While the summer season may be halfway over, the California sunshine isn’t going anywhere. While most tend to stay indoors to beat the heat, Marketing Manager Angela Daughtery of Wheel Fun Rentals states that there’s a different way to stay cool and get some fresh air.

What recreational items do you carry?
Wheel Fun Rentals delivers a menu of strictly 21st century specialty cycles that satisfy the whims of even the most amused-challenged among us. Slingshots, Deuce Coupes, Quad Sports, Choppers, and Surreys are all standard fare at our Shoreline Village location.
We rent pedal-powered recreational cycles including Multi-passenger Surreys, Quad Sport go-carts, Choppers and Deuce Coupes, side-by-side tandems, plus bikes, scooters and more. Free helmets and safety equipment are also available with every rental.
What are the Deuce Coupe, Quad Sport, The Chopper and Surreys?
The Deuce Coupe is a two-seater and both people get to pedal. Adults or children can sit and pedal and there’s a jump seat in the back to carry kids 6 years and younger.
The Quad Sport is a four-wheel ride down the memory lane of Go-carts. Formula one steering lets the single rider turn on a dime.
The Chopper is a single seater designed for laid back cruising and sightseeing. The handlebars and seat are designed for comfort, just like a motorcycle chopper.
And the Surreys are family four-wheeled cycle seats from three to nine adults (up to six get to pedal) plus two children. It has rack-and-pinion steering, drum brakes, and multiple independent chain drive pedaling systems.
Why do you think people like these special cycles so much?
Wheel Fun appeals to both locals and vacationing families as an amusement diversion and is usually an impulse buy. “Families will be walking down the boardwalk, through the village, or along the beach and see our Surreys and one of the kids will pull the parents in and say, ‘Hey we’ve got to try this,’” said Wheel Fun president Al Stonehouse. It also invites involvement in the activity instead of just having an external distraction that is offered by so many amusement venues.
Our fleet of unique vehicles provide unparalleled outdoor recreation for sight seeing, people watching and a touch of exercise that will enhance any leisure time experience.
What demographic seems to give you the most business?
Wheel Fun appeals to vacationing families and is a favorite among locals as well. Families are the largest customer group, though we do quite a lot of business with couples, especially in the evenings. Teens and “Tweens” especially like our Quad Sports and Choppers.
Have you seen a drop in sales or rentals as the increase of technology-based activities such as video games and/or television has many people staying indoors these days?
No, we have really seen the opposite. There is awareness among the population that physical exercise is a necessary thing. We make it easy and convenient by offering an activity a whole group can participate in.
What about the Long Beach store at Shoreline Village?
Our Long Beach location opened in 2000. Our unique bikes offer people the perfect way to explore the area around Shoreline Village and the marina and beach bike paths. We enjoy offering recreation to the patrons and visitors of Shoreline Village. Between 20 percent and 25 percent of our customers are repeat customers.

Wheel Fun Rentals – Shoreline Village is located at 419 Shoreline Village Drive in Long Beach. For more information, call (562) 951-3857 or visit www.wheelfunrentals.com.

As travelers gear up for the summer season, things are winding down for local Hawaiian apparel store Paradise Bound. A longtime fixture in Long Beach, its latest two-year run in Bixby Knolls will be the last for the vintage clothing boutique.
Named in 2005 as one of the top 101 best things in L.A. County by Los Angeles magazine, Paradise Bound, owned by Stephen Gih, has been around since the 1960s, selling its specialty products in areas such as Orange County and Belmont Shore. Yet due to changing fashions and increased competition, Gih says that he is now feeling the struggles small-business owners go through.
“Things are changing so fast,” he said. “For the first 25 years we were basically in the same place, but it seems like in the last couple of decades, every two or three years we would have to change locations. They keep building new centers, so it’s hard for a small business to stay open these days.”
And the colorful, creative shirts and apparel at Paradise Bound have also seen waves in popularity. Initially a must-have item for any tropical traveler, Paradise Bound filled the niche for those dressing up for their upcoming vacation, luau party or just a casual Friday.
“Hawaiian shirts became popular again in the 1990s during the dot-com era, with the computer geeks in their Hawaiian shirts. It was the craze back then, but soon it became so pervasive,” said Gih. “Everybody started carrying them. Tommy Bahama became a household name, and the aura of Hawaiian shirts kind of just went away.”
According to Gih, Paradise Bound was among the first to introduce brands such as Reyn Spooner, Tommy Bahama, Jams World, Tori Richard, Nat Nast and Crocs to the area. With designs and material made to last, Gih claims that many of these shirts are like a unique piece of artwork in itself.
And to make owning a piece of Paradise even more tempting, Gih is having a blowout closing sale with everything in stock marked down 50 percent off and an extra 20 percent off for those who buy three items or more. The sale lasts from now until April 30.
Paradise Bound is located at 3920 Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls. For more information, call (562) 490-4620.

Though the name on the store may say Vitamin City, the self-described health food store offers so much more than vitamins. With specialty products designed for those with special dietary needs, the Spring Street shop is stocked with many hard-to-find foods at competitive prices.
Open since 1983, Vitamin City is owned by Myung Soon Lee, who has been in retail since 1974. With a substantial stock of vitamins, the store has grown to accommodate alternative foods and products at the suggestion of customers who had a hard time finding foods because of various intolerances to items such as dairy or wheat.
“There’s a lot of celiac, or people that can’t have gluten,” said store manager Michelle Entac. “We have a lot of people come in saying ‘I can’t have this or I can’t have that’ and if the owner can find it, she will get it for them.”
According to Entac, the store gets many special orders for individuals with celiac and people that have autistic children who can’t have wheat or gluten.
Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley and malt. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as beauty aids, medicines, and vitamins.
“We have a good selection of gluten-free items,” said Lee. “We also offer a wide range of products, vitamins, organic produce and healthy alternative snacks and desserts.”
Not just for the gluten intolerant, Vitamin City also carries dairy-free products, sugar-free items, and foods for people with nut allergies or who are vegetarian or vegan. The store also has fresh fruits and vegetables delivered every Tuesday.
A self-proclaimed one-stop shop, Vitamin City has something for everyone with items such as biodegradable diapers and even specialty pet foods.
As for business, the health food store has grown in popularity from word of mouth, but Lee credits their success to the expertise and excellence of her staff.
“Our goal is to supply good products for our customers with the best value for their money,” she said. “We also try to offer our honest opinions. We try to review and reference as much data as possible and disseminate that information for our customers to the best of our abilities.”
Vitamin City is located at 6247 East Spring Street in Long Beach. The store’s hours are Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call (562) 425-6411.

When choosing the right gift for any occasion, unique and personal are usually the top qualities to have. And such qualities are what Renee Kim describes with Cookies by Design, a custom cookie decorating company that offers an alternative gift option to satisfy any sweet tooth with style.
For more than 10 years, Cookies by Design has been offering their designer desserts to Long Beach residents online and at its Long Beach franchise on Pacific Coast Highway. As the latest owner of that franchise, Kim was very pleased with the opportunity she stumbled upon nearly three years ago.
“I originally wanted to open a cupcake bakery back in 2004 but what ended up happening was that I was doing research and saw this listing online,” she said. “I had never seen anything like it.”
With her small staff of five, Kim’s company draws, designs, bakes and decorates cookies individually or in one of their signature “cookie bouquets.”
“All of our cookies are baked fresh from scratch and we can do anything on a cookie that the customer wants,” said Kim.
From photos, to business logos to various shapes and sizes for all occasions, Cookies by Design has no limit to their design and decorating capabilities. In fact, many of Kim’s employees are students with backgrounds in art and design, a skill which helps with their many orders.
“The process is very labor intensive because we just don’t do one order at a time, but usually a cookie can take anywhere between 3 to 10 minutes to decorate and then baking it takes 30 minutes in the oven,” said Kim. “Then the assembly takes 5 to 10 minutes to tissue it and put it all together. So I would say an hour for a bouquet.”
Some of Cookies by Design’s typical arrangements include congratulatory bouquets, “It’s a Boy/Girl,” “Get Well Soon,” as well as birthday, sympathy and thank-you bouquets. And according to Kim, many customers call in with their own ideas, which the staff is happy to help construct.
“Many times, a repeat customer will ask ‘Can you do this on a cookie?’ If you can think it, we can bake, decorate, and package it just the way you want,” Kim said.
One unique bouquet was created as a donation for a Signal Hill Chamber mixer at Farmers and Merchants Bank late last year. The cookies depicted the city’s old water tank, oil derricks and pumps.
Cookies by Design is located at 5205-A East Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, call (562) 961-9161 or visit www.cookiesbydesign.com.

After several years of success, real estate markets all across the country have slowed to a trickle of what they had been in previous years. Homes have become much harder to sell, there are more homes on the market than at any time in history and home staging company Showhomes aims to be a “ray of light in the otherwise gloomy market.”
Showhomes—known as America’s largest home staging company—began its operations in 1986 and started franchising in 1994. Local owner Beth George has been a part of the Showhomes franchise over the last 12 years and has showcased homes in various cities across Los Angeles and Orange County, including locally in the Belmont Shore and Virginia Country Club areas.
According to George, Showhomes helps home owners sell high-end vacant homes and has experienced record sales increase as a result.
“Showhomes’ unique strategy of staging and helping realtors market vacant luxury homes produces real results,” said George. “The company experienced a 45-percent revenue growth last year and in the last three years, the company has been experiencing rapid success, almost tripling its same store revenue. In addition, the Showhomes franchise system is growing rapidly as we add new units.”
Recently listed as one of the hot franchising trends for 2008, George has also won the award for Top Revenue Producer for 2007.
A collaboration between the company and realtors or sellers, Showhomes takes a vacant house and assigns a home manager, a person recruited by Showhomes who temporarily moves into the property for the length of the selling period. Representatives do make arrangements and agreements with the property owners, so that the owner is involved with the staging process.
George states that sometimes making the home “lived in” plays an important role in selling the property.
“Vacant homes sell much slower and for less money especially in today market. Homes that are lived in and beautifully appointed are going to bring a higher price, more quickly,” she said. “Prospective buyers have a hard time envisioning themselves living in the home when it’s vacant. Also the size of rooms is very misleading when they are unfurnished.”
Showhomes has dramatically beaten market conditions, with staged Showhomes selling as much as 50 percent faster than comparable vacant ones. According to George, the company’s service is high in demand because there are more houses for sale today than at any point in U.S. history, and there are more vacant homes for sale now than ever before.
A company that has done very well in Orange County, Showhomes has begun turning their attention back to Los Angeles County, with a location at 9595 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Showhomes charges 0.5 percent of the list price of the house at the time of contract. The fee is due at the close of escrow or termination of contract. For more information about Showhomes of Newport Beach, contact Beth George at (949) 851-8566.