This month, the Steadfast LA partnership awarded $125,000 in grants to three businesses in Altadena that were damaged by January’s Eaton Fire.
Webster’s Community Pharmacy, Fair Oaks Burger and Altadena Cookie Co. each received grants this month. All three plan to use the funding to recover from fire-related damages and remain in the community, according to Steadfast.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who founded Steadfast, and Jared Wolff, chief executive of Banc of California, visited each business this month. (Banc of California is a major financial supporter of Steadfast.)
“Meeting with and hearing stories from the Millers at Webster’s Pharmacy, the Lees at Fair Oaks Burger, and Jessica and Michelle with Altadena Cookie Co. was moving and underscored how ingrained they all are in the community,” Caruso said. “I’m really proud that, through this initiative, they’ll have the resources to overcome the adversity they’ve faced since the fires and get back to doing what they do best: serving their customers and remaining part of the fabric of Altadena.”
Added Wolff: “As the largest independent bank based in Los Angeles, Banc of California takes pride in supporting small businesses that define the character and vitality of our communities. Seeing firsthand the strength and spirit these small-business owners bring to Altadena was inspiring, and they are exactly who our initiative was designed to help. We look forward to distributing more grants and helping more small businesses recover.”
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The Larry and Jo Shupnick Family Foundation recently donated $3 million to the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona.
The donation will fund the transformation of a 14,000-square-foot facility into a new education space featuring a state-of-the-art kitchen, collaboration zones and interdisciplinary classrooms. Larry Shupnick is a longtime member of the Collins College board of advisers, while wife Jo Shupnick is an interior designer who founded Interiors by Jo Frank.
“Larry’s dedication to the Collins College has been pivotal in helping our programs grow and flourish,” said Dean Margie Ferree Jones in a statement. “We are grateful of his time and expertise this investment will continue to help us meet the changing demands of the vast and dynamic hospitality industry. It will provide facilities and programs that help shape our students into tomorrow’s tourism and hospitality industry leaders.”
The updated facility is part of a two-phase capital improvement plan at the college, the first phase of which is slated to be completed by 2027. The effort will update buildings constructed in the 1990s.
“The hospitality industry offers endless career opportunities to develop innovative concepts at stadiums, national or state parks, golf courses, private membership clubs, hotels, and restaurants,” said Larry Shupnick. “We need to proactively update the academic and co-curricular offerings to capitalize on this growth, and the updated facilities will set the stage for the next chapter of the Collins College of Hospitality Management.”
