The Decline of Lake Street
by Daron Anderson
So my mom (@Leslie Aitken) has been talking to me about the goings on of the Altadenablog, and whats happening around town. The business is fading away. Its sad to see honestly. We're all local residents, and why can't we see that its falling apart? The intersection of Lake and Mariposa should be our town center. Look at Sierra Madre, they have a nice strip and Kersting court, and it is always packed. We're living in a wonderful community that has been held back for so long, because we're looked at as an "Affected Area" Frankly, things need to change. Im not a business owner on Lake, but there has to be a way to change our town. We have too many wonderful people to let things fall apart.
I agree with @Ben McGinty, we need a Starbucks. Starbucks brings business, and foot traffic. I've heard that Steve Lamb was opposed to having Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, because it would compete with the Coffee Gallery. The CG is its own entity and will survive if a Starbucks moved in. It's too far away from the Lake & Mariposa Village (thats what we should name the intersection.) I've never met you Steve, but why would you oppose growth? To keep it local? If thats the case, I'd like to borrow $75,000 so I could open a local business when Ben moves out. Its sad that Ben is closing, but he's burned out. The Gallery has run its course. But it will be missed. Ben, I also like what you said in your interview - office buildings are for offices, leave retail storefronts for retail.
So here we have Lake and Mariposa. We're losing Kat Scrap Fever to a Curves? Really? Curves was next to Quizno's and failed. Now were going to have another prime corner blocked off with a gym? That is counterintuitive to progress. How is Curves going to bring up the community? I understand that times are tight right now, so its hard to open new businesses. But its time to let go to the "local entities." - they're not thriving anymore.
As for family drama with any of our local retailers, thats not our business as the general public, but it does affect all of us. When the Webster family split up the stores, its never been the same. Steves too. The Websters have owned the most prime retail in Altadena for years, and its going to waste. Now we have the Daisy Thrift Shop in the bottom anchor of that store? I guess nothing better could go in there. The sad part is that we all know each other and still theres nothing that can be done. Apparently theres some ordinance that bans signage on Lake too? Lori Webster mentioned to my Mom that she was going to be fined $1000 if she didn't remove her street signage. Surprisingly, business has declined.
I will say hats off to El Patron. We finally have a restaurant that delivers. Alex and co, have been increasingly successful since they opened. Look for patio seating in the front too. Amy's & Fox's and Park Bench shut their doors in the afternoon. Altadena is hungry too. So how can it change? The people need to start talking.
So Lake street is tied up for ownership. Chris has the Rancho, Erik has the smoke shop, the Websters have their buildings, Lorraine Dorsey owns the corner of Lake & Altadena (where Amy's is), and so on. We need more life in this town. I'd love to see the Lake & Mariposa Village with angle parking like in Sierra Madre, Montrose, Monrovia, and we have some on Mariposa.
I'd love to see a median with trees in the center of Mariposa. It would block the view of Ez-Stop and the Liquor Store. The streets are wide, because of the past when we had streetcars, but that is gone. With street parking on Lake, that would help, and promote the growth of our neighborhood. It would take that small section of Lake and slow the traffic down too. Erik & The Webster family have the advantage, they have the ONLY parking lots on Lake. It would be great to see some family festivals in the neighborhood. There could be an Altadena Street Fair, just like Monrovia.
The last thing this town needs is another damned hair salon, church, thrift shop, or liquor store. We need some major chains to anchor our shopping district. Imagine if a Barnes & Noble were to move into the bottom of Websters instead of the rummage sale mess of Daze E Thrift Store?
The money is here. We are not the ghetto. And we need to take the owners of the Rite Aid lot to task. That center needs renovation, additional buildings, and is a general eyesore. And Kragen is fine, but our Rite Aid is one of the worst in the area. What if Bulgarini Gelato were on Lake, where they could be seen? There could be a Starbucks, and you could take the kids to get a gelato and sit outside. It seems logical to me.
Its time to put our heads together and do something.
Daron Anderson
daron727@msn.com
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While I agree w/ most everything you've written, I don't see where you've noted HOW things will change on Lake. Meaning - who should we meet with? Who will decide what stores will be in the area? How will you attract the businesses?
ReplyDeleteI do believe a majority of the town feels the same as you do. However, it will take effort and diligence to make changes. The town will have to work closely w/ LA County Planning/Developers etc. to make sure we have their backing. We'll need the County to revise/loosen up on antiquated ordinances. All this takes a dedicated group to keep the pressure on the right county dept's. I also believe we have to repair our relationship w/ the county and create a partnership if we want to move forward.
I think working with local civic groups (town council,Chamber, heritage etc.) I note this b/c those groups do have connections with the county and can help focus the community's voice to the right county dep'ts.
The negative/counterproductive attitudes we've read in posts on various websites are likely held by the minority. Even so, many people read those rants and feel that Altadena can't even help itself. It's time to prove people wrong! We just have to develop a focus and start making calls to the right people.
My 2 Cents
I got this forwarded to me by Dale Trader. I wrote a response to him. My suggestion yesterday after having a serious talk with some Commercial brokers I know, was that we should get up a Not for Profit (I shudder because most of these are so blindingly corrupt) that will set up businesses to train young people ect. The reason is that the commercial rents in Altadena are just too high for a business to make it. Landlords can get a big tax break for giving NFP's a break on the rent. So we could have training for youth, services we want and the business would survive.
ReplyDeleteAs I said on my response to Dale, chain franchises do NOT create redevelopment, they take advantage of it once it starts. Then they pay higher rents and drive all the locals out of business.
As to Websters. the Webster family took a not so great street frontage and made it desirable by improvement and acquiring parking. Mariposa is and always was the desirable spot, the Websters were smart enough to locate their businesses at the terminus of Mariposa. And Yeah its awful that the Daisey shop is there instead of say a local diner, but just the costs imposed by the County for approval would be over $200,000 before one got to say silly things like the refrigeration and stove......
But anyone who wants to get together and talk about making something work, I'll be at teh Coffee Gallery this Saturday morning from 9 till 11......
You have to also realize that Los Angeles County has a plan. They lie to us when we ask directly about it, but twice now it has slipped out. The fiorst time was almost a decade ago when teh ATC and the ACC came together and in an attempt to revitalize Lake we asked the county ofr the purposes of getting zoning permits to hold all the parking on Lake in common. we then went out with volunteers and counted every single parking space, public and private, on Lake. The County hired a consultant to take our data and make a recomendation. They did:
ReplyDeleteForget about it! Build five story residential housing all along lake with national chain outlets like StarBucks at the corners. This effort then went no where.
So a month ago the Patch interviews Richard Bruckner and what has he to say? Multi story residential and national chains at the corners, forget local business.
While Altadenans want shopping locally, I don't think they want residential blocks going up lake with an occasional Starbucks and Pinkberry at the corner and no local anything.
As to Patron Yeah! I love that they opened JR's again. I have patronized every diner that's ever been there and did drawings for two of the Kitchens..But I'd fight like hell against a chain like the red onion moving in close to them to drive them out of business. I dont happen to like the food at Amy's, but I'd fight like heck to keep a chain that competed with them out of town and I'd fight to keep Walgreen's from coming to wipe out Webster's, because yes at the end of the day what will keep Altadena a peaceful good place to live will be keeping national chains out and promoting locally owned businesses who build back into the community.
Also, I never prevented Coffee bean and Tea Leaf from opening in Altadena. I did at one point consider two locations for personally opening a CB&TL in Altadena but decided against it because the rent was too high, foot traffic too low and while the parent company wold be making money, I saw no way for the franchisee to make a buck. I also considered opening up a Motor Head Coffee shop to sell my own brew out of, but for a variety of reasons, not the least being that the best location for said shop would be Ronnie's and right across from the CG and not good for either business.
ReplyDeleteBut I never prevented CB&TL from being located in Altadena. For people who have been paying attention, I also attempted to bring us a HOWS market, Bobs Big Boy (working on that one again through a different franchisee)a See's and several others. I've actually had discussions with the people with rights to these. They all see the money here, but the BIG problem, the thing in the way is the COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES. This is true on both Lake and in the Redevelopment District. They are the least helpful least organized governmental agency around. they make Pasadena look like a model of efficiency.
BTW Kudos also to the Altadena Ale house for taking the most frightening bar in town and turning it around.
SSL
I grew up in Altadena and have recently moved back from living out of state for many years. I may be a novice in the realm of business and business development, but here is a homegrown novice’s perspective:
ReplyDeleteThe small businesses in the area are failing. They have seemed to be going down hill since before I moved 10 years ago. I am usually on the small business side, sticking up for the little guy. However, in this case my perspective is much different. This area needs a couple of large chains (my vote is for a Starbucks for one). I understand they will push the rent up further, but tough cookies. The local businesses haven’t done “it” for this area (even when Websters was running full steam).
I agree, the people in Altadena deserve a decent town center. Lake and Mariposa, even a block up to Altadena Drive fit the bill (and yes, the Rite Aid is an embarrassment… what is wrong with a good Walgreens stepping in?). Billing this area out to large chains will only support the community as a whole as opposed to the entire area suffering based on tender hearts supporting a couple of small businesses.
Hi, Amanda, I'm Lori Webster, an owner of one of those small businesses Altadena's tender hearts are supporting. I agree with you that Altadena needs some other successful businesses, mayhap a nat'l chain like Starbucks or Peets, because success always follows success. I'm for just about anything that would lift up the sagging North Lake Business District.
ReplyDeleteI know things seem to be going downhill rapidly in our part of Altadena. But I'd like to give you, Daron and anyone else reading this a little background. Most of the independent businesses up and down North Lake have been around a long while. The owners are older now and not as willing to change up the way they're doing things, i.e., new products, new style, new marketing endeavors and involvement in the community. But in the past three years, there has been an infusion of younger folks running businesses, like my husband, Scott, and myself. Unfortunately, we picked a really bad time to take over a business that was already flagging. Same with my step-sister-in-law, Karen Myers and her husband Robert.
The timing of my father-in-law's retirement and the subsequent change in ownership of the two Webster's stores was timed badly. Not only was the economy beginning to tank, the public was mad as hell that the walls dividing the store went up without notice. The two "new" businesses in the complex were crippled badly by both of these circumstances, but it hasn't dimmed the promise that our store holds.
Scott and I look forward to working with the community to help improve North Lake Avenue. If you'll look at my blog, at http://www.webstersfs.blogspot.com, you'll see I've been writing about this subject for three years now. You can also join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Altadena-CA/Websters-Fine-Stationers/27486719766
I hate to sound like I'm advertising on someone else's blog, but I'd really like people to be aware of how we plan on becoming a relevant part of our community. Did you know that we've moved toward a more sustainable aesthetic, carrying more ecologically and socially responsible merchandise than anyone else in the area? That we have greeting cards and gifts? The old timers will be glad to know that they can still come buy single mailing envelopes and pens, printer paper and file folders....but you now have lifestyle choices in each category we carry. We try to source our products locally or in the US, and attempt to find things fair trade if they're made outside the US. Our store has the largest collection of local Altadena authors than anyone else, and we have a dedicated area for Christmas Tree Lane Association merchandise - they get 75% of the net proceeds. Plus, we've got the cutest hats from Charmain Boyd, the owner of Winsome's Pretty Woman, another local shop. We believe in promoting other retailers in the area.
What I'm trying to say here is that we believe that we can operate a community-centric store that has relevant merchandise that our local shoppers (and hopefully, some out of the area as well) would want. It's just hard making such radical changes in these tough economic conditions...we can't get funding to save our lives. We ask that all of you have a little faith....a little patience....and say a little prayer for us as we struggle to make it through.
I ask that you all keep in mind that our independent businesses here in Altadena employ your neighbors and friends, they spend money in our neighborhood eateries and shops. Their dollars help support those local businesses who also employ other local businesses, like accountants, cleaning services and in our case, local artists. Think also about having North Lake looking like any other strip mall in any other part of the country. What makes us unique in Altadena is our individuality....let's build on that, together.
Remember "The Dutch Oven Bakery"!! Their bread was the best ever. Their Chocolate Eclairs were HEAVEN. The people who bought it were a joke, they just bought most everything. (not much homemade) It got dirty. Is it still there? What made North Lake great in the 60's, and early 70's. What ever made it WONDERFUL, just do that again!!!
ReplyDeleteHow about that rat infested dump pile behind Lindsay's on Marcheta Street? It has been there and growing for the last year! I know that they are doing a lot of renovation, but at least they could have ordered a roll off dumpster. The inside is filthy too. The store has not been swept out or dusted in months. I stopped going there and filed a complaint with LA County Dept of Health to no avail.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why they're renovating now, Tom.
ReplyDeletePlease don’t misunderstand. I am not all for squashing small businesses; however in this circumstance what we need is an area that people want to visit, grab a cup of coffee and do some light shopping. I love Websters, then and now, but my point is that people do not go to Websters to “hang out”.
ReplyDeleteWe need an area with outdoor seating, a couple food/coffee cafés, bookstore, music, artist gallery, a place to gather and relax. We need “more” and in this case a couple “biggers” would be better. A Barnes & Noble, a Starbucks, better green space and the area would be set in my humble opinion.
The design would not have to be “strip mall-esk”. That would depend entirely upon the persons designing the spaces. All of these businesses can be housed within quaint appearing quarters.
A final point, while I agree that local businesses do employ neighbors and such… a couple of large chains would employ 3-4X (if not more) as many people as the small businesses do now.
Agreed, Amanda. We do need to create a town center full of the ambiance that reflects Altadena's potential. As I mentioned, we have been working and will continue to work tirelessly toward that goal.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to point you to this article:
http://www.womensleadershipexchange.com/my.php
that explains how small, independent business is the backbone of our country's economy.
Thanks for giving me this opportunity to discuss this with you, I appreciate it!