Montrose Businesses Need You! Support Paradise Ranch Designs

The new coronavirus has changed life for all of us. Local businesses have taken a huge economic hit, but communities are finding creative ways to support the establishments they know and love.

In an effort to help local businesses in our communities stay connected and succeed, Patch will be shining a light on some of them through a series of Q&A articles during this time.

Paradise Ranch Designs is one of the businesses in town facing struggles during the coronavirus. You can lend your support by reading more about the company, below, and by contacting them here.

Tell us about your business and its history in your town.

Paradise Ranch Designs is a budding women's resort, swim and active lifestyle brand. The first couple of years started as more of a hobby with a long, expensive learning curve. After winning an Emerging Designer Contest in 2016 and again in 2017, Paradise Ranch Designs decided to develop an e-commerce business. The online store launched in 2018 around the time Paradise Ranch Designs started selling wholesale through a showroom at the New California Mart in downtown Los Angeles.

As more and more boutiques started carrying the line we felt it was time to open our own brick and mortar store. We leased our space at 2321 1/2 Honolulu Avenue in Montrose on March 4, just days before the coronavirus changed from a serious health problem to a pandemic worthy of closing all non-essential businesses. We had planned to build out our space, move in, set up, and be ready for our Grand Opening launch by mid April.

How has the new coronavirus impacted your business and its employees?

Not being able to do business has not only impacted the ability to hire employees, but it has affected the build out process as well. So many businesses are closed for things I need to ready my store.

How can local customers support you now and in the future?

Most local customers don't even know we exist because the city shutdown came before we even had a sign on the door. I'm hoping by filling out this questionnaire that future local customers will hear about us and come check us out when this disaster is behind us all. In the meantime, we can be viewed on our e-commerce website.

Do you have any words of encouragement for your community?

The Montrose Shopping Park community has had nothing but encouragement for me!
I'm the new shop on the block. I didn't know what to expect even before the unforeseen shutdown. The store owners I have met have been so friendly, so helpful and so encouraging to me that all I can say is how grateful I am to be the newcomer in this amazing community.

Are you offering any special services, promotions or hours during this time?

Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to do any business at all in my new store at this time, but I do have promotions for new customers on my e-commerce website.

Are there any other outstanding businesses in town you think deserve some community support?

All the restaurants and other essential businesses that have stayed open in spite of financial hardship deserve all of our community support. There are many others, however, that are no longer allowed to do business in our community that still deserve credit for just being great people. Mary Dawson of "Revelation Tops," who occupied our new space for the last 17 years, deserves a badge of honor for her generous time and energy in providing valuable information and answering our numerous and probably redundant questions. Thank you, Mary.

Gigi, our direct neighbor of It Takes A Village has stopped in several times to cheer us on and offer her help as we prepare the best we can for an opening with no date. Thank you, GiGi.

Paulette and Luis of Chic Bohemian Bride have also been a candid wealth of advice, support, and encouragement to us during this challenging time. Thank you, Paulette and Luis.

Just the other day, Jordan and Matt from Avignone's, our direct neighbors on the other side,
stopped in to meet us (from a 6-foot social distance) and could not have been more affable,
fun, and optimistic about our future in the Montrose community. Thank you, Matt and Jordan.

Last but not least is our landlord, Joe Avignone, who deserves recognition for being as reasonable and patient as any property owner could possibly be during this critical time period of financial uncertainty for us all. Thank you, Joe.

Do you own a local business in need of a feature on Patch? Fill out the questions in this form for consideration. Or, check out Patch's full list of resources for small businesses during the coronavirus crisis.

Thank you, and stay safe!

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This article originally appeared on the Montrose-La Crescenta Patch