Tehachapi News

Tehachapi's small business boom

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Local entrepreneurs apparently missed the memo about the rotten economy, as new businesses are bursting forth like wildflowers in the city of Tehachapi.

From April 29 to May 13, owners opened the doors to Pacino's Spaghetti Factory Pizzeria, The Grooming Spot dog groomer, Hungry Howie's Pizza, Tehachapi Liquor and Linda's Cakes 'n Things.

The owners are pleased.

“I knew it was going to be busy. I didn't know it would be this busy,” said Tim Kerzie, co-owner of Pacino's.

The theme now is all things Pacino.

In addition to the chef, Pasadena School of Culinary Arts graduate Jaison Copley, Bronx native Spaccarelli has drafted his mother Mary, 75, to make the restaurant's cheesecake from an old family recipe. He displays his treasured New York Yankees memorabilia on the lounge walls.

Chocolate ganache

“We ran out yesterday,” said Linda Pettitt, owner of Linda's Cakes 'n Things, referring to her opening day trade. So far, the lemon gooey bars, cinnamon rolls, old-fashioned southern red velvet cakes and chocolate brownies with chocolate ganache filling are walking out the door, she said. 

The bakery is in a little house on East Tehachapi Boulevard. Her husband, son and son-in-law renovated the building and her mother, Evelyn (Idy) Walker, 86, made the aprons, curtains and chair coverings. Her daughter-in-law Rebecca Pettitt works in the shop with Linda Pettitt and Deanne Carpenetti.

“My customers are a lot of lovely people,” said Albeir Rechied, owner of Tehachapi Liquor. “They follow me here [from his previous location].

The personable Rechied knows his customers by name and makes sure they get what they want, special ordering when asked.

“In Tehachapi when you have something new, people come and support you,” said Elnora Mackenzie, owner of Hungry Howie's Pizza.

Mackenzie has been busy from day one. She received strong support from the Madison Heights, Michigan-based parent corporation, including a month's training in Michigan, assistance in selecting the right location and hands-on start-up help from corporate Operations Manager Dave Stuart.

Howie's niche in the pizza market is its flavored crusts.

Mackenzie, who worked at another pizza franchise and decided to strike out on her own, said that opening a shop now indicates confidence “that everything is going to be OK.”

Dogs downtown

Sharon Fulton, owner of The Grooming Spot, was a partner in another grooming salon when she too decided to start her own business.

“I think it was a good move,” she said. “I see a lot of business moving and changing to accommodate the economy.”

Fulton specializes in small- and-medium-size dogs and says the quieter atmosphere is good for her clients who come to her new shop, where she is the only groomer.

At first, she said, she was nervous about seeing the businesses along Tehachapi Boulevard closing.

“I was excited to hear new ones are coming in. I was afraid it would be a ghost town.”

Other business activity

A Bakersfield company, Fastrip, whose parent company is Jaco Oil, took over Howard's Mini Market on April 1 and launched a complete remodel. The remodel features a security system and a walk-in “beer cave” that reads the temperature inside.

Owner Issa Tadros said he has doubled the size of the former mini market. Both the gas station and the market are now a combined Fastrip franchise. Tadros owns another Fastrip franchise in California City.

Also on April 1, Robert Kurugian opened the Tehachapi branch of Academy Mortgage Corporation.

Kurugian said the company is a direct lender and that business is brisk. He has a stack of “18 to 20” mortgage application in progress.

Mud Hut, a pottery self-painting establishment, moved from its Tucker Road location to open May 16 in the former Elliot Paint and Equipment store.

Owners Greg and Yvonne Hark have transformed the interior to a bright and stylish tropical environment, complete with corrugated metal walls, a grass hut and upside-down bucket light fixtures.

They have taken care to protect the environment by installing sediment traps and special vents on the kiln, which fires the pottery.

Frame of Mind frame shop and gallery will close its Valley Boulevard location May 22 and reopen June 1 at 117 E. F St., the former location of Johnson Printing, which moved Jan. 1 to 450 N. Green St., Suite A.

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Transitions on Tehachapi Boulevard

Empty stores won't stay empty long

The unsettling specter of a ghost downtown represented by empty stores lining Tehachapi Boulevard and “Going out of Business” signs soon may be banished.

“They're not going to be empty long,” said Michelle Vance, executive director of Main Street Tehachapi, which aggressively promotes the economic health of the historic heart of the city.

“There's a lot happening. They'll be full by June. I've been showing property like a real estate agent.”

For Nonie's Country Rose gift shop, which is clearing out inventory in advance of closing and the retirement of owner Elinor Condren, Vance said, “We have three people waiting in line. Two businesses out of a strip mall are coming.”

While the funkier old, sometimes odd-shaped downtown buildings appeal to many businesses -- trending lately to the arts community -- some empty buildings present difficulties that only owners can fix, Vance said. Say, the need for air conditioning.

In any case, she said, the vacancies are temporary and:

“It's not the economy.”

More family time

Shirley Fuller, owner of Fuller & Fuller Home & Gifts at the Tehachapi Village Marketplace, 125 W. Tehachapi Blvd., said the shop will close between the end of May and June 15.

“We have leased the space to a new tenant,” she said. The leased space is larger than the existing gift shop, she said, and includes what once was the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

The future tenant, a local store, plans to announce the deal when the contracts are complete this week.

She said she had hired a consultant to help with the sale of the inventory.

“I'm retiring,” Fuller said. “This opportunity came up and I took it. I am raising two grandchildren, 13 and 15. That's a critical age.”

Fuller said she has worked hard all her life since she was 15 years old in Vancouver, Canada, and she wants to spend more quality time with her grandchildren.

She also wants to spend more time supporting community endeavors, she told the Tehachapi News.

Fuller and her late son Michael rehabilitated and remodeled old fruit packing sheds to produce The Apple Shed Restaurant and later the Tehachapi Village Marketplace.

“We are blessed with people in the community supporting us,” she said. “It's a sad closing.”

It was a wonderful five years, she said.

Loyal customers who will miss the shopping - and especially the Christmas wrapping - are sad too. One left in tears.

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Five new Tehachapi businesses in two weeks

Pacino's Spaghetti Factory Pizzeria
    1100 Tehachapi Blvd.
    Owners Frank Spaccarelli and Tim Kerzie
    Opened April 29

The Grooming Spot
    116 S. Robinson St.
    Owner Sharon Fulton
    Opened May 5

Hungry Howie's Pizza
    675 Tucker Road
    Owner Elnora Mackenzie
    Opened May 11

Tehachapi Liquor
    840 Tucker Road
    Owner Albeir Rechied
    Opened May 12

Linda's Cakes 'n Things
    402 E. Tehachapi Blvd.
    Owner Linda Pettit
    Opened May 13

Other:

Fastrip (market and gas)
    798 Tucker Road
    Owner Issa Tadros
    (Parent company Jaco Oil, Bakersfield)
    Opened April 1

Academy Mortgage Corporation
    112 S. Robinson St.
    Robert Kurugian, branch manager
    Opened April 1

The Mud Hut
    225 W. Tehachapi Blvd.
    Owners Greg and Yvonne Hark
    Moved from Tucker Road location; scheduled to open May 16

Frame of Mind
    Owner Anthony Riccomini
    Moving from 1121 Valley Blvd. to 117 E. F St.
    Will close present location May 22; scheduled to open June 1 at new location.

Johnson Printing
    Owner Scott Johnson
    Relocated Jan. 1 from 117 E. F St. To 450 N. Green St., Suite A

–– Compiled by Tina Forde

Posted May 18, 2009; Volume 110 - No.6, print edition May 20, 2009