Small Business

GLENDALE — As Tom's Café bustled with its usual lunchtime business on Wednesday, longtime customers were dismayed to learn that this trip to Tom's would be their last. Owner Tom Shin — who opened the sandwich shop as Togo's 10 years ago — said his 10-year lease at the Exchange on Brand Boulevard expired on Wednesday. With area property values much higher now, Shin said, a new lease was not within his financial capabilities. "Ten years is a long time," Shin said.

VAN NUYS — More than 100 foothill residents attended a zoning meeting in Van Nuys Friday seeking to impose additional restrictions on a proposed Home Depot store in Sunland. Los Angeles city Zoning Coordinator Gary Booher faced a throng of television cameras as a two-year battle between Home Depot officials who want to take over a former Kmart building at 8040 Foothill Blvd. and neighboring residents who would rather see a general department store at the location came to a head.

LA CRESCENTA ? Work has begun on a multi-million dollar expansion and remodel of a Ralphs grocery store on Foothill Boulevard that company officials say will create more product choice and customer service. But it has some Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce members concerned about the effect on small businesses. Ralphs was one of the first mega stores to open in La Crescenta about 15 years ago, and it initially enjoyed "phenomenal" success, chamber Executive Director Jean Maluccio said.

JPL boost for small business NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is hosting the ninth Space Science Symposium for Small Business today at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Va. Interactive sessions will highlight business opportunities for future programs and missions. NASA and JPL support high-tech small businesses and are interested in expanding their pool of potential suppliers, spokesman Natalie Godwin said. All invited to All-American mixer The Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce and the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce are taking part in a duo mixer on Wednesday.

MONTROSE ? The future of Whites Gallery has been hanging in the balance for some time but Linda Strack, who has owned and operated the business for the past 12 years, has finally called it quits. Strack, who plans to vacate the gallery premises on Honolulu Avenue on May 31 and carry on the remainder of the business online through her website, said the decision had been long overdue and a very painful one to make. "As much as I love art, and as much as it kills me to do this, I'm getting too old to worry about where my next paycheck is coming from," joked the 59-year-old.

Local seminars are helping small business owners and prospective owners avoid confusion, get off the ground and expand.BURBANK -- When Andea Naone's small but profitable home business suffered because of changes in the industry, she realized she had to change, too. One of the biggest decisions she made was to attend the San Fernando Valley Small Business Fair at the Holiday Inn Burbank on Thursday. The fair was presented by State Board of Equalization Chairman John Chiang, and featured more than 35 agencies designed to help small business owners and prospective business owners sort through taxes and other critical issues.

Jackson Bell Garry Sinanian lost his taste for politics a few years ago after a failed run for the proposed Hollywood City Council left him outspent and outnumbered. Promising himself he would never run for an elected office again, Sinanian moved to Glendale in 2003 to focus on running his businesses and helping the community. But when he saw the antics of the current Glendale City Council -- where he said members inappropriately campaigned for the Americana at Brand, ignored the concerns of constituents and dampened free speech by pushing oral communications to the end of council meetings -- Sinanian reexamined that promise.

Rima Shah Homer Barerra might be able to get better discounts shopping for books online or at one of those big chain stores, but the Brand Bookstore has something they'll never have. It is the smell of old books that keeps Barerra coming back. And that's not all. "Well, they have a lot of variety of books, language books, Greek literature, which I enjoy," Barerra said. " I find (the prices) very reasonable here. It has a quiet atmosphere, and I like the smell of old books."

Clarifying misinformation and providing the facts I would like to address your article by Josh Kleinbaum that appeared on April 24-25. As I am a public figure and it is my name on the line, I am writing you to clarify misinformation and also to add information that I fear was intentionally left out. Your newspaper used to be a local newspaper "serving the communities of Glendale, Montrose, La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge." However, recently, it has become "Caruso-Press," serving the needs of Caruso Affiliated Holdings!

Ryan Carter The workers' compensation horror stories kept coming Friday at the Glendale Central Library. An acupuncturist told of the patient who lied about being able to lift her arm. Then came the story of the owner of the janitor service who has had to lay off employees because his workers' compensation premiums have quadrupled in four years. Business owners vented their thoughts on the state's skyrocketing workers' compensation costs at a forum Friday at the library.