Sorry They're Closed

Sorry We're Closed
Originally uploaded by bluecinderella

I noticed that the Green Mini Market at Holt and Palomares has already closed. If you are not familiar with the place, don't be confused by the name, this was no produce market. Nor was it painted green. It was a cigarette and liquor store. I'll take this closure as a sign that things on Holt are improving to the point where there are not enough ne'er do wells to support another liquor store. But I'm not sure how I'd balance that with the fact that I've seen a lot more mentally ill folks walking around town of late.

Another pending closure is Ken Mart, located next door to the 99 Cents Only Store on Towne. If you've ever gone to that 99 cents store, I know you know this place: it's the place that blasts the music incredibly loud at all times of the day and night. I've never been inside - for fear of further damage to my hearing. From what I could see, they sold high fashion for all ages. High fashion that is now at closeout, bargain prices.

Also closed, Pomona's one and only shoe repair place: Jerry's Shoe Repair at 1092 W. Second. Seems it's been eaten up by the upholstery/ furniture place next door. Kinda sad that you can no longer cobble local.

As for the Stater Bros on South Garey, well it is still closed. The building and parking lot still stand empty, other than the motorhome with a large "W" on it that uses the parking lot as it's home. I like to affectionately call this motorhome "Dub-yah." There's another motor home that's been passing many an hour in front of the still-open Stater Bros. on Garey and Alvarado. I call that motorhome "The HMS Pinafore" because it has "HMC" on the side and is as big as a ship (but twice as ugly).

In reading the paper this past week about the upcoming openings of Fresh 'N Easy supermarkets in surrounding communities, I could not help but think Pomona once again missed the boat. Fresh 'N Easy makes a point of going into markets which other grocery stores have historically ignored. Kinda sounds like Pomona, doesn't it? That's why they recently built in Compton, etc.

I just don't get why Pomona's prince never seems to come, yet the dented motor homes never seem to leave.

THE END

Discovering Red Box

I have been eyeing the big red box at Stater Bros. for a while now. It stands on the other side of the doorway from the Coinstar and advertises $1 DVDs. I thought there might be a catch. Plus, I thought it only had the movies that are advertised on the side of it's shiny red box. When I did try to check it out, husband ushered me along with the assurance that the movies were all terrible anyway.

Finally without husband, Mr. Big and I decided to try it out. And now, I consider myself a Red Box convert. There are quite a few more movies available than are advertised on the side of the box. The system requires a credit or debit card. The system is paperless if you give them your email address.

The movies really are only $1....per day. If you keep the movie after 9 p.m. the next day, they charge you another dollar for each day. Still much cheaper than renting movies at Hollywood Video, plus you don't have to go out of your way (to another City) to make the return, but just do it the next time you need groceries. Actually, you can return the videos at any Red Box location (there is also a red box at Albertson's up on Foothill in terms of Pomona, and locations all over Southern California).


You won't get a pretty box for your video, but instead just a red and clear generic plastic container. And I'm not going to say that the movies they have are universally great. But they have a lot of the newest releases, with a few oldies thrown in (like I noticed they have the Karate Kid, for instance).

There is a whole internet undergound revolving around Red Box. The company puts out tons of promo codes that can be used for a free rental. I used promo code "DVDONME" yesterday and got it free, but of course we didn't return the movie today, so RedBox still got our one hundred cents. There are people who pride themselves on using a promo code every time they rent and never have to pay for a rental. It's just those darn late fees! But, I kinda respect a company that gives out free stuff, even if it's a trap because they know they'll get you in the end.

You can supposedly go online and reserve a video, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet (perhaps it doesn't actually work yet). I also have not been able to figure out if Red Box movies are the same in all their locations, or if Red Box "redlines" in any way by putting certain kinds of movies into what they perceive as certain kinds of neighborhoods.

For now, we are just enjoying our latest cost-saving discovery. Anyone else redboxing?

THE END

Empathy in Pomona

On Saturday, Pomona was filled with smoke and confusion. But today is a new day and it is empathy that fills the air. We may not have handbaskets at our local Stater Brothers, but our little town is busting at the seams with pure, unadulterated empathy. This is, of course, nothing unusual here in Underdog Pomona. It is one of the characteristics of life in POmona that is hard to explain to outsiders (okay, Claremonters) when they wonder why the heck you live in Pomona. Tomorrow (Tuesday the 14th) there will be a community work day at The Garden all day. All are welcome to come out.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune had some photographs which were taken at the time of the fire. This one really got me. It captures the fiance's empathy for his girlfriend's loss so strikingly. Look closely: he has the word "HOME" written on his hand.


Another story that has not been told much is how Olympia (known as the Goddess of Garey Avenue around here, saved Dawn's animals. It seems the Goddess of Garey Avenue (pictured above "sun gazing") has now been elevated to hero status. As for me, seems I'm back working graveyard on the blog.


THE END THE END

If you can't beat em, join em

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Originally uploaded by vicario837

My family's got a drinking problem. Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water to be exact. Which is sold in some locations now as the hipper Roxanne Spring Water. I'm more than embarassed to publicly admit that we go through at least 10 gallons of these babies a week. We've tried alternatives, like a pitcher filter, which worked great for a couple of weeks and then despite frequent rinsing started to actually grow sprouts inside. Did the Pur tap filter thing, which caused the tap water to still taste like well tap water.

Unfortunately crystal geyser, unlike sparkletts, does not make bigger bottles than the gallon size, and we've found no water that tastes better to us. I'd be interested in what solutions others have found to the water situation. I think in order to have good tasting water from the tap we would have to repipe the whole house and add a reverse osmosis filter. We do have sigg bottles now, so we rarely use the smaller plastic bottles anymore, but we're still going through more than our fair share of plastic over here.

Given this, our recycling bin has been paydirt for scavengers. I really didn't mind when an obviously poor family raided our recyling bin, but after I repeatedly saw the same guy make a beeline from the direction of Garey directly to our bin, well I wondered what proceeds I was missing out on. Oh and the fact that the guy looked like he was out stealing old ladies' purses when he wasn't raiding our recycling bin was also a motiving factor in getting rid of that which attracted him.

So for the past couple of months, I've been taking the bottles myself to Greenwize Recyling to the side of our local STater Bros. The same dude is always working there when I go, usually with his ball games being blasted through the generator. Sometimes he is very friendly to me, other times he makes it clear that he is not in the mood to talk. I have tried to get something out of him that would constitute a post, but seems when I'm in the mood to talk, he isn't, and vice versa. Guess he's not the only one guilty of being moody.

With all the bitching and moaning that goes on about the scavengers, one solution that I don't hear is to just take it to recyling yourself. It works out to about $10 a month in mad money around here, and we only have to leave our recycling bin out once a month now.

Hubby took the bottles yesterday. I asked him how recycling dude was acting. I got a definitive "not friendly" answer. I still hold out hope that one day our moods will match and I'll be able to bring you a post on the ups and downs of being the Pomona recycling dude. But for now, he remains something of a mystery.

GREENWIZE RECYCLING
Located on the Northside of the Only STater Brother Left Standing in Pomona
Hours: Monday thru Saturday 8 AM to 5 PM
Closed for LUnch: 1 PM to 1:30 PM each day
Mood: TBA

THE END

Keeping Up with the Stater Brothers

Stater Bros
Originally uploaded by hungry_i

When my family went to Stater Bros. on Garey today, we noticed that the middle checkstand has been removed, creating a wide aisleway at the front of the store.

We got excited that self-check out was coming to our very own Pomona Stater Bros. Finally they have realized that Pomonans are civilized and worthy. When I asked our friendly checker to confirm, he broke the news that there will be no self-check out coming to town. He explained that due to the high incidence of theft at the store, they will be blocking off one of the two entrance doors, so there will only be one entrance/exit to the store.

We go to the store frequently and have never seen anyone try to steal anything. Conversely, I have watched all manner of people patiently standing in lines that are longer than lines at neighboring Stater Bros. stores.

I asked the checker what people are stealing. He said that they steal things that they don't really need. He elaborated that:

-men steal alcohol and tobacco.
-Children steal toys and candy
and
-Women steal (drum roll here) make-up.

You heard it here.

THE END

Guess who reads the blog?

Staters.JPG
Originally uploaded by hungry_i

So I was outed yesterday at Stater Bros. Manager Scott rang me up and heard me out about their not having any whole chickens. Then he asked, "But we do have the La Brea bread today?" And yes indeedy they did!

Then he asked me if I was the one that writes on the internet about them not having the LaBrea bread. I questioned him that I couldn't be the only one that complains to him about their not having the bread and he admitted that I was not. He offered his opinion that he thought the thing on the internet was "pretty cool," so I admitted that it was very possible I was that person.

So it was just another day, trying to live semi-anonymously as the Goddess of Pomona.

THE END

Pomona Moving Up in the World

Tonight when I ran into Staters for a few items, I did a triple take when I saw that they actually had hand baskets. The baskets do not even appear to be hand- me-downs from another store, as they are in great shape. The Staters guy told me they came in last week. I stopped looking for them about three years ago, so I'm not surpised they've been there a few days without my even noticing them.

I took a photo of my basket for the blog, since I know Mark and some of you others wouldn't believe it until you saw the baskets with your own eyes. You should really go in there and try them out for size. It sure beats having one's fingers strangled by heavy bags of produce, at the same time as one's hands are being frozen by ice cream.

We really are moving up in the world, or at least reducing the number of cases of finger strangulation in Pomona.

What goes around comes around

la brea bakery
Originally uploaded by missabbyjean

I had an unusually pleasant visit to the Pomona Stater Bros. this morning. Imagine my surprise to see the usually empty La Brea bread basket full of not one, but *three* types of La Brea bread. (Perhaps there's really something to the great Pomona revitalization!) I went out of my way to tell Manager Scott Smerek that I appreciated the baguette presence in the store, since I'm usually the one complaining to him about their absence.

From there, I remembered that I had a bunch of change in my purse, so I stood in line with three other people waiting to use the Coinstar machine. Since I was in a LaBrea bakery-induced euphoria, I left about four pennies in the Coinstar before cashing out. I told the woman behind me that she was welcome to have my four pennies (wow, am I giving). Then I stood in line behind two guys buying their morning candy and beer. When it was finally my turn to check out, I was really not all that suprised to find four pennies waiting there for me in the Stater Bros. change holder.

Karma: it's alive and well at Staters in POmona.

THE END

You heard it here first: stabbing at Stater Bros.

So it seems the mystery of Thursday's low flying helicopters is solved. Word on the streets is that early Thursday evening, a man was chased through the Stater Bros. parking lot and stabbed immediately in front of the store. The man, who was stabbed five times in the stomach, is supposedly still in the hospital. It's said to be another situation where a member of gang "A" attacks a member of gang "B." How original! While I am sorry that anyone got injured, hopefully this will be a wake up call to Stater Bros. to keep their parking lot secure, and for the City to clean up the houses that border Stater Bros.

This segues into what was going to be my post anyway. Those of us who shop at Staters are all too familiar with the beige victorian I have as today's picture. It's the one across from the Alvarado side entrance and exit to Staters. This place never fails to provide Jerry-Springer-like-antics for passersby. Yesterday morning as Mr. Big and I were leaving Stater Bros., I heard a woman yell out, "I hope you get knifed." The yelling was, of course, coming from the seedy beige victorian. As I looked over, I saw a woman with attitude-a-plenty storming off the front porch of said victorian while another woman, with more attitude than teeth, sat on the porch with arms folded yelling back at her. Attitude woman marched in Stater Bros. and emerged as I was driving away with a bottle shaped paper bag in her hand. And where was she headed, now that she'd been 86'ed from beige victorian? To the Pomona Motor Lodge of course. (The subject of another post.) I am assuming she was either going to drink the contents or use it to bang on top of someone's head. I was on my way to the serenity of my Lincoln Park home by that point.

The good news? The telephone booth between beige Victorian and Pomona Motor Lodge no longer accepts collect calls (and advertises a great deal on calls to Mexico).

Be sure to click on the purple house link below to read a former post about how the beige Victorian is half of a former mortuary.

It takes a village to raise (standards at) a Stater brother

I have been meaning to write a letter to Stater Bros. for pretty much...well forever. I encourage anyone reading this blog who shops (or would like to feel comfortable shopping) at our last remaining Pomona Stater Bros., to write them too. I'll make it easy for you, here's their corporate address:

Jack H. Brown, Chairman and CEO
Stater Bros.
21700 Barton Rd., Colton, CA, United States
Phone: 909)783-5000, FAx:(909)783-5098 fax
http://www.staterbros.com

Suggestions for what you can address in the letter:

1. The absence of hand baskets for about two years now.

2. The homeless people and drug addicts who are allowed to gather all around the building and parking lot.

3. Their installation of a recyclying center which has become a nuisance and brings even more transients into the area.

3. Their not carrying fresh La Brea bakery bread daily like their other locations.

4. Their not adding any(?)/enough additional checkers once the two Pomona stores merged.

5. Their lack of appreciation for their next door neighbor: a stable, residential area where homes sales now top $700,000. A neighborhood whose residents would love to walk to the grocery store, but instead drive across town because they don't feel comfortable at the local SB.

What you can praise them for:

1. Produce that always looks fresh and tidy.

2. Checkers that are downhome and friendly.

3. I suppose the fact that they have kept the Pomona store open at all. Jeesh, how sad!

Maybe if they get enough letters and see that the village cares about standards at the store, they'll actually do something about it. Then again, we could get the City involved to form a committee and study it for a year first. Nah, I think we go grass roots on this one.

The "Pomona Problem" Revisited

Because I am experiencing an increase in foot traffic right now due to some referrals on other local blogs, I thought I'd republish excerpts from earlier rants, I mean posts, that first time visitors might find interesting, or at least marginally entertaining. The following was part of a post I did on the "Pomona problem:"

My husband says I'm as guilty as anyone else of putting Pomona down in favor of local glamour girl Claremont. It's true that there's many a day I can be seen packing Mr. Big in the car and driving 3 miles north. But in my defense I also make a point of shopping at my local Stater Bros. Although this Stater Bros. is within walking distance of our Lincoln Park neighborhood, I rarely see my neighbors there. I think if Pomona moms and dads started shopping at Pomona grocery stores, that alone would foster more of a sense of community and make the store more accountable and family friendly.

Recently I got a Stater Bros. flyer at my house, which announced that they would now be carrying LaBrea Bakery Bread. For those of you who are not familiar with it, LaBrea Bakery bread is the same artisan bread that Trader Joe's sells. http://www.labreabakery.com I was so excited to have fresh bread within walking distance, that I went to Stater Bros. that very day, but couldn't find it anywhere. The salesperson didn't know what I was talking about. When I asked the manager, who was friendly and down-home like all the staff there, he told me that LaBrea bread was considered a "higher end, luxury item," so it wouldn't do well at the Pomona store. I pointed out that the store was within walking distance of a neighborhood filled with people who regularly drive cross town to Trader Joe's to get fresh bread, homes that sell in the $600,000's and that carrying the bread would bring neighbors into the store, where they would in turn buy other things. In talking to the manager, I could tell this had been a corporate decision, not his. He did offer to periodically carry the bread to see how it sold. But people aren't going to regularly check in there for bread if they know it won't regularly be there. So, that's like shooting the idea in the foot. I did once find a loaf in the clearance section.

This type of corporate thinking is all too familiar to me: when we lived in the racially diverse midcity section of Los Angeles, we were within walking distance of the Fairfax Von's store. We, like most of our neighbors, generally didn't shop there, since the produce was awful and they didn't carry fresh bread (even tho all their West L.A. locations carried LaBrea Bakery breads). The community finally rallied together, held public meetings and discovered that Von's had only been making produce deliveries to the store 3 times a week, yet the store was the #2 money maker in the region. After public pressure, the Von's embarked on a long overdue face lift for the store, started daily deliveries and, low and behold, began carrying LaBrea Bakery breads. So, the next time you're in Stater Bros., let the manager know that, despite popular belief, the people of Pomona like good bread as much as the next guy. And by the way, when they do have the bread, it tastes much better than the same version of the bread sold at Trader Joe's. I believe this most be because Trader Joe's does not store the bread properly before sale. The Staters bread is delivered frozen and heated up that morning by the staff in the Staters' oven.

I think part of Pomona's problem is the historically negative image that outsiders have of us, which is bolstered by our almost comical City government and the low level criminality that the police department seems to turn it's head the other way to. Pomona's problem is not the murders you read about in the newspaper, it's the drugs dealing and rampant homelessness that is allowed to happen in otherwise very liveable parts of the City (like my own). The bulk of the "Pomona problem," however, lies squarely with those of us who live and breathe here. Recently at our mommy and me school, the teacher talked about being willing to register people in the class who were "too afraid of downtown Pomona" to go there to register themselves. Downtown can only be as family friendly as we make it and that means spending time there....in numbers too great to ignore. I am womannnnnnnn.

In short, Pomona's got both an image problem and an inferiority complex. To some of us on the northern end, the grass looks greener in Claremont. I would imagine that many of you on the southwestern end would love to be able to say you live in "Chino Hills" when some one asks, because then they would understand that you live somewhere safe and civilized. I geuss that's why y'all just say "Phillip's Ranch" absent any trace of Pomona.

One day Pomona will come into it's own. One day they'll be a Trader Joe's on Garey, our local Stater Bros. will carry La Brea bakery bread, and gosh darn it, people will like us. Short of starting a "Claremont is the Ugly Stepsister of Pomona" bumper sticker campaign, I think if we work to create more of a scene for local families and hold our heads high when we announce "I'm from Pomona," the rest will follow.

Gardening in the 'hood

IMG_8270.JPG
Originally uploaded by sweber4507

So for four years now, I have been driving past the lovely craftsman on N. Garey, just below Stater Bros. You know, the one on the west side of the street with the awesome garden out front and a stand up sign on the sidewalk most days that says, "The Garden." I've been wanting to go inside since we moved here. In recent months, I was assured by a neighbor that yes, I most definitely had to check it out.

So last weekend, I was finally child-free from 4.5 year old Mr. Big. I was so excited to finally step inside the Garden's white picket fence. I was greeted in the garden by inspiring sunflowers and once inside the house, by Dawn Van Allen, a self-described "hippy," who is the owner of the house where she both lives and works. The house itself has loads of original wood work, and is full of unique garden objects, vintage seeds varieties and, well, garden paraphernelia, for lack of a better term. I spoke with Dawn at length about the frustrations and benefits of living in Pomona. Turns out she is just as big a fan of the La Brea bread they're supposed to sell at Stater Bros as I am. We both agreed it's infuriating when Stater Bros. only sometimes carries items that are carried regularly at their other stores. She told me that there is a rumor Staters will be building a Super Staters Bros next to their present location on Garey and Alvarado.

She gave me a tour of her huge back garden/shop and plucked a perfectly juicy pluot off a tree for me to eat.

I will definitely be back to her shop when I have some spending cash (not a lot of that right now around here). I have my eye on some ultra soft cotton tank tops she was selling. She really had a bit of everything in that store.

Pomona Folk has a feature on Dawn on their website. And The Garden itself also has a website. Dawn said that she does landscape design for a living. Dawn told me that there is another Pomona blog called "Pomona Walk of Shame," but I've been unable to find it.

The Last Stater Bro Standing

This fall, Stater Bros. closed their store on South Garey. I'm told there used to be a store on N. Garey above the 10 freeway that also closed. The only remaining Stater Bros. in Pomona is now the one at Alvarado and Garey. I was expecting them to perhaps spruce up the remaining Stater store, but no such luck. It seems to be business as usual.

I asked one of the checkers if the employees from the closed store had moved to the remaining store and he informed me that most of the employees just wanted to get out of Pomona. Okay, thanks for sharing.

I found an interesting article on the chain's co-founder Cleo Stater, courtesy of the Orange County Register.

"His objects of pride included nice suits , luxury cars and specialized meat departments. Although the brothers sold their chain to Petrolane Corp. in 1968 , Cleo remained a familiar figure at the company's Colton headquarters , snappily dressed , as always , and keeping up with the latest in business....

Born in Miller , Mo. , Leo and Cleo grew up on a ranch in Yucaipa. ...Cleo left high school before graduating so he could work to help his family ; he was making 10 cents an hour in a grocery store. One day , the store owner said he'd sell the twins the market for $10 , 000 - more money than they'd ever dreamed of - and that they could put $600 down and pay the rest at $300 a month. The brothers sold their cars for $300 and borrowed $300 from a competing grocer. They were 24 years old when they bought that store on Aug. 17 , 1936.

During World War II , they both entered the service - Cleo serving in the Army Air Corps - and their parents minded the store. When the twins returned , their younger brother , Lavoy , joined them in business. By the end of 1949 , they had 12 Stater Bros. markets. By 1988 , the chain had 100 stores and a one-year sales volume of $1 billion. All three brothers were known for their vision , keen business sense and tough work ethic....

A handsome man with curly hair , mischievous eyes , and a penchant for fine suits and luxury cars , Cleo was known as a fair and reasonable boss , but also as a taskmaster. If a plan was agreed upon , he expected to see that plan carried out. He was quiet and rather shy , with a tremendous sense for what direction the company should take. He wanted stores that were clean and pleasant , that offered the lowest prices for name-brand goods , and that sold the best and freshest meat. To that end , each store has a butcher department , so shoppers don't have to rely on packaged meat. They can have anything specially cut. His motto was , It's our meat that made us famous..

The stores offered other innovations , too , including courtesy cards that allow customers to cash checks at any store and recycling centers in the markets for paper and plastic bags. Leo died in 1985 , and Cleo continued to be seen as the soul of the company , never missing , with his wife , Elsie , the chance to snip the ribbon at the opening of a new store. He attended every anniversary dinner and was planning to attend this month's management meeting. Cleo's time in the Army Air Corps gave him a lifelong love of flying , and he owned his own jet , which he flew out of John Wayne Airport....

Aug. 17 , 1936 : The first Stater Bros. Market is co-founded in Yucaipa by twins Cleo and Leo Stater with a down payment of $600....

1940s : Cleo and Leo serve during World War II , leaving their parents to run the store. ...Cleo Stater attends store openings thereafter. ...

Sept. 9 , 2001 : Cleo Stater dies at age 89."


I wonder what Cleo would think about the one and only Pomona Stater Bros.? I have a feeling he would think there was some room for improvement, at least in the "I love where I work" department.

News Flash: LaBrea Bakery Bread now at Stater Bros.

Every time I have been to the Garey Ave Stater Bros, for the past 2 weeks, they have had La Brea Bakery bread. Yahoo! This is different than before, when they only carried it intermittently because they thought people in Pomona wouldn't buy good bread.

I'm hoping Staters also now carries it regularly at their other Pomona area stores. Even their Foothill Blvd store in Claremont didn't have it the one time I went there to look for it. Perhaps that store gets the Pomona treatment because it is so close to the Pomona border.

The La Brea bread from Stater Bros tastes better than the Trader Joe's version. It's either fresher (it's actually been warm a few times I've gotten it) or Stater Bros. more properly stores it. Bread is very sensitive to that sort of thing. My husband got a couple baguettes from Trader Joe's and I can barely eat them now, since the Stater Bros. loaves are so much more yummy.

Oh and because we're Pomona and all that, Stater Bros. has been discounting the price on the bread in order to entice people to buy it. So at $1.50 a baguette, it's actually cheaper to buy it at Staters than at Trader Joe's. Their revised corporate philosophy seems to be that people in Pomona DO eat good bread, but only when it's cheap. Whatever.