The Chamber View

By John Bwarie CEO, Alhambra Chamber of Commerce

This summer is one of celebration, reconnection, and rediscovery. We are seeing businesses continue to choose Alhambra as the place they want to open up. From the reopening of our Alhambra Target to the smaller restaurants and retailers who choose our city to operate, it seems like every week there is a new business opening up. August will continue to see this trend of new businesses opening, and we’re excited to share those with you on these pages and across our social media platforms. (Make sure to follow the Alhambra Chamber on Instagram and Facebook for the latest, breaking community and business news!)

August will also bring additional support to our business community as we launch our restaurant grant program with the support of Wells Fargo. We’ll be rolling out financial assistance through the Alhambra Foundation and the Chamber to continue to support the recovery of Alhambra’s diverse restaurants.

In July, the Chamber saw its annual transition of leadership with our outgoing president, Suzi Dunkel-Soto, passing the gavel to the new president, Chris Teng Balmaseda. We’ll be celebrating the official installation on September 27, but

both leaders continue to work to create an organization that serves all businesses and creates a stronger community in Alhambra.

This month, in that spirit of service, we will be engaging in important community conversations around the future of zoning in our City, assisting more businesses to open here, and collaborating with our nonprofit colleagues to strengthen the connections across the diverse interests of the City. I hope everyone will find a way to engage with these and other community building opportunities.