DUO COLLABORATES ON TASTY TREATS WITH CHEWY GOOEY GIFT BASKETS.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Now Open

One would think that Carol Horowitz and Marlene Greene are stuck together with goo.

Horowitz and Greene are co-owners of Chewy Gooey Gift Baskets, which opened Feb. 1 at 8824 Shirley Ave., No. 16. It's their second time out as business partners, after several years as independent operators.

The pair had been partners in Mrs. H's Brownies, a wholesale bakery in Tarzana they ran for two years before selling it five years ago to run independent businesses. Horowitz started Chewy Gooey Gifts, and Greene put her energy into Marlene's Gourmet Gift Baskets.

But they just couldn't stay apart for long, according to Horowitz.

``We're great friends besides business partners - we've been friends for 30 years - and we did not want to compete with each other,'' Horowitz said. ``So we decided to merge. We had an urge to merge.''

The result of their pooled talents is Chewy Gooey Gift Baskets, which carries gift baskets and boxes for a variety of occasions. They can contain brownies and cookies, jams and chocolates, pasta and hard candy, and other goodies, depending on price and what the customer wants.

The average cost of a basket is about $40.

Many of the products in the baskets are made from the pair's own recipes; others are purchased elsewhere.

The baskets are designed by Horowitz and Greene, which Horowitz said is what the partners like most about their business.

``We like the creative end of the business,'' she said.

Chewy Gooey can be reached at [phone].

Other businesses that opened or are about to open in and around the San Fernando Valley include:

Discount retailer Wal-Mart opened a new store Wednesday at 255 Cochran St. in Simi Valley, [phone]. Other area Wal-Marts are in Valencia, Oxnard and in Panorama City, the latter being the Benton, Ark.-based chain's first two-story store and its first urban outlet.

Family Fabric Shop is celebrating the grand opening of its new Northridge showroom with a 25 percent sale on all its fabric. The sale ends Saturday. The showroom is at 9029 Reseda Blvd. Family Fabric has had a factory and warehouse for 38 years at 18333 Napa St. in Northridge. For more information, call [phone].

Macy's is looking for employees to fill full-time and part-time positions at Souson, a new 4,500 square-foot cosmetics specialty store it is opening in June in the Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park. Macy's held job fairs on Tuesday and Saturday to fill those positions, but is seeking more applicants. Apply at Macy's in the neighboring Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade Mall, 6100 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Woodland Hills.