Valleywide : Businesses Lauded for Courage After Quake
Twenty-four San Fernando Valley businesses and their owners were lauded for perseverance despite hardship at the Valley Economic Development Center’s Phoenix Awards Wednesday.
The honorees included:
* Brian Sheehan of the Eclectic Cafe in North Hollywood, whose business suffered twice--damaged by the Northridge earthquake and all but obscured by MTA construction. Relying on his personal savings and credit cards, Sheehan kept the cafe afloat.
* Al Gold of Gold Graphics in Pacoima, whose building was destroyed by the quake. Obtaining a $1.5-million Small Business Administration loan and a $350,000 VEDC loan, Gold kept 150 jobs in the northeast Valley.
* James G. Albright of the Haunted Studios. When Albright’s Hollywood building was irreparably damaged in the quake and he could not get help from the SBA, he rallied community support and moved to a larger location in North Hollywood.
Others honored were Jerrold Pressman of Glendale’s Icoplex skating rink; Juan Barajas of JB Welding in Sun Valley; Jane Richman of Northridge Laboratories in Northridge; Albert Saltiel of Cafe 50s in Sherman Oaks; George Kehrer of Community Assisting Recovery in Northridge; Michael Klausman of CBS Studio Center in Studio City; Edward Deeb of Deeb Investments in Toluca Lake; Miguel De Leon of De Leon Enterprises in Pacoima; Bill Smith, general manager of Sherman Oaks General Cinemas; Irwin Rosenberg of the Granada Hills Little League, and Walter Perfect of Lynn Perfect Construction in Chatsworth.
Other award winners were Marcelo and Arminta Martinez of Marcelo’s Foods in Pacoima; Michael and Janet Ruth of Michael Ruth Salon in Sherman Oaks; Marsha Broderick of Pink Ladies Interior Design in Chatsworth; Lino and Tony Della Ripa of Platco in Van Nuys; Danny Lahave of Plaza Del Sol in Pacoima; Sidney Caplan of the Sherman Oaks Radisson Hotel; Larry Berman of the Scotty Building in Sherman Oaks; Katherine P. Kidd of Burbank’s Temps on Time, and Joe Lewkowitz of Unique Marble Designs in North Hollywood.
