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Old Town Report (6/9/16 Issue)
Monrovia Weekly Jun 08, 2016
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Old Town Monrovia. – Photo By Monrovia Public Library / (CC BY 2.0)
To borrow a quote from a classic TV show, “I love it when a plan comes together!”
Finally, we are beginning to see the fruits of the months – and in some cases, years – of purpose, planning, and promises here in Old Town.
We have several new businesses on the brink of opening, and though some are still in the promise stage, we do have a fair amount of action.
I think it is amazing in this day of big box retailers, internet sales, and shopping malls, that there are still some courageous enough to take on the challenge of owning and operating a small business.
In the beginning (if you are an incurable optimist) it might appear that coming up with the idea is the easy part, with the hardest part being securing an affordable location in a growing retail environment. Well, here is another classic quote: “Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
And bumpy the journey is: this week, as I was strolling around Old Town, I could not help but wonder at how many DIY interior improvements have been taken on by new businesses. That is not to say that these efforts have not gone through permitting and plan check and approval – no, not at all. But I can see new owners on their knees scrubbing, painting, building shelves, laying tile, cleaning up their messes, then dragging themselves home for a few hours’ sleep, and I remember my younger days doing that in five new locations. It all makes me happy, but it makes me tired …
Talk about tiling: Julie Kalicki of The Saltner is a little bit crazy and a whole lot talented. I would have posted her work on Facebook, but I could not figure out how to take a picture of her newly tiled bathroom without having the toilet be the focal point of the image.
So, let me describe it to you: Julie has never in her life tiled anything, yet she has managed to do a better job tiling the bathroom of The Saltner than any contractor I have ever seen. Kudos, Julie – now I am putting you on the “two-week list” and eagerly awaiting my wine and cicchetti.
Dream Big Children’s Center (500 block of South Myrtle, behind Pinkberry) is also on the two-week list, with a projected opening date just in time for summer fun. This is another, at least partially, DIY project.
Owner Cristina Cordeiro, her husband and their friends have been working feverishly to turn the inside of what most recently was Pierre Sprinkler (but used to be part of Valley Hardware) into a dreamland for kids and their parents.
Across the street and a bit north, Cate’s Quilting Corner is coming together fast! Cate and her son, Mark, have been constructing shelving, repurposing a wood chopping block for a counter, and otherwise preparing for the inventory of fabric and notions which should be arriving any day now. Cate’s projected opening date is July 1, which is a Friday this year, and just in time for the big July Fourth weekend.
Our planning department says that Frost My Cake (formerly the Monrovia Bakery site) still has their second round of plans in plan check, but should be issued permits to continue working shortly. They have been issued notice to immediately improve the appearance of the front of the building.
Down the street a bit,at 608 S. Myrtle, Copper Still Grill is really planning to open up shop here in Old Town. It has been years of back and forth, activity, then no activity, but finally owner Steve Kwan says he is shooting for completion in August – and, he has been in contact with the city about working on the front façade.
Next week we will talk about Baron’s Bar & Grill …
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