COOKIE SHOP CRUMBLES CHANGING RETAIL CLIMATE PULLS BONNIE'S UNDER BY BRENT HOPKINS STAFF WRITER.GRANADA HILLS - Eighteen years ago, Bonnie bon·ny also bon·nie adj. bon·ni·er, bon·ni·est Scots 1. Physically attractive or appealing; pretty. 2. Excellent. Barth started out on a mission. ``I set out to create the best chocolate chip Chocolate chips are small chunks of chocolate. They are often sold in a round, flat-bottomed teardrop shape (similar to a Hershey's Kiss). They are available in numerous sizes, from large to miniature, but are usually around 1 cm in diameter. cookie I could,'' the 54-year-old businesswoman recalled. ``It took nine months and 10 pounds on all my friends, and they're still all complaining.'' By most accounts, she succeeded - concocting a buttery yet light treat with an addictively delicious taste. In those nearly two decades, she churned out countless snacks from her shop, Bonnie's Cookies Baskets & Gifts and became a bedrock fixture of the local scene. But now, after all those years of hot, fresh cookies and cheery cheer·y adj. cheer·i·er, cheer·i·est Showing or suggesting good spirits; cheerful: a cheery hello. cheer atmosphere, the business will close Saturday. At the corner of Chatsworth Street and Zelzah Avenue, the once-thriving shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into that Bonnie's called home is slowly changing. Its independent shops are shutting down, one by one, its United Artists theaters now are dark, and the only remaining operations are helmed by corporate owners in faraway far·a·way adj. 1. Very distant; remote. 2. Abstracted; dreamy: a faraway look. faraway Adjective 1. very distant 2. offices. It's a sign of the times A Sign of the Times was a 1966 single by Petula Clark. Written by Tony Hatch, the uptempo pop number juxtaposed Clark's driving vocals with a powerful brass section. She introduced the tune on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 27, 1966. , Barth says, the price paid by small businesses fighting off big-bankrolled competitors. ``There's only so many retail dollars out there, and when they keep opening new retail spaces, something's gotta got·ta Informal Contraction of got to: I gotta go home. give,'' she said. ``I guess I just blinked first.'' As she blinks, Barth takes with her a host of fond memories. An entrepreneur first and foremost, she'll talk about the good business and solid friendships developed over the years, casting the closing in strictly financial terms. But that's not the whole story, her loyal fans say. Sure, Barth made some money on her famed mail-order gift baskets A gift basket, or fruit basket is typically a gift that is delivered to the recipient at their home or workplace. There are different varieties of gift baskets, some which have fruit only, some with dry/canned goods only (such as tea, crackers and jam) although the standard and she sold a bunch of muffins. But in her time there, she built something far stronger. ``It's been a way of life for us,'' reminisced Nadine Magee, a Northridge retiree who's been coming since the bakery relocated to its present site in 1985. ``Wonderful cookies, wonderful muffins, and she's probably one of the best all-around people I've ever known.'' And Magee can back that up, detailing the charity donations, the warmth that Barth offered every customer and the sense of community that grew from a modest little cookie shop. And Magee's daughter, Teri, is even quicker with her praise. ``My dad has had numerous heart attacks, and the doctor wanted him to walk more, so he made it his goal to come here every day,'' said Teri, a nurse at Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge Hospital Medical Center is a hospital in the Northridge town of Los Angeles, California, USA. It is currently operated by Catholic Healthcare West. History The hospital was founded in 1955 by Dr. . ``He'd come every morning and have his coffee and muffin, and I have no doubt that this place saved his life. The doctor said it made his heart better than ever.'' The secret, Barth says, is the time and care invested in the product. Though she could have cut costs by skimping 'skimping' Managed care The delaying or denial of services to members of a prepaid or 'capped' health plan, to control costs–because the monies received by the health plan remain constant, providing 'extra' services is more costly to the plan. See Skimming, Capitation. on ingredients and pushing shoddy shod·dy adj. shod·di·er, shod·di·est 1. Made of or containing inferior material. 2. a. Of poor quality or craft. b. Rundown; shabby. 3. snacks, even the suggestion of sacrificing quality still brings a chilly tone to her voice. ``If they didn't like it, I didn't want people to buy it,'' she said, pride creeping into her voice. ``And in this 18 years, I only had one 9-year-old boy who didn't like my cookies.'' The snacks, imbued with real vanilla and nothing but the highest-quality butter, were so tasty that even competitors were won over. ``You can get this cheaper, but not with this quality,'' said Robert Rizkallah, a Granada Hills resident who owns a bakery on Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. . ``Sometimes I come here even when I can have my own food for free.'' A common sentiment, it seems, about an uncommon place. ``We never thought we'd see this,'' Nadine Magee said, sighing. ``I can't say enough about her, and we don't even know all the good things she's done. Any good thing you can say about her is true.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Granada Hills shop-owner Bonnie Barth says that after 18 years in the business she is closing Bonnie's Cookies, on the corner of Chatsworth Street and Zelzah Avenue, at the end of the week. ``There's only so many retail dollars out there,'' Barth says, ``... something's gotta give.'' (2 -- color) ``There's only so many retail dollars out there and when they keep opening new retail spaces, something's gotta give,'' she said. ``I guess I just blinked first.'' - Bonnie Barth (3) Bonnie Barth and one of her workers, Katreena Ismerio, help a customer choose the contents for her basket order Monday. Bonnie's Cookies will close for good on Saturday. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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