and state mandate changes. Closures, new protocols, and restrictions in the face of COVID-19 have caused the restaurant industry to suffer. The cities of Monrovia, Arcadia, Pasadena and Sierra Madre have stepped up to help the ailing restaurant businesses by either waiving fees or offering outdoor dining expansion opportunities, such as using parking lots as dining areas.
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.
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.
Community rallies around Arcadia Donuts' owners Francois Ung and Shally Ung. In recent weeks, they've been doing fundraisers for victims and survivors of the mass shooting at a Monterey Park dance studio one year ago, which claimed the life of their friend Andy Kao. Surveillance video shows someone broke into Ung's car and stole the fundraiser money. A Gofundme is set up if people want to help the couple recover the money.
Small Businesses Adapt to Economic Uncertainty in Arcadia. The COVID-19 outbreak has frozen one of the world’s most powerful economies and suspended the fate of many business owners worldwide. During these uncertain times, many small businesses are searching for any method or reason to stay open, and in Arcadia, some have gone to great lengths to do so.