Coffee Shop

Amber Willard BURBANK -- Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) is getting out of the office and into a local coffee shop to discuss state legislative issues with constituents. From noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Frommer will be at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, at 340 N. San Fernando Road in Burbank. Representatives from his office will also be on hand to answer questions about changes to the Homeowners and Renters Assistance Program, which is available for elderly residents who meet income requirements.

An artsy coffee shop is brewing up plans to "Revo-lutionize" the image of quaint and quiet Adams Square. But it is not nearby residents' cup of tea. Revo Art and Jazz Café reopened in early January after about two months of renovations. The changes are no revolution for Revo, but they might be for Adams Square, a small commercial district at the foot of Adams Hill in south Glendale. "The last one was just straight coffee shop — art and jazz café," said Aram Manoukian, owner of the Revo café.

Tim Willert Jack King hasn't thrown in the towel. Not yet, anyway. King is the longtime Burchett Street resident who has fought the city for nearly two years over a parking variance granted Starbucks. He received his second straight setback Wednesday when the Board of Zoning Adjustments voted to uphold a previous ruling not to revoke the variance, which the city issued to property owner Thomas Ortiz in April 2000, despite no off-street parking and just seven on-street parking spaces.

Glendale hosts a wonderful group of coffee shops, ranging from Montrose's City Hall, my morning haunt for the past few years, to Downtown's Foxy's, my brother Don Trowbridge's favorite for ages. Right in the middle is The Toasted Bun. If you want to know Glendale as it is now and as it has been, the Toasted Bun is a good place to go. You will know what makes it a classic as soon as you walk in. Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, the Toasted Bun is a friendly, comfortable place.

Just celebration for coffee shop The Just Coffee Shop will celebrate its third anniversary from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 9 with complimentary tastings of coffee and hors d'oeuvres and an exhibition of the work of artists participating in Glendale's third annual Open Studio Tour. The Just Coffee Shop is at 1010 N. Glendale Ave. For more information, call (818) 291-0240. Hospital shop offering sale The Glendale Adventist Medical Center Thrift Shop will hold a sale from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at 311 Vallejo Drive, Glendale.

Tim Willert Despite the pleas of residents hoping to drive a popular coffee shop from their neighborhood, the Board of Zoning Adjust- ments on Wednesday upheld a prior ruling not to revoke a city-issued variance for Starbucks at 469 Burchett St. The board voted 3-1 to sustain a May 20 decision by Zoning Officer Wolfgang Krause, who ruled that property owner Thomas Ortiz did not violate the conditions of a parking...

Tim Willert NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- Business is booming at Starbucks at the intersection of Burchett Street and Pacific Avenue. But some residents who live within walking distance of the trendy coffee shop are tired of the resulting traffic, parking and noise problems. "When I come home I can't even park in front of my own house," said Theresa Riservato, who has lived in the 500 block of Burchett for nearly 15 years. "But the biggest problem I have is the trash.

Tim Willert NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- A Glendale zoning officer ruled Friday that a popular coffee shop did not violate the conditions of a parking variance, despite protests from neighbors and warnings from police officers. Wolfgang Krause, a senior planner, considered revoking a city-issued variance for Starbucks at 469 Burchett St. because of complaints about parking, traffic and noise. "There wasn't adequate evidence to support revoking it," said Krause, who mailed his ruling on Friday.

Glendale's Grand Central Airport closed down in the 1950s, and eventually the property was developed as a business park called the Grand Central Industrial Center. One of the new buildings was Grand Central Bowl, a $1-million project at the corner of Sonora Avenue and Flower Street. The bowling alley, designed by William Rudolph of Pasadena, was developed in mid-1959 by Sports Arenas Inc., according to the Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1959. It included a restaurant and cocktail lounge, coffee shop and children's playroom.

The front-page article by Tim Willert regarding the Starbucks on Burchett and Pacific gives a very distorted picture of what I have observed. Tim takes a number of quotes from two neighbors who allege the coffee shop has created a negative effect on their neighborhood. Nothing could be further from the truth. First, the building previously housed a hair salon and day spa with 16 employees. Now, compare that to the parking required for individuals who drop in and grab a cup of java or some exotic mixture, then head out on the freeway.

A 72-year-old Glendale man testified Wednesday that two police officers used excessive force two years ago when they handcuffed him and broke his arm inside the Glendale Galleria. Asadoor Mirzaeyan was wearing a sling on his right arm in U.S. District Court, where his trial began against Officers Aaron Zeigler and Francisco Martinez, who he claims used excessive force and covered up accounts of the incident during his May 9, 2010, arrest. He testified with the help of an Armenian-translation interpreter that he took prescription pills that day and walked to the mall with a friend and met another acquaintance, who shared a half-cup of liquor with him. On his way out of the mall, Mirzaeyan said the officers, who were dressed in plain clothes and seated at a coffee shop, asked him to leave the mall numerous times but never identified themselves as officers.

Most of the roughly 40 people who attended a hearing Wednesday for a proposed Starbucks in Montrose expressed support for the coffee chain, arguing it would generate badly needed foot traffic for the mostly mom-and-pop business district. Starbucks wants to open a store on the southeast corner of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard. Company representatives appeared before Planning Officer Laura Stotler requesting a conditional-use permit to operate as a fast-food establishment because the store will have more than eight seats.

I, and many others, have experienced the uniqueness and small-town quality Montrose Shopping Park has had to offer for many years. However, with the proposed addition of Starbucks, we could lose that and it could become just another mall (“Proposed Starbucks stirs up Montrose,” Sept. 9). Do we really need a Starbucks, especially one that is located only a few blocks from another coffee shop? Even though Trader Joe's is opening soon and considered a chain store, it is based in Southern California, has a hometown feel and will be serving as an anchor for the shopping park, whereas Starbucks is an international chain, based in the state of Washington and would be located in the middle of the shopping park.

Glendale's Grand Central Airport closed down in the 1950s, and eventually the property was developed as a business park called the Grand Central Industrial Center. One of the new buildings was Grand Central Bowl, a $1-million project at the corner of Sonora Avenue and Flower Street. The bowling alley, designed by William Rudolph of Pasadena, was developed in mid-1959 by Sports Arenas Inc., according to the Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1959. It included a restaurant and cocktail lounge, coffee shop and children's playroom.

Local business input sought on plan The Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Glendale Planning Department are hosting two opportunities for businesses to offer input on the future of North Glendale/La Crescenta. Meetings will held at Dunsmore Community Center, 4700 Dunsmore Ave. on Monday, March 2 from noon to 1 p.m. and will include lunch. The second meeting is on Monday, March 16 from 6 to 7 p.m. Those offering comments will be kept anonymous. For information, contact the chamber office at (818)

Most days, Glendale Police Officer Matt Zakarian can be seen walking around the Montrose Shopping Park and talking to business owners. Zakarian, a Community Police Partnership Bureau officer, was assigned to the Glendale Police Department’s Montrose substation on Ocean View Boulevard six months ago, so he has made it his task to learn about his childhood community and discover some of the quality-of-life issues residents are grappling with...

Members of the community met with Glendale police at Berolina Bakery on Ocean View Boulevard in Montrose on Feb. 6 to discuss neighborhood problems and just to get to know the local law enforcement that serve the area. “Coffee With A Cop” is a program started by Officer Matt Zakarian to connect community members with police. “We will also have law enforcement from other agencies like the C.V. Sheriff’s Station and LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department)

One of the things I miss about home when traveling abroad is the type of courtesy we are used to having here. Even when traveling to the East Coast, I notice a considerable change in how people express politeness. New York, for example, is very different than Southern California. People may do you a favor, but don?t expect a smile or a voluntary show of kindness. Certain parts of Europe can be a whole new ballgame. I remember traveling to Heerlen years ago; it?s a town in the south of The Netherlands near the border of Germany and Belgium.