Kevin Huling has made a career out of serving up southern-style food at his Chatsworth restaurant. But neither he nor his mother Clara, who founded Les Sisters Southern Kitchen in 1986, grew up in the southern part of the United States. “Growing up African-American this is the kind of food that you ate,” Huling said. “Whoever’s house you went to, you ate Southern at least once a week.” Huling and Les Sisters were among the 18 small businesses and their owners honored by the United Chambers of Commerce June 9 in its annual recognition event. The winners were chosen by the various member chambers of the UCC to recognize not only successful businesses but also the community involvement of their owners and employees. Huling took over running Les Sisters after his mother passed away in 1992. Clara Huling started the restaurant on “a whim” with two partners who would later drop out, her son said. The restaurant’s specialties include jambalaya, gumbo, catfish, hush puppies and fried chicken. Les Sisters has been recognized by Zagat, publishers of worldwide dining and travel guides. The eatery stands out from others serving similar fare because of the quantity of the food available, Huling said. “I love the community in Chatsworth and it is really good to be recognized in this way,” Huling said. Some other businesses honored: Canoga School of Music With a small business award going to the Canoga School of Music, Paula Young sees it as a posthumous tribute to her brother Edward who passed away in October. “All of the things he put into place are what the business was recognized for,” Young said. Opened in 1963, Edward N. Young purchased the music school from the original owners in 1996. He was not only an educator but a committed neighborhood volunteer who donated equipment for use at the Madrid Theater and a sound system for the Canoga Park Memorial Day parade. The shop provides music instruction and sells, rents and repairs instruments for individuals and school bands. Paula Young and her other brother Patrick took over store operations following Edward N. Young’s death. The Canoga School of Music continues to prosper due to word of mouth on its services from parents and school band instructors. But Paula Young also thinks the shop draws repeat customers because it provides service and expertise that cannot be found at chain music stores. “We help them out and show them what they need to do,” Paula Young said. “We just don’t sell an instrument and send them out the door.” Philip Tabbi Philip Tabbi describes his job as a sales representative for a custodial supply business as being like “semi-retirement.” For seven years, Tabbi, a Valley resident for nearly 50 years, has worked for Abbot Industrial building up a base of 225 customers. “I’m a people person; I like going out and talking to customers,” Tabbi said. “Not all of them are big but all of them make up a paycheck.” But when the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce submitted his name to be honored by the UCC it was for his volunteer efforts in his community that stood out. Concerned over gang activity in his Shadow Hills neighborhood, Tabbi became active in driving the bad element out and starting a Neighborhood Watch program and Citizen Patrol. Tabbi also is a volunteer for the Foothill Area Surveillance Team and in 2004 was named an honorary deputy sheriff for the Sunland-Tujunga area. After he was helped out by an area church during a period when he was without work, Tabbi now gives back through a food drive at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary parish in Sun Valley. “I go out and pick up the food and don’t charge the church anything,” Tabbi said. “We feed 300 families a week on Tuesday and Friday.” Corefit Deborah Sable founded Corefit in 1991 after she had gained some weight and decided to get back into shape. Spending time at a gym she fell in love with working out and that led to her forming the Woodland Hills company that provides fitness and nutrition instruction to any size company. “They don’t have to have a gym on site,” Sable said. “We bring in the physioballs, we bring in all kinds of entertainment so we make it enjoyable for them while they are learning.” A companywide fitness program brings a sense of camaraderie and makes employees feel that they are being taken care of, Sable said. A corporate fitness program also helps the bottom line. “It lowers insurance premiums and medical costs and things like that,” Sable said. “It’s very cost effective for companies, large and small, to put something like this in.” Sable serves clients in the Valley, Los Angeles and the Santa Clarita Valley. She is active in the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce and the advisory board of Haven Hills, a shelter for abused and battered women. Dragonfly Design Group At Dragonfly Design Group the strategy is to roll with the times to meet the needs of clients in a hybrid world of communications. The Sherman Oaks firm does traditional graphic arts and website design. “With a company brand it’s very efficient to place information onto a website and vice versa,” said creative principal Peter Godefroy. After 10 years on the Westside of Los Angeles, Godefroy relocated his business to Sherman Oaks and changed the name to Dragonfly. The company has moved into a niche of working with marketing and public relations firms to become the go-to art department for brochures, presentation materials and press kits. “With public relations firms we do so much with press materials, creating material for pocket folders but nowadays it’s turning that into electronic kits with the same content but delivered on a CD or as a link,” Godefroy said. Dragonfly serves clients from Fortune 500 companies to small, local independent businesses. Dragonfly has donated its services toward charities such as One Generation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Starlight-Starbright Foundation, and for promoting the annual fair at St. Francis de Sales Church. Godefroy serves on the board of the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce and chairs the marketing committee. Other winners were: Bob and Amir Amirian, a father and son, who own and operate Calabasas Auto Spa; Susan Orgen of Multi Data Services, a financial records company; Jamshid Javidi, of CEO Computer Engineering; Steve D. Baker, a State Farm Insurance agent; Marty and Marlen Mouchian, of Mouchian Auto Electric; Rodel Lumanog, of Prime Properties Realty and Lending; Tom and Ruth Fry, of Crown Disposal Company, Inc.; the Independent Living Center; Barry Sylvan, of the Barry Sylvan Co.; Providence St. Joseph Medical Center; Jack Witt, of Get Fit with Witt; Berc M. Gayda, of Berc’s Gourmet Catering; and Beth Ornstein, of Hair Incorporations.
