Dumpling House to Open on Foothill Friday

Shanghai Dumpling House, formerly occuped by Archies, will celebrate its grand opening tomorrow.

The restaurant, located at 215 E. Foothill Boulevard, features dumplings, noodles, fried rice, and a variety of meat and appetizer dishes - including marinated beef tripe, spicy-peppery beef tendon and sweet and sour pork. Call for their hours at 626-358-8258.

Here's pg 1 of their menu...

Free Valentine's Day Dinner...If You Win

Looking to a score a free Valentine's Day Dinner?

Old Town is having a Valentine's Day contest. All you have to do to become eligible for it is purchase items  from three Old Town businesses.

Show these receipts at one of four designated locations by 5 p.m. on Feb. 10, and you can enter your name in the contest. Winners will be announced at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 10. If selected, you will receive a 40-inch Teddy Bear, 1 dozen roses, and dinner (or lunch or breakfast) at an Old Town restaurant of your selection.

Good luck!

PetSmart Opens on Huntington Drive

Two months after a PetSmart sign went up at 745 W. Huntington Drive - the former Circuit City site - the pet supply store is now open. 

Customers were spotted walking in and out of the business on Monday, although the grand opening is not until January 21, according to their website. The Monrovia location is among 10 stores that PetSmart is opening in the next two months. Monrovia store hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

PetSmart is among the newest additions on Huntington Drive. Recently, paint store Sherwin-Williams opened at 503 W. Huntington Drive. And at the Huntington Oaks Shopping Center, Chase Bank opened last month and celebrated its grand opening on Saturday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Filming Update

Filming the past two months has been on hiatus due to the holidays, but it is back in full swing.

Over the weekend, the Neon Trees - whose hit song "Animal" can be seen below - made a cameo in a Buick commercial filmed in Old Town. The shoot occurred along Myrtle Avenue and along the 100 block of E. Lime Avenue.

Neon Trees pose in front of their tour bus parked in Old Town Monrovia

on Jan. 7.

The Neon Trees, a band with the hit "Animal," came to Monrovia to shoot

a Buick commercial.

2011 Business Roundup

Last year was an exciting one for economic development in Monrovia. Within City Hall, a number of actions were taken to promote a business friendly environment - including the adoption of the Economic Development Action Plan, the creation of the Online Business Resource Center, and the addition of this blog.

In fact, it was this activity in addition to Monrovia's established reputation that earned it "Most Business Friendly City" Award among cities with populations under 60,000 in L.A. County.

And then there were the new businesses that opened in 2011. This isn't a comprehensive list, but below is a list of nearly 25 businesses, which added nearly 250 jobs, that opened last year:

Old Town

Sena on Myrtle

Big Shrimp Fish Grill                        

Pho  Lemon

Noor's Indian Restaurant                           

Charlies House

Candy Connection

Old Town Bistro

A Snail’s Pace                                    

Firm Media                                        

Michelle’s Upscale Boutique      

UPS Store           

Resource for Seniors                     

Other

Flame Broiler                                    

Monrovia Modern Dentisry        

Oto Oto                                               

Max’s Mexican Cuisine                 

Peridot Nail Salon                           

Chase Bank                                        

City of Hope                                      

Esoterix Genetic Lab                      

Zen Buffet                                         

Headquarters of the San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District

And we're off to a good start in 2012, too. PetSmart and Cafe Lumar are scheduled to open this month, and WorleyParsons is set to open its downtown location next month.

Did you want to open a business in Monrovia? You can find out more by visiting www.cityofmonrovia.org/red-home.

Indian Restaurant Featured on Star-News

Monrovia's newest Indian restaurant, which opened last month at 106 S. Myrtle Avenue, was featured in the Star-News...

New Monrovia restaurant offers modern take on traditional Indian cuisine

By Brittany Wong, Correspondent

Posted: 01/05/2012 04:42:54 PM PST

Over deep, doe-eyed conversation, a young couple digs into artfully arranged plates of richly flavored Northern Indian food - dishes like tandoori chicken kebab, saffron-flavored basmati rice and fresh naan bread. 

The smitten couple is just a few of many locals eating it up at Noor's Indian Bistro, a Myrtle Avenue eatery opened late last month by Nick Multani and his brother-in-law, Johnny Multani. 

Named for Johnny's son, Noor's is the street's sole Indian restaurant and an offshoot of Taj Palace, the restaurant the family first opened in Pacific Palisades 10 years ago. Read more.

Is it making you hungry? Click here for their website.

Diggin for Daises Children's Store to Open in Old Town

A "pre-loved clothing and environmentally conscious" children's store is scheduled to open this month in Old Town, according to their website and this sign and that was posted on a window front on Myrtle Avenue.

The boutique shop specializes in the resale of "high quality boys and girls clothing, accessories and toys," according to their Facebook page. It will be located in the Gem City Plaza at 420 S. Myrtle Avenue, in between Bella Sera and Action Footwear.