Chamber in Action

— CHAMBER IN ACTION — The 2019 Annual Installation Dinner honored those whose commitment to community support the Rise of the Ridge

“Ridge Rising” award recipient Nicki Jones addresses the crowd. Photo: Douglas Keister

Supervisor Doug Teeter recognized Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Monica Nolan for her leadership and service to the businesses and citizens of the Ridge.

Photo: Douglas Keister Mark and Kathryn Orlando publish Preferred Professionals, and partner with the Chamber to produce The Ridge Business Journal, and Paradise Rising: A Resource Guide for the Ridge. The Orlandos work tirelessly to promote and support businesses on the Ridge. Photo: C&C Photo Booth Rentals

Paul and Linda Lyons. Lyons Express Lube & Oil was the first business to reopen after Camp Fire. Linda Lyons is a self-deployed soldier for the cause, connecting businesses to resources and bringing the concerns of Ridge businesses to the Chamber and beyond. Photo: C&C Photo Booth Rentals

A collaboration of The Paradise Association of Realtors and Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce: We invite members and rebuild partners to share extra office space and small meeting rooms with free wifi. Find out more at info@paradisechamber. com, 530-877-9356

THE R idge B usiness Your resource for what ’s happening on the Ridge! J ou R nal July 2020 Ridge businesses meet yet another challenge Connecting the Ridge Business Community www.paradisechamber.com

By Rick Dean

Special to the Chamber M ost Paradise businesses have had a rough 20 months since the Camp Fire devastated the Ridge on Nov. 8, 2018. In addition to losing a large portion of the robust customer base of about 40,000 Ridge residents, businesses have coped with water issues, a whole new clientele and business climate following the fire. Then COVID-19 hit, creating another huge challenge. Post-Camp Fire, Paradise has a few retail stores that have reopened in town, old standbys like Hudson’s Appli ance Center, Thomas Ace Hardware, Birkenstocks, Jean nie’s, Woodworth’s Jewelers, Noble Orchards, Paradise Bikes, Fins, Fur & Feather Sports, Secrets of Paradise, Treasures from Paradise, Bobbi’s Boutique and Paradise Sports Cards & Memorabilia. While some businesses were directly affected by the vi rus and are yet to open, Paradise Sports Cards & Memo rabilia is just now preparing for its grand opening; CO VID-19 hasn’t hurt business. The Skyway Antique Mall reopened July 1. The 10,000 square foot mall houses 11 dealers with antiques, collectibles and vintage merchan dise and is open seven days a week. Visit the Mall at their old location at 6118 Skyway. Thomas Ace Hardware experienced an increase in cus tomers. Although people were confined to their homes due to the virus, as an essential business, Thomas Ace was able to serve those customers who ventured out for neces sities However, COVID-19 has impacted their supply chain —some of which came from overseas suppliers. There was one particular product that was very popular. “Pot ting soil went through the roof,” Petersen said. But now, things are getting closer to pre-COVID-19 status relating to inventory. Petersen said the store added employees, as they normally would during this time of year, but the virus complicated that process. Currently the store has up to 30 employees. Other businesses that flourished post-fire were food trucks serving the needs of the cleanup crews. Meeho’s Business Briefs CHALLENGE, continues on page 11 By Mark Thorp Business Advocate, Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce T he Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce (PRCoC) engages in business advocacy for its membership and the advanceament of the region as a whole. Advocacy informs the imperfect progress ad vanced in the monumental rebuilding effort to restore our community after the catastrophic events of November 8, 2018. Where does your business fall into this process? How are you represented? No matter the origin of your invest ment on the Ridge—pre fire, post fire, or prospective from afar, the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce has the key responsibility of focusing on business development and encouraging the return of vibrant and appropriate commerce. While the residential aspects of our rebuild efforts are clearly in full swing, the business community and efforts RECOVERY , continues on page 11 Above: Jen’s Place serves a wide selection of draft beer and cocktails, and now serves food. Owner Jennifer White invites you to Paradise’s friendly and spacious neighborhood tavern at 7126 Skyway. Right: Nic’s has been a community meeting place since the Camp Fire, L-R Jeri Luce, Charlotte Sweet land and Rhonda Kennedy enjoy the new, expanded, Town approved, outdoor seating. Visit Nic’s at 6256 Skyway. Chamber brings a collective effort to Ridge business recovery COVID-19 has not slowed down the rebuild

By Rick Dean Special to the Chamber D espite the outbreak of COVID-19, the Town’s recovery from the Camp Fire appears to be staying on track. The numbers prove it. In the 15 months since issuance of the first applica tion for a building permit, there have been more than a thousand permit applications submitted to the Town of Paradise. The Town has seen more than 200 homes re built since that devastating fire. The re building effort has brought 54 Chamber member construction companies to the Ridge—of which 18 are local companies. The Town lost about 14,000 buildings in the fire on Nov. 8, 2018 that killed 85 people. On June 16, Pacific Gas and Elec tric pled guilty to 85 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The Town opened the Building Resilien cy Center (BRC) in early 2020 to central ize the building process for residents. And it is churning out permits as quickly as it can. In addition to the hundreds of build ing permits issued, many permits are in the plan check process. It is those numbers that excite Mayor Greg Bolin about where the Town is in its rebuild. “I remember comments being made, following the fire, that it will be five years before we can start rebuilding again,” he said. “But we are so far ahead of where I thought we would be at this point.” Bolin is not just the mayor of the Town— he helps run Trilogy Construction. He said Business Briefs are free to members of the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce, providing information to Ridge residents and visibility to Ridge businesses. All con tact information for featured businesses is available in ParadiseChamber.com’s online business directory: www.paradisechamber. com/list/. This benefit is available to all members; for guidelines and information, email Monica@ParadiseChamber.com. _____________________________ A new partnership for building homes in Paradise Habitat for Humanity of Butte County is partnering with Paradise Rotary Foun dation and Golden Valley Bank to build homes in Paradise! These generous gifts will help Habitat build homes with Camp Fire survivors on six lots purchased with the help of the Crown Foundation. Habitat is honored to work with the Paradise com munity and homeowners to achieve the strength, stability, and self-reliance they need to build a better life for themselves and their families. Habitat welcomes do nations of new and used home goods and building supplies to the ReStore, a retail store that sells new and used home im provement materials. Proceeds from the ReStore help build homes! If you have questions about the ReStore or want to join Habitat in rebuilding, call 530-343- 7423 or email info@buttehabitat.org Visit the Restore at 220 Meyers Street, Chico. BRIEFS, continue on page 7 the coronavirus shut down hasn’t slowed the Town’s construction business. He said the subcontractors have been great in what they’ve done to lessen the potential for the virus spread. They don’t schedule sub contractors at the sites at the same time. The building experience during COVID-19 shows that the appointment process ad opted by the Town at the Building Resil iency Center (BRC) works very well. And he thinks they’re going to keep it. Before the appointment process, Bolin said you could have been at the BRC for a couple of hours before even getting to start your process. Now, with the appointment scheduling, builders walk in the door, start the pro cessing and once it’s done they leave. This leads to increased productivity because they are not spending two hours waiting for help—now they can be out in the field with their customers and employees. Chris Kelly of Paradise Homes Inc. said COVID-19 has impacted the supply of ma terials and not so much the ability to build in town. That seems to be a common theme for businesses during the COVID-19 shut REBUILD , continues on page 10 Rebuilding in Paradise has continued despite the Covid-19 emergency. The biggest impact it has had on rebuilding has been on supply chains. Pictured is a house in lower Paradise being built for Morgan McBride and her fiancé, Lance Knifong.

Reintroducing the Ridge Business Journal

On November 5, 2018, the 39th and last edition of the Ridge Business Journal (RBJ) was published. For nearly ten years, the RBJ was a hometown paper celebrating and supporting Ridge commerce and culture. An expanded version was reintroduced in July 2020; look for future editions featuring business resources and updates from community businesses and organizations.

Recognizing that our Construction Industry partners are among our most valuable assets, the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce works with partner organizations to support the trades and connect them with those who want to build homes. Look for events and resources on ParadiseChamber.com.

The Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce was proud to be a sponsor of the 20th Annual North State Economic Forecast Conference: Chamber staff and directors were in attendance and were joined by County Supervisor Doug Teeter and Paradise Town Councilmember Melissa Schuster. The Annual CED conference is demonstration of the importance of organizing regionally to amplify the voice of the North State.

Long time chamber member Carol Stark of Jeannie’s Consignment appeared in a Public Service Announcement urging the public to help keep our businesses open by observing COVID 19 safety precautions. Since shelter-in-place orders went into effect in March 2020, the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce has provided a range of information and support to local businesses, including distribution of free PPE.