La Curacao Store

La Curacao, a 100,000-square-foot superstore that caters to Latino immigrants, is scheduled to open its doors this week in Fountain Valley, surprising some in Santa Ana who wondered why their heavily Latino city didn't land the retail outfit. In Santa Ana, "it's all about how we can attract non-Hispanics, so I'm not surprised the store is in Fountain Valley," said Sam Romero, who owns a Santa Ana religious-articles shop.

Walk into the Wal-Mart store at Panorama Mall and a greeter is certain to welcome you. But shoppers at the competing La Curacao store across the mall get more than a hello or a buenos dias. There's always festive salsa or merengue music, and on weekends customers can sample free food like pupusas and chuchitos. And the entire orientation of the store is for Latino customers--even the decor, which features stylized Mayan pillars and Aztec pyramids.

Each time any of his friends plan a visit to El Salvador, Henry Aguilar places his to-go order. They better bring him back some chicken or things could get ugly. "Trajiste pollo?" he asks as soon as they return to Los Angeles. "Did you bring chicken?" Everyone knows he's talking about Pollo Campero, fried and rotisserie-style chicken with a loyal following throughout Latin America, especially in El Salvador and Guatemala. "It is the tastiest thing there can be.

Twenty years ago, Ron and Jerry Azarkman sold watches and electronic products door to door in the city's Central American enclaves. Seated in the modest living rooms of customers, the Israeli-born brothers began an intimate study of risk and reliability. "[Now] you call it credit. Then, it was 'Take a watch. You have $5? I'll come and pick up another $5 next Friday,"' said Ron Azarkman, chief executive of what eventually became the La Curacao department store chain.

Each time any of his friends plan a visit to El Salvador, Henry Aguilar places his to-go order. They better bring him back some chicken or things could get ugly. "Trajiste pollo?" he asks as soon as they return to Los Angeles. "Did you bring chicken?" Everyone knows he's talking about Pollo Campero, fried and rotisserie-style chicken with a loyal following throughout Latin America, especially in El Salvador and Guatemala. "It is the tastiest thing there can be.

City officials announced a plan Tuesday to build a retail and entertainment complex that will feature an 18-screen theater and a retail outlet. "We have letters of intent from La Curacao and Sanborn Theaters to build in San Fernando," said City Administrator John Ornelas. "They will anchor the complex, which we expect will also have restaurants and other retailers." The City Council is in the process of preparing a contract to sign a developer for the project, Ornelas said.

Criminal charges have been filed against a Panorama City company stemming from the death of a warehouse worker whose head was crushed in the doors of a freight elevator, the Los Angeles city attorney's office reported Monday. La Curacao Inc., which operates a furniture store, is charged with four violations of the state labor code concerning the proper operation of elevators, said Deputy City Atty. Bill Williams, a prosecutor in the case. According to prosecutors, Cesar R.

Criminal charges have been filed against a Panorama City company stemming from the death of a warehouse worker whose head was crushed in the doors of a freight elevator, the Los Angeles city attorney's office said Monday. La Curacao Inc., which operates a furniture store, is charged with four violations of the state labor code concerning the proper operation of elevators, said Deputy City Atty. Bill Williams. According to prosecutors, employee Cesar R.

This is no ordinary department store. Stylized Mayan pillars and Aztec pyramids adorn the exterior. Inside, merengue and banda music alternate on the loudspeakers and gold-lame Bulova watches emblazoned with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe fill the jewelry display. Named after a Caribbean island, La Curacao has carved out a loyal niche for itself among the Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants who populate this blue-collar community in the east San Fernando Valley.

Twenty years ago, Ron and Jerry Azarkman sold watches and electronic products door to door in the city's Central American enclaves. Seated in the modest living rooms of customers, the Israeli-born brothers began an intimate study of risk and reliability. "[Now] you call it credit. Then, it was 'Take a watch. You have $5? I'll come and pick up another $5 next Friday,"' said Ron Azarkman, chief executive of what eventually became the La Curacao department store chain.

Walk into the Wal-Mart store at Panorama Mall and a greeter is certain to welcome you. But shoppers at the competing La Curacao store across the mall get more than a hello or a buenos dias. There's always festive salsa or merengue music, and on weekends customers can sample free food like pupusas and chuchitos. And the entire orientation of the store is for Latino customers--even the decor, which features stylized Mayan pillars and Aztec pyramids.

City officials announced a plan Tuesday to build a retail and entertainment complex that will feature an 18-screen theater and a retail outlet. "We have letters of intent from La Curacao and Sanborn Theaters to build in San Fernando," said City Administrator John Ornelas. "They will anchor the complex, which we expect will also have restaurants and other retailers." The City Council is in the process of preparing a contract to sign a developer for the project, Ornelas said.

This is no ordinary department store. Stylized Mayan pillars and Aztec pyramids adorn the exterior. Inside, merengue and banda music alternate on the loudspeakers and gold-lame Bulova watches emblazoned with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe fill the jewelry display. Named after a Caribbean island, La Curacao has carved out a loyal niche for itself among the Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants who populate this blue-collar community in the east San Fernando Valley.

Criminal charges have been filed against a Panorama City company stemming from the death of a warehouse worker whose head was crushed in the doors of a freight elevator, the Los Angeles city attorney's office reported Monday. La Curacao Inc., which operates a furniture store, is charged with four violations of the state labor code concerning the proper operation of elevators, said Deputy City Atty. Bill Williams, a prosecutor in the case. According to prosecutors, Cesar R.

Criminal charges have been filed against a Panorama City company stemming from the death of a warehouse worker whose head was crushed in the doors of a freight elevator, the Los Angeles city attorney's office said Monday. La Curacao Inc., which operates a furniture store, is charged with four violations of the state labor code concerning the proper operation of elevators, said Deputy City Atty. Bill Williams. According to prosecutors, employee Cesar R.

La Curacao, a 100,000-square-foot superstore that caters to Latino immigrants, is scheduled to open its doors this week in Fountain Valley, surprising some in Santa Ana who wondered why their heavily Latino city didn't land the retail outfit. In Santa Ana, "it's all about how we can attract non-Hispanics, so I'm not surprised the store is in Fountain Valley," said Sam Romero, who owns a Santa Ana religious-articles shop.

The Los Angeles region, long a magnet for Central Americans seeking refuge from wars and other human catastrophes, is home to hundreds of thousands of residents whose family members are now suffering the wrath of Hurricane Mitch. Families are frantically, and often vainly, trying to get word of relatives in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador whose homes and towns may have been destroyed by a hurricane that may have claimed up to 9,000 lives.