Business

Asian-themed business cluster growing here

By Ken Sain Staff Writer The number of Asian-themed businesses is increasing around the Chandler Boulevard and Dobson Road intersection. It’s not by accident. The increase in Asian-themed businesses is meant to serve the...

Going to the dogs makes sense at this business

By Ken Sain Staff Writer It seems like such a no-brainer, you have to wonder why someone didn’t think of the idea sooner: A cool place for dogs to play when the sun is hot and their coats won’t come off sounds perfect....

Bug & Weed Mart thrives with family

By Alex Gallagher Staff Writer Like most things, it started with a need, Owner Jim LaBrie likes to tell people about how he founded Bug & Weed Mart over 40 years ago. LaBrie had been teaching at Alhambra High School and felt...

Historic EV restaurant moves to Chandler

By Ken Sain Staff Writer It’s not often a 55-year-old restaurant gets to celebrate a grand opening, but that’s what La Fonda Mexican Restaurant did recently. The popular family-owned eatery decided to move to Chandler after...

Chandler yo-yo maker is the nation’s biggest

By Ken Sain Staff Writer Ask the owner of the nation’s largest yo-yo factory how’s business and he’ll likely give you a pun. “You know, it’s a business that has its ups and downs,” Hans Van Dan Elzen said. He owns the...

The Ostrich embodies passion of drink-making

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Staff Writer Hidden below Crust Simply Italian in Downtown Chandler, The Ostrich is all about fantasy. A prohibition-style space, The Ostrich is dark and harkens the city’s ostrich lore, but,...

Chandler gets state’s first indoor pickleball complex

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF Arizona’s first indoor pickleball facility – and the largest of its kind in the nation – has opened in Chandler. The 15-court Pickleball on the northeast corner of Ray and Rural roads is open for play...

Clinic provides free dental, mental health care

By Ken Sain Staff Writer It’s no secret the pandemic caused a lot of stress for and children were not immune. Hygienists with the East Valley Community Dental Clinics noticed the problem last year and so they partnered with...

Hotel remodel brings a bit of Hawaii to Arizona Avenue

By Ken Sain Staff Writer The Aloha boutique motel on Arizona Avenue in Chandler transformed many times on its way to a grand reopening with a Hawaiian motif. When owners Bill Simmonds and John Hylton first looked at the aging...

Mother-daughter duo expands Chandler tattoo removal shop

By Josh Ortega Staff Writer It all started at a Cubs Spring Training in 2005 or was it 2006. Marci Zimmerman-White noticed fans taking off their shirt revealing a variety of old tattoos fading and barely recognizable. She said...