And The Award Goes To.....

Tonight is Hollywood's favorite night.  Stars from all over will descend on Hollywood, walk down that red carpet and a few of them will take home that coveted golden statuette.  Now, let's take a moment and think about who really deserves an award.  While I'm sure there are countless worthy individuals, I think the small business owners who have struggled through these hard times and are still open deserve a shout-out.  These businesses owners who contribute to their community's well-being by hiring local employees, use local services, pay local taxes and recirculate their hard-earned dollars in that community.

The video posted above (also posted on our store's Facebook fan page) shows one town in Georgia that has thrived despite the downturn.  I recommend watching this video to see what would be possible here if we all worked together to make it happen.  I'm speaking about Altadena, of course, but you can make this happen anywhere in the country if you happen to live elsewhere.  If I'm being repetitious, forgive me, but it bears repeating that our recovery from the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression won't happen until it happens with small businesses.  We are truly the bedrock of the American way of life.  If small businesses keep disappearing at the alarming rate they're disappearing now, our lives will be changed forever, and not in a good way.

If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know how strongly I feel about this.  It's particularly important now, in light of the recent fracas with our Fancy Food Truck Fridays event and the County of Los Angeles' Planning Department.  For those of you who aren't aware, our gourmet food truck/open house party for the community that we held on Feb. 11th and was very successful.  So successful, in fact, that we must've ticked off a few people and complaints were lodged with various County agencies.  The County, as far as we can ascertain, has told us we can't do it again because it violates Title 22 of their voluminous Civil Code.  As the wrangling with the County goes on towards some kind of resolution, I will also recommend they watch this video as well.

Let's all work together for a better Altadena.  Let's do it now.

Have a wonderful week, my friends,

Lori & Scott

Windows To The Soul....Windows Of Opportunity

"They say that the eye is the window to the soul. But it is the soul that is the window." - Andrew Hamilton

Those of you who read Altadenablog or our Facebook Fan Page will have already seen our new faux windows. They were painted this past week on the front walls of our store by local Altadena artist Gary Thomas. Maybe you've driven by and seen them or caught a glimpse while coming out of the pharmacy. I'm told that if you look at them from across the street you can't tell they're not real. If you haven't seen them yet, I'm personally inviting you to drop by and have a look. Gary did such a wonderful job and we're awed by his talent!

Fake windows might not seem like such a big deal in the relative scheme of things, but to us here at WFS, it's huge. The windows give just the right whimsical touch we'd been planning on for two years. They give our store what it had been lacking on the outside - a personality that reflects the warmth of the inside! It's different enough from anything else in the area to call attention to us and to the fact that we are an independent Altadena original.

Actually, this is the first step in our long awaited plan of action. We've been under a lot of pressure to get signage on the front (apparently, the $1200.00 light-up at night sign on the top front of our building wasn't sufficient). I resisted putting up any more plastic signs as Lake Avenue is littered with them. Deep down, I'd rather be anonymous than be tacky, but that wasn't the best idea for staying in business. The windows, then, are our answer to the plastic and our using a local artist to paint them was our contribution to stimulating our local economy. Just think if this idea were to be contagious....if instead of a plethora of plastic signage, we had local artists painting local scenes on our community's buildings, what a wonder it would be to drive up and down North Lake Avenue!

Delving even further into that idea (dare we??), why not imagine that all us business owners here working together for the good of the community? Can we imagine an Altadena for Altadena residents, a strong and healthy community where doing business in town is a pleasure? I can imagine it....I can taste it....and I know there are many of you out there who can as well. If we all joined together and contributed to the beautification of North Lake Avenue, if we all joined forces to call attention to the need for redevelopment here, would the County Supervisors listen? I think they would, and I'm praying they will. Never has the time been better or the results more needed. Stay with us while we work our plan.

Enjoy the week ahead, my friends, but stay cool...it's supposed to be a hot one!

Lori & Scott