Status Update: At Home, a housewares retailer, opens in Riverside

At Home, a fast-growing chain that sells home decor items that run from furniture and rugs to housewares, has opened a location in Riverside.

The 89,475-square-foot store is at 2663 Canyon Springs Parkway.

This is At Home’s third store in California; it has 205 locations across the country. An open house is scheduled for  Saturday, Aug. 31 starting at 9 a.m.

At Home, based in the Dallas suburb of Plano, is launching a major push into California’s home furnishings market.

The company has plans to open 80 stores in California, five by year’s end. The newest include locations in Lake Forest and Poway, soon to be followed by Long Beach and Temecula.

“California is an amazing state of economic opportunities,” CEO Lewis “Lee” Bird told the Southern California News Group in March. “Great economy. Fantastic tastes. And residents who love to decorate. We can be their value option.”

That’s a lot of pasta

The buyer of two retail centers in Southwest Riverside County in deals that closed recently has been identified as Fabio Conti, the former owner of an Italian restaurant in Hollywood.

The properties are the Menifee Town Center, a 124,431-square-foot retail center on Antelope Road near Newport Road in Menifee, and the 33,416-square-foot Barn at Wildomar on Clinton Keith Road.

Conti sold Fabiolus Cucina, a Sunset Boulevard restaurant, for $35.6 million to finance the Menifee and Wildomar purchases, which were from two different sellers. The deal was part of a 1031 exchange, which offers a tax advantage for selling a property and reinvesting the proceeds of the sale.

Lee & Associates represented the seller of the Wildomar property and identified Conti, who was represented by CBRE.

New grant for tech at UCR

A federal agency has increased its stake in a UC Riverside program designed to enhance the area’s prospects for technology development, the school said in a statement.

The latest grant from the U.S. Economic Development Agency is for $300,000. Since 2016, the federal agency has granted $3.8 million to UC Riverside’s Office of Research and Economic Development, and that has helped “grow an entrepreneurial ecosystem that’s taking on a life of its own,” according to the statement.

Projects supported by the grants include citrus research, the Entrepreneurial Proof of Concept Center and the life-sciences startup incubator.

The latest funding will be used to conduct regional workshops to train potential investors on angel investments and present qualified startup opportunities. It will allow experiments with innovative financing models, such as regional microfinancing and crowd-funding.

The money also will help finalize develop fundraising for the Highlander Venture Fund, which was started in 2017 by UC Riverside to address the shortage of venture capital investment in the Inland region.

Truck-repair training debuts

The Peterbilt Technician Institute has opened its first West Coast-based Manufacturer-Specified Advanced Training Program, which teaches students the ins and outs of repairing Peterbilt trucks.

A ribbon-cutting was held Friday, Aug. 16 at the Rancho Cucamonga campus of Universal Technical Institute, where the institute is located.

The program will offer students 12-weeks of technical training that can lead to certification in a number of areas. Applicants must have completed UTI’s auto or diesel core programs with good grades and attendance records

Spherion Staffing comes to Temecula

Spherion Staffing, which offers job recruitment, placement and workforce management services to job seekers and employers, has expanded its operations to Temecula.

The office at 41593 Winchester Road, Suite 201, will be run by franchise owners Richard and Veronica Moyse. It opened for business Aug. 1.

Bliss Car Wash opens in Moreno Valley

Bliss Car Wash, which operates numerous outlets in Southern California, has opened a location in Moreno Valley at 22470 Cactus Ave.

Bliss said in a statement that it operates with an eye toward water conservation, stating that 70% of its water is reclaimed. It also said it is aligned with a nonprofit that brings water to villages in Africa.

Bliss’ founder and CEO is David Delrahim has operated several car wash companies in Southern California. In 2018, he agreed to pay $4.2 million in back wages and penalties, as a settlement of federal charges of wage theft.

Finance veteran to lead Merrill offices

Lanän Clark has been named market executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management’s operations in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to a statement from parent company Bank of America.

A 22-year veteran of the banking industry, Clark will oversee a staff of 115 financial advisors in the three counties, with clients holding portfolios that add up to $16 billion.

Merrill Lynch has offices in Brea, Riverside, Temecula, Ontario and Indian Wells.

Brokerages merge

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Champions. a Riverside-based franchise operator of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, has merged with Elite Realty Group of Redlands, according to a statement.

The combined company will retain the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Champions’ name. The company will now have more than 100 agents.

John Schulte, who has helmed the Riverside office since last October, will oversee the entire operation, while Dennis Miller and Lavonne Webb, who ran Elite Realty Group, will remain with the company.

Stater Bros. announces donations

Stater Bros. Charities has announced that, in the course of the summer, it has donated $100,000 to local charities and about 75 tons of food to food banks.

Recipients include charities in Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern and Ventura counties. Food banks getting donations are in the Inland Empire and San Diego and Orange counties.

Yucaipa restaurant sold

A single-tenant property in Yucaipa has been sold for an undisclosed sum, broker Progressive Real estate Partners said in a statement.

The site, at 34215 Yucaipa Blvd., is the home of John’s Phillysteak, an independent restaurant that has seven years left on its lease.

Exquadrum leases SCLA space

Exquadrum, an Adelanto-based technology company, has increased its footprint in that area by leasing an additional 40,000 square feet of space at the Southern California Logistics Airport in the High Desert region.

Exquadrum already has a presence there, and according to a statement, this move allows the company to have all its employees under one roof. The company has been operating in this area since 2011.

Stirling Development is the owner of the property. Exquadrum will share space in the building with Victor Valley Community College.

Correction

Angelov Farooq is president of the Riverside Unified School District board. Because of a reporter’s error, he was incorrectly identified in last week’s Status Update column.

Status Update is compiled by Inland Empire business reporter Jack Katzanek and edited by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items to jkatzanek@scng.com or sgowen@scng.com. High-resolution images also can be submitted. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.

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