Que Sera Sera

Many times in the past, I've referred to positive changes in Altadena as a "what if".  What if we had the many ammenities that are common in other cities we cherish and envy, such as Sierra Madre.  What if our North Lake Business District were a real town center, with traffic mitigated, building facades upgraded and foot traffic patterns established?  What if our retail shops, groceries and other businesses were more modern and relevant?  What if Altadena, once a thriving destination in the San Gabriel Valley, were to reclaim its renown?

I've asked these questions for several years now, with mixed responses from people I've talked to here and while working in the store.  Back then, most of you were and continue to be enthusiastic about changes; and some not so much.  Over the course of these years, however, I notice people's attitudes changing.  More and more, our community is coming together and change is happening - I can hear it, I can see it and and I can feel it!

The feeling isn't just coming from the anticipation of coming attractions, although that certainly has a part in it - it's the palpable heart beating though our community.  Our town is rich in gifted individuals who are exerting all their efforts into resuscitating Altadena's soul.  Take Altadenablog's Tim Rutt, whose grassroots news blog has partnered with the new Pasadena Sun, giving him the opportunity to reach far more people than ever before and give us coverage we haven't experienced in a long time.  Take the awesomeness that is the Altadena Urban Farmer's Market and their truly unique take on the market concept (even the L.A. Weekly thinks so!).  They're on hiatus right now, but believe me, they'll be back and better than ever!  If that's not enough for you, consider the hugely popular Bulgarini Gelato.  Mentioned in the Los Angeles Times Magazine as one of Los Angeles' iconic eateries, this recent article tells you all you need to know - Altadena is drawing people from outside our borders to visit.  Add that to the draw of our incredible hiking trails, and you've got a destination area waiting to happen!



Compound all this with the planned renovation in Webster's Community Pharmacy.  The new owners, Mike and Meredith Miller will be reinventing the old pharmacy soon and we know it'll be wonderful!  Our store is ready for a rebranding as well.  As new(ish) owners, we've been constrained for some time by circumstances not under our control, but that's changing and changing soon. We plan to be right there with you through all this, my friends, as we take our family store into the future.  The moment is here, and it's undeniable.....the positive changes I told you about all those months ago are imminent.  The groundswell has begun and it will sweep all of us up into it - and I for one, welcome it.  As the old song says, "que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be"......I say bring it!

Have a lovely week ahead and we'll talk again next week,

Lori 'n Scott

Mid-Summer Newsletter & Back To School Special

Earlier this morning, I tried to copy and paste our newsletter onto Blogger but it didn't work so I tried deleting it.  I'm afraid, though, that a link went out anyway, and for that, I'm sorry.  Let's try that again and we'll be back next week with our regular blog posts!


WFS' Mid-Summer Newsletter & Back To School Special

Dear Friends,

We find ourselves at that bitter-sweet junction of summer where we look toward sending the kids back for another exciting semester of school.  We'll explain how we can help you save time and money in the article below.  WFS carries much needed office essentials, too - most of them made out of recycled materials and made right here in the United States - come see us instead of "running down the hill"!  With gas prices still on the increase, it only makes sense to shop locally.

Scott and I attended the California Gift show recently what a show it was!  So many great things we're finding that are American made or made by local companies.  Look for these exciting new products to be delivered from now though the fall season!  We're also in the planning stages with several Altadena artists, and we can expect to see their creations in store soon. 

Things are heating up in Altadena - not just from the summer heat, but from all the great events going on around town!  Never say there's nothing to do here.  From the wonderful Concerts In The Park series from the Sheriffs Support Group to individual events put on by local businesses, there's a whole garden of activities available to enjoy.  This month will see our next Fancy Food Truck Fridays, a joint venture with Webster's Community Pharmacy and Webster's Liquor, on August 12th.  Our wonderfully intimate, humorous and delicious Wine Tastings With OddBallGrape.com's Anne Bannon and Michael Holland continue this month, on August 20th.  Scroll down for all the pertinent information on both events!

July was an incredible month, with such an outpouring of caring and love, exhibited through our collection of canned food items for Friends In Deed! It started early on in July and stemmed from this article in the Pasadena Star News. We'd like to thank them for their help passing the message along with this article and thank you all for answering the call.  We now have a huge box of food that we'll donate to them this week - well done, Altadena!  Just a note to remind you that we take donations of those small toiletries received at hotels or travel-sized, unused toiletries for All Saints Church all year 'round, as well as monetary donations for the Bright Future Scholars via the "Dollars For Scholars" collection jars - look for these collection spots next time you're in the store.

Speaking of good deeds, who hasn't heard about Altadena's canine hero, Brave Paco, the chihuahua that's taking a bite out of crime!  He's ten pounds of lean, mean, burglar-chasing muscle and we're glad he's patrolling the streets of the North Lake Business District!  Your chance to meet Paco and his owner is coming up at the next Fancy Food Truck Friday event - you don't want to miss this paw-tograph op!

We hope to see you soon!

Lori & Scott Webster

Stay Local & Save!  WFS' Back To School Special
It's the time of year for getting your children ready to get back into the swing of the new school season!  We know that times are challenging and that you're all pressed for time, so we're offering you a way to shop locally and save.  From August 1st through the 31st, when you spend $50.00 on back to school items, you'll save 25% - that's our employee discount plus 5%! That's $37.50 for $50.00 worth of school necessities! Tell your friends and neighbors and forward this email to them, so everyone can take advantage of this historic savings opportunity!

From binders and notebooks, to filler paper, composition books, index cards, pencils, pens, erasers, rulers, scissors, crayons, protractors and everything in between, Back To School shopping has never been easier or more fun.  Sip a cup of ice cold lemonade, have a cookie and listen to our classic oldies playing in the background, WFS is THE place for buying your school essentials!  We defy you to find better service anywhere else! This year, we even have paper book covers - yes, we finally found someone who makes these, and they're on our shelves now!
 

Fancy Food Truck Fridays!

Great Eating, Community Style                            
Every 2nd Friday of the month we have at least six different Fancy Food Trucks in the Webster's parking lot.  A community favorite since its inception in February, everyone looks forward to greeting friends at our tables where everyone eats family-style!  Brave Paco, Altadena's canine crime fighter will be making an appearance so you won't want to miss this opportunity for a paw-tograph!

Our event this month is on Friday, August 12th, from 5:00 pm until 9:00, and the Shops At Webster's will be open for your enjoyment.  Each shop has it's own ambiance, entertainment and/or specials, so please come in and enjoy it all before or after you eat! 

This month's Fancy Food Trucks are:

Grill 'em All ( Great Food Truck Race winners!)

India Jones

Greenz On Wheelz, a perennial favorite

Hungry Nomad

Shrimp Pimp

A Rockin Ice

Look for the event announcement on our Facebook page soon to see what's happening that evening inside the store!


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Engagement Exercise

What do you get when you combine a fabulous international shopping venue with a retailer that loves to decorate?  You get the most incredible week, and if you've been keeping up with us on our Facebook page, you'll know that Scott and I've been at the California Gift Show.  So many fascinating things to look at, so many places to go and people to see, it truly can be a scramble - but a very exciting scramble it is!  It's always a special treat to connect with the leaders in our industry, even more so to listen to their synopsis of the hot topics affecting retailers today. 

On Saturday, Scott and I hit the Convention Center for a retailer's roundtable discussion with four such ladies.  The group of four was moderated by Marisa Marcantonio, former style editor for House Beautiful and O at Home, an Oprah Magazine, and author of the Stylebeat blog.  She gracefully led the three panelists, Gifts and Decorative Accessories Magazine's editor-in-chief Carolyn Kennedy; Jenny Heinzen York, the editor-in-chief of Home Accents Today; and Traditional Home Magazine's Senior Design and Style editor Krissa Rossbund; in a discussion that was informative, inspirational and touching. 


The discussion centered around what retailers in today's rough market should and could be doing to not only increase their bottom line, but reach beyond that to touch their customer's lives in a positive fashion.  There was talk of target markets and knowing who your customers are.  For those of us who are struggling to make it to the next season, their advice was to engage!  Engagement takes many forms these days, but we retailers should be using all the new sources, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to communicate with and grow our customer bases.  But that's not the only way to reach people.  Have you ever noticed that when you tell your kids, or anyone else, a story they tend to settle back and listen?  How many retailers out there are only using the avenues I mentioned to blindly shout "Here we are and this is what we've got!" into the world-wide web without giving your potential followers and customers anything else to identify you with?


Tell them your story, the ladies advised.  Let people know who you are, what you stand for and what you can do for your community!  What a waste of time if you're not thinking of how to impress your brand - your store and your story - into your customer's mind.  I've often told our crew here at WFS that when we're at the store, it's like we're on stage.  Every time we interact with a customer, we should be giving them not only service, we should be giving them an experience (and hopefully, a pleasant one).  We should be giving them something to talk about, so they can in turn tell their friends about you.  In essence, creating a community of people who are willing to come to you, to listen to your story, to recognize your brand and identify it with a positive experience.


In towns and cities across the nation, small stores like WFS are creating communities of people who want to shop with them.  They know the story of the store, what they're about and what they do.  Don't leave them guessing, my friends.  Reach out and touch the people with your story and let them know how you can help them, make their lives easier, and most of all, make them feel they matter!  It's a harsh world out there - a savvy retailer will make sure that her customers are experiencing shopping bliss, even if just for a few minutes.


We'll talk more about engagement and important trends you can take advantage of next week.  Until then, have a wonderful week.  Don't forget, our Fancy Food Truck Fridays is coming up on August 12th, and our monthly Wine Tasting Event (Frosty Whites For Summer!) will be on August 20th!


Lori & Scott

Believe In Change

As I sit here and type, I'm reflecting on the two days Scott and I took off of work because of Carmegeddon.  While it was fun to putter around the house we see so little of, we found ourselves antsy about not being there.  It's a funny feeling to be away from the business you're running, especially these days, but I'm glad for a little bit of distance.  Perspective is good as is planning, and we did some of both this weekend. 

As we were discussing the very real need for increased business in our store, Scott mentioned some of the online reviews he's read about Webster's, and the many comments he's heard over the years from the store's customers.  He says that the general consensus of opinion about the store was this statement: "If you can't find it anywhere else, you'll be able to find it at Webster's".  No matter what "it" was, people thought that you could find it here.  He's also heard people sat repeatedly "I went to ____ and ____ and couldn't find it, but you have it!"  Scott asked me this question - "Where would Webster's be today if people would've come here first?  Why, if in the majority's mind, we carried everything, didn't they come to us first?"

That's a question that isn't simple to answer and is a moot point anyway, as the pharmacy business is owned by a different family now.  The aura of the Webster's of old still affects us all today, however.  Change is never comfortable, especially with a store that's been in the community so long.  One whose cachet was fading, maybe, and one who was a last resort shopping destination, but was one who was still there - safe and predictable.

Now the game's changed and the store is not the same as it was.  Times have changed, as we all know, and shopping habits are in flux.  The wholesalers who supply what our old store offered are getting more and more difficult for small, independent retailers like us to work with.  The minimum purchase is getting higher and their short terms are not negotiable.  Some small office supply and business product manufacturers have gone out of business altogether, which gives the impression that we've chosen not to carry that item anymore.  All of this together doesn't exactly smack of confident retailing and our dwindling sales are proving it true - you can't sell it if you don't have it.

All of us here at Webster's need your support, because all of us want to be strong enough to support you, the community.  With the anticipated revitalization of the pharmacy, we are placing our hope in your continued goodwill and trust.  Trust us that we intend to bring you the very best shopping experience we can.  Both Scott and I are working with Michael and Meredith to support their efforts to accomplish this because we believe.  We believe in ourselves, our crew and our talents.  Let us show you what we can do - be a supporter of positive change and tell a friend about us!  Your good word of mouth is more powerful than a thousand dollars worth of advertising, so go tell someone about us or share this post - we deeply appreciate it!

Community In The Works

Last week we celebrated Independents Week, as we discussed in my last post, and I've never been more proud to be a part of the business landscape in Altadena.  Even though times are tough financially, there is an undercurrent running though our community that is so exciting, it's really inspirational!

Scott and I have the honor of knowing so many individuals, most of whom are active with various civic groups in town, that have been working tirelessly to challenge the status quo and improve our daily lives.  From the Arroyo Time Bank and the Altadena Urban Farmer's Market to the Altadena Town Council, Altadena Heritage, and the Altadena Historical Society, these folks are devoting their time and effort to make a discernible difference here.  They're paving the way for a sustainable future for Altadena and along the way, they're also educating our residents how to achieve and maintain it.

On Friday, during our Fancy Food Truck Friday event, we had two such people in the store, donating their time to making the evening more enjoyable for everyone.  Susann Edmonds, owner of A Chair In The Garden and head chef at Jabberwocky Smooth Jerk was there handing out samples of pork roast cooked with the proprietary sauce while local artist HB3 (Hugh Bonar) made magical sounds with his guitar, utterly enchanting everyone who came in.  It was quite a night and I'd like to thank both Susann and Hugh for helping make the event even more of a community party!

The groups I mentioned above, and others that I haven't yet mentioned, all need our help.  Not just some of our money - what they need is your attention and most of all, they need your participation.  You can find out more about them at the websites the links will take you to.  I can tell you that they can't do what they need to do without our caring about them.  In my ideal world, we would all be working together for the common good, businesses and community members alike.  If you live in Altadena, we urge you to take a moment, check out these sites and get invested in the town you live in.....only good could come of it!

Thanks for listening and we hope you all have a fabulous week!

Lori & Scott

Independents For All!

As America prepares to celebrate Independence Day, communities nationwide are using the occasion to celebrate independent businesses that provide opportunities for personal freedom, local self-reliance and form the backbone of most local economies. Running from 7/1/11 to 7/7/11, WFS salutes all our brothers and sisters in independent businesses!

Public education is at the core of Independents Week. “Where we choose to spend our money plays a vital role in forming the character of our communities,” said Jennifer Rockne, director of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA).  By patronizing locally-owned businesses, we not only can get competitive values, but create more opportunity and wealth within our communities. "The events also help inform government officials", Rockne says. “Many elected officials aren’t aware their hometown businesses provide far greater local economic benefit from each sales dollar than chains. Our role is to help them make more informed decisions.”  If you ever have questions in regard to this subject, please feel free to contact us, we'd be happy to provide you with information!

 Scott and I hope you have a fun-filled Fourth of July!  Remember, next Friday evening is our Fancy Food Truck Fridays event, with star truck Ragin Cajun   Make sure to check for the event notification in our newsletter going out this week and on Facebook!   Our next Wine Pairing event will be held on Saturday, July 16th.  Our theme this month is in honor of Bastille Day, so we'll be pairing French wines with some tasty French-inspired cuisine.  Stay tuned to our Facebook page for further information!

Until next week, my friends!

Lori and Scott

                                                 
                                                     My Country 'Tis of Thee
                                                     Written by: Samuel Francis Smith

                                                     My country, 'tis of thee,
                                                     Sweet land of Liberty,
                                                     Of thee I sing;
                                                     Land where my fathers died,
                                                     Land of the pilgrim's pride!
                                                     From ev'ry mountain side,
                                                     Let freedom ring!

                                                    Our fathers' God, to Thee,
                                                    Author of Liberty,
                                                    To Thee we sing.
                                                    Long may our land be bright,
                                                   With freedom's holy light;
                                                   Protect us by Thy might,
                                                   Great God, our King!

Thank You....Thank You Very Much!

These days, it's very easy to forget the word "thank you".  The picture above is a book we sell at the store and it reminded me that I need to be more aware of what I'm grateful for.  I'm grateful for my family, for my friends and for everything that the Lord has granted me in life thus far.  Both Scott and I are grateful for the chance to bring our dreams to reality, even though the road seems unpaved and perilous.  Most of all, we're grateful to you!  Every day, we welcome the opportunity to delight you, so here's a big thank you from us to you!

Have a wonderful week, my friends!

Lori & Scott

Song For My Father

                                         
                                        
A collection of rooms - four walls
a floor, some furniture - a house
a shell, no soul, empty....waiting

For someone to fill it - waiting
for a family's love, laughter - dreams
A home....a solid foundation.

You gave that to me - my father
You stood inside it and said yes
This is the place - this house.

A collection of rooms - four walls
a floor, some furniture - my home
echoes with the gifts you gave....

love

             ----Lori Elliott Webster



Scott and I hope all of you had an enjoyable weekend and Father's Day!  Enjoy the coming week, my friends, we'll be back with normal blogging next week.

Dollars For Scholars!*

WFS Grand Re-Opening Notice In Pasadena Star News, Sept. 27, 2008

This little blurb made it into the Pasadena Star News back in September of 2008, and was about the only mention of our "new" store ever in print when ownership changed.  Although it's hard to make out, the bottom of the paragraph shows that we dedicated a portion of the day's proceeds to The Quality Of Life Center, of which the Bright Future Scholar program is a part of.  This was the start of our wonderful relationship with the visionary head of the Center, Dr. Sandra Thomas, and her entire staff.

As I mentioned on our store's Facebook page this morning, Scott and I were honored to attend the graduation ceremony of the Bright Future Scholars, held this afternoon at the Pasadena Convention Center.  I say honored, because this is such an incredible program for high achieving school kids who would otherwise be unable to take advantage of such opportunities.  In academic achievement, the Bright Futures Scholars Support Program, when compared to others with similar demographics, ranks at the top state-wide.  100% of the seniors enrolled in the program go on to enroll in college.  Today's graduating seniors are going to a variety of top colleges, including Harvard, Columbia, USC, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz  - and we couldn't be prouder of them!

It costs nothing but high grades to become part of the Bright Future Scholars.  It does cost quite a bit, however, to mentor those kids and take them on the yearly retreat to Washington, D.C., or to Sacremento, CA.  It costs a lot to make sure there are people from the Center ready to help whomever needs it, whenever they need it.  It costs the students themselves, and their families who have little to spare, a tidy sum to attend college and to provide for living and school expenses as well.  When the question of who would like to pledge a scholarship for a Bright Future Scholar graduate in 2012, Scott and I had to step up!

We pledged not just one $500.00 scholarship - we pledged two!  One scholarship will be from Webster's of Altadena, in honor of the Webster family's long tradition of service to the Altadena community.  The other will be in honor of my grandfather, Dr. Robert I. Elliott, who was Superintendent of Schools, State of Nebraska, Broken Bow County and was later president of Chadron State College for 40 years.  Chadron State College is celebrating their 100 year anniversary this year. 

As you can see by my family's history, education is important to us.  It's even more important that those who are doing well in school be able to go on, despite their economical or situational challenges.  You know I've been saying that our businesses should all be working together toward a healthy community, and making sure that our non-profits stay viable is a top priority.  No longer can we think of ourselves only - I advocate for a more holistic approach.  That's why we're putting our money where our mouth is.  Now, we've got to get busy and make enough so that we can honor (there's that word again!) our commitment.

In other news, this next Saturday is our monthly wine pairing event with OddBallGrape.com.  This time it's "Cabs For Dads And Grads" and we'll highlight different combinations of Cabernet Sauvingon with grilled meat (or grilled vegetable) sliders.  Amy's Patio Cafe will be providing the sliders and there will be much merriment as we learn which wine tastes best with what!  Mark your calendars now - the fun starts at 4:00 pm and lasts until 7:00 pm - a whole hour later than we normally close.  If you haven't been to one of our wine tastings, you're really missing out - Anne Bannon and Mike Holland of OddBallGrape.com are lively, funny and extremely knowledgeable about the vino!

Have a fabulous week ahead, my friends!

*We have collection jars in our store, at each register, for customers to drop their change into, to benefit The Quality Of Life Center.  Please make it a point to drop yours in next time you're at the store - we appreciate it!

Community At The Table

We're celebrating the fifth Fancy Food Truck Fridays this week and in honor of the occasion, I'd like to take you on a little history trip - one that looks at food truck origins, their sudden  burgeoning popularity and the way food binds us as humans together.

One of the earliest pioneers of mobile kitchens, entrepreneur Charles Goodnight, was primarily a famous Texas rancher.  Deemed the "Father of the Texas Panhandle", Mr. Goodnight was also a banker, silver miner and the founder of a college, among many other things (entrepreneurs back in those days were serious multi-taskers and were themselves most likely the model for today's venture capitalists).  In 1866, Mr. Goodnight saw the need for food-on-the-go for his ranch hands as they worked the cattle drives and thus, the "chuckwagon" was born. 

Of course, food vendors had been on crowded city streets since time immemorial.  From ancient Greece and Rome to Paris' storied Monmartre, purveyors of salty, savory, sweet and spicy deliciousness from carts abounded.  The genius of Mr. Goodnight's invention was putting size into the food cart equation and making it a place where food was prepared and cooked.  First the patrons of the chuckwagon were the cowboys of the day, then others followed suite and the ubiquitous lunch wagon (more commonly known as the roach coach) was born.

                                                   

Fast forward to 2008, when Mark Manguera, a Filipino married to a Korean woman, his sister Alice Chin and  friend, chef Roy Choi, started Kogi BBQ Taco Truck.  Mark's concept of Korean barbeque (or Bool Kogi) in a taco, arrived at while drinking with friends, took off like lightening and today's gourmet food truck was born.  And what a platform it's been, and continues to be, for the enterprising entrepreneur, and how exciting it is for us to experiment with these new recipes! 

As humans, we are hard-wired to gather around good food.  Again, from ancient times to modern, community is found around a dining table.  Breaking bread is one of the oldest human tradition and we all hold true to that psychological imprint.  This is why all of us here at The Shops at Webster's host Fancy Food Truck Fridays.  We hope that by providing this communal experience, Altadena will be enriched.  Enriched by more people connecting, laughing......eating......together.  From our house to yours,  we hope you'll enjoy yourselves this Friday night.  Come by, say hello to your friends and neighbors and meet someone new - maybe even browse in the shops and meet us!  We'll be waiting for you.....

Enjoy the week ahead, my friends!

Lori and Scott

Surveying The Landscape In Altadena

As I've hinted about for the past couple of weeks, the results from the Chamber of Commerce's Shopping Survey have been compiled and released to the public.  We released a condensed version of the data at the Chamber's last mixer on Thursday, 5/26 at the Community Center.  The mixer was open to the public at no charge, but even so, there were only about 20 attendees.  You could say that the Chamber didn't announce the date of the mixer loudly enough, but it was on both Altadenablog and AltadenaPatch.com, and I know I gave ample notice of it on the store's Facebook page.

Why so few attendees?  We'll look at that in just a minute - first I'd like to talk about why we decided to put this, admittedly rudimentary, survey together in the first place.  We knew going in that most people up in our neck of the woods want more choices in 1) grocery shopping, 2) dining out and 3) retail shopping.  What we needed was verification of this, so we can continue our dialog with Los Angeles County in an informed manner.  They need to not just hear us, but hear you as well.  We want to give them not just anecdotal evidence, but hard numbers that encompass a good portion of the town,,,,and this survey of just under 400 people gave us that.

Verification of what we thought going in appeared in the survey.  The number one requested shopping venue was for a healthier choice in groceries, a la Trader Joe's or the Arroyo Food Co-op.  And yes, the Arroyo Food Co-op was mentioned over and over again in the written section, where we asked the survey takers to elaborate on what type of business they'd like to see in Altadena.  Same went for restaurants - the requests for healthy/organic/vegetarian dining options were many.  As for retail, I was surprised that only 15 respondents out of 370 answered the question "Why Do You Not Shop Locally", with 7 people giving the answer of "lack of choices".  However, continuing on with the survey, I was completely blown away that when asked to elaborate where the respondents did shop in town,...there were 360 answers! 

Sooo....our residents do shop in town!  I did a little counting of my own, and out of those 360 responses, 201 mentioned they shop Webster's.  And out of those 201, a good third of those named Webster's Fine Stationers by name.  That made me feel good!  Altadena Hardware, under new management this year, put in a great showing, too, with just over a hundred mentions.  Our restaurants received mention, too, with Foxes, Amy's Patio Cafe and El Patron being the frontrunners of that category. 

But back to the question, why so little attendance at the mixer?  Are there really that few people on-line in Altadena?  Or are we faced with a situation where people just don't care anymore?  In a retail group I'm a member of, the question of how to get people to care about your shop is asked in different forms repeatedly.  As shop owners, we not only have to be good businesspeople, we also have to have the ability to read the future as well.  We have to forecast the climate for certain products and services, which tend to wax and wane like the moon, and we have to pick up on the tendrils of a trend.  The trend of indifference has long been in place, I think, longer than I've been in retail.  With the advent of the big box corporate stores, the glut of advertisement you receive in your face every single day wears me out....and I'm a retailer!  No wonder there's such apathy - too many choices and we get locked into our same old, same old routine of habit.  You have to be truly different to stand apart, a trendsetter.

My tip to other retailers and business people is this:  there is a trend out there, one that will leave the big boxes and the internet retailers in possible shambles in the not-too-distant future.  The trend towards localization is huge and growing.  People, as in the people who took our survey, WANT to shop in their neighborhoods.  They don't want to travel 20 minutes or a half an hour to get to some mega mall, they want a place close by where they can come in, get what they need, maybe spend a few moments talking to acquaintances and go home.  Or they want a place nearby they can depend on to delight them, whenever they stop in.  Our challenge is to serve that up to our residents....with a smile.  Can we offer that to you, Altadena?  You bet.....just watch us!

On this Memorial Day, we hope you've had a pleasant long weekend!  Best wishes to you in the coming week,

Lori & Scott

Trust Issues

"I've learned to listen to myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it"
                              ----Sarah McLachlan

In our talk about sustainability last week, I mentioned a survey about businesses in Altadena that was conducted by the Altadena Chamber of Commerce .  News of the survey and links to it appeared in AltadenaPatch.com and Altadenablog several months ago. The survey results have been compiled and will be presented to the public at the Chamber's next mixer, at the Community Center, 5:30 pm on Thursday, May 26th.  This is great news, for we finally have some information to use to build our case for some County attention our our neck of the woods, not to mention our own internal need for forward motion.  After the mixer and the release of the survey, you'll get a guided tour of the results, a la Lori.

I spoke about my having picked up some inspirational reading material last week, as well.  Scott and I both listened to Seth Godin's newest book, Poke The Box, on audio tape and we're so inspired.  I love that we can listen to someone who advocates standing up and making a difference - and I love even more that we both agree that's something we can do together!  We are also reading Jeanne Bliss' newest book, "I Love You More Than My Dog".  While I haven't yet finished Jeanne's book, I can say that these books, in combination, are proving to be invaluable to me.  I see clearly that we've been depressed these past several months, letting the pressures of owning this store affect our relationship with not just each other, but the relationship we have with our customers.....you.....in a not-so-positive way.

At our crew meeting tonight, we talked about these things.  We talked about trust - the trust between the public and our store and also the trust between our crew and us.  We want our store to shine on every level, most importantly customer service.  We've decided that we can't have excellent customer service if we don't trust our crew members to instantly respond to customers' needs.  Returns or problems of any kind can be handled by any one of our able crew members at any time and we absolutely trust their judgement. 

Our no-cell-phone policy was brought up as we discussed trusting our customers.  I think that in our zeal to provide a restful, calm shopping experience, we ticked a few people off when we asked them not to use their phone in the store.  We've rethought the message we were sending when we enforced that policy and would like to issue a sincere apology to anyone upset by it.  We believe that our customers can be quiet while on the phone in the store and we'll leave it at that.

Our monthly Fancy Food Truck Fridays event on the 13th went very well - 6 food trucks, including the Border Grill Truck, and a record attendance!  Beautiful weather helped along with the complimentary Tarot card readings by our lovely gypsy fortune tellers.....everyone wanted their fortune told on Friday the 13th!  Yesterday was this month's wine tasting event with the publishers of the blog OddBallGrape.com and we paired several Syrah's with picnic foods (deviled eggs, fried chicken & potato salad) provided by DD's Chick & Cat Shack.  This was a fabulous pairing - those attending were very impressed with the lovely wines and the accompanying food!  The next wine tasting will be on Saturday, June 19th, and our theme will be "Cabs For Dads and Grads".  Make sure to look for our event announcements in your email or on our Facebook Page!  We're also working on a follow up to our Social Media 101 event last October - we'll let you know when we will be scheduling that.

Until next week, my friends.....have a wonderful week ahead!

Lori & Scott