Valley Businesses Scoring in Marketing Contest

Seven companies in Northridge and Chatsworth are among the finalists in a national grant competition run by the banking division of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The seven companies are Lum-Ka-Naad Thai Restaurant, Northridge Golden Nest Inc., CPR for Life, Jim James Enterprises Inc., Puzzled Inc., Tepelekian Chiropractic Inc. and Rochie’s Originals. In the final round of the Chase Mission Main Street Grants contest, 12 businesses from around the country will be chosen to receive a $250,000 grant along with a trip to the Mountain View headquarters of Google Inc. for a marketing workshop on how to promote themselves online. One of those finalists is Rochie’s Originals, a Northridge-based retailer of Greek fraternity and sorority licensed products. Rochie’s was founded 25 years ago by Rochie Saberzadeh, who was 20 years old at the time, yet passed away two years later in an accident. Now the store is run by her sister, Roya Saberzadeh. She said receiving a grant would allow the business to expand beyond its current retail space and acquire new patents and licenses from colleges. “This would be a huge opportunity for our business to get this kind of infusion of money. We already have a growth plan in place – we have the template in place (that we have) been building up, it just would happen faster,” she said. Saberzadeh heard about the contest after doing her regular online banking with Chase. She filled out the application for the first round and used social media and word-of-mouth with customers to gain the minimum 250 community votes on Facebook to enter the final round. Erich Timmerman, spokesperson for Chase, said the program is a way to encourage growth in the small business sector. “It’s another way to reach small businesses that are doing great work in our community,” he said. Timmerman said this is the program’s second year and first time partnering with Google. A panel will review the undisclosed number of finalists and will select the grant winners in January. Sports Plastic Upscale sports retailer Sport Chalet Inc. announced last month a partnership with First Bankcard to launch a Sport Chalet Mastercard. For starters, three California stores of the La Cañada Flintridge sporting goods chain will allow customers approved for the card to instantly receive the cards on-the-spot using instant issuance technology. The card will be integrated with the company’s Action Pass program, a member loyalty program, which the company said has nearly 2.3 million members. Craig Levra, chief executive of Sport Chalet, said the partnership with First Bankcard will benefit customers. “In First Bankcard, we found a partner that could help us create a custom card program to meet the needs and interests of our customers and ensure a high level of support and service,” he said in a statement. First Bankcard is a division of First National of Nebraska Inc. of Omaha. The new credit card is one part of the company’s recent push to improve its connection to customers. Other recent changes include appointing Miki Berardelli, chief marketing executive of New York fashion retailer Tory Burch LLC, to its board of directors, and a contest to give away $10,000 to promote its line of “I’d Rather Be … ” car license plates. Virtual Winter Google Inc. recently opened up a Google Winter Wonderlab kiosk at the Westfield Topanga shopping center in Canoga Park. The Wonderlab, which is on the first level of the shopping center near Sears and will be open through Christmas Eve, allows users to enter an interactive snow globe to film a slow-motion video. Associates are also on-hand to demonstrate Google gadgets such as the Nexus 7 tablet and Chromebook, as well as other Google user experiences. Westfield Group LLC, the owner of the mall, has partnered with Google to showcase the Wonderlabs at five U.S. Westfield locations, including malls in Chicago, Sacramento, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. A flagship Wonderlab location is situated at Bryant Park in New York. Chuck Martinez, senior general manager of Westfield Topanga and Westfield Promenade, said the type of shoppers at Westfield Topanga made it a good match for showcasing Google’s products. “Westfield Topanga serves as the primary shopping destination in the San Fernando Valley, including an expansive luxury district. This, coupled with the fact that we have a very tech-savvy shopper, makes us a very attractive destination for industry leaders like Google,” Martinez said. Staff Reporter Jacquelinne Mejia can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].