Monrovia Old Town report: The plot chickens…

Opinion by Shawn Spencer

As previously mentioned, some of our Old Town storefronts are all busy putting the final touches on their makeovers. Some of these shops will be opening this weekend. Although it’s not in Old Town, we also have some exciting news down on Huntington Drive.

We have two businesses that are currently in Plan Check with the city. We all know that In-N-Out will be moving into the old Black Angus location. What you may not know is that Dave’s Hot Chicken will be moving into the long-empty Applebee’s space. That is the perfect use of space for that area. So far, there has been a bit of negativity voiced, based on the potential of increased traffic, but oh darn. If Applebee’s and Black Angus were still open and thriving, we would be in the same predicament. Bringing new business to Monrovia is always a good thing. The visibility from the freeway will be a draw. There will be new revenue for the city, new jobs for the community, and new life and energy brought to a shopping center that could surely use it.

Huntington Drive is getting quite the facelift. The Marriott TownePlace Suites is almost done. Raising Cane’s, Starbuck’s and Chick-fil-A went up so much faster than I expected. I do believe all of our chicken needs will be met in the very near future. The park that the Hale Corporation donated to the site is going to be a really great addition to the area. What a great way to break up the commercial feel of the area.

What we really need is a well-established business to come in and take over the old Monrovian. Rumor has it that the new tenant might be Millie’s Cafe. Currently, there is a Millie’s in Pasadena and Los Feliz. Not a bad choice. Millie’s has wonderful food. However, they are only open for breakfast and lunch. When I spoke with the building owner, he said it was a maybe, not a yes. I know that the owners are being very selective because they want a long-term tenant. Which is great, because I think that’s what we want too. I’m not going to lie: I spoke with the owners of Sherman’s Deli in Palm Desert and damn near begged them to move in. Janet was quite nice about it and truly flattered. She said she would have given it some honest consideration if staffing wasn’t such a nightmare post COVID. They’re going to stick to their two desert locations. A real deli in Monrovia? Oy vey! That would have been amazing! On a side note, if you haven’t been to Sherman’s Deli, it’s wonderful. It is definitely worth a day trip. Grab a slice of cake (or the whole thing) to go. You will not be disappointed. I tried Monrovia. Guess we’ll have to stick with Canter’s Deli on Fairfax. Oh darn. Things could be worse, am I right?

Sorry, I digressed a bit. It’s lunchtime and now I want a latke and some matzo ball soup. Keep your fingers crossed that we get a really great business to open up in the old Monrovian soon. As always, I’ll be sure to keep y’all in the loop! Until then, enjoy this gorgeous weather!

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