Apparel
Los Angeles-based manufacturer American Apparel Inc. laid off more than 80 people at its Garden Grove factory, a number that could grow to 150, according to news reports.
Automotive
Santa Margarita Ford owner Jim Graham acquired Santa Margarita Toyota from John Dinsmore for an undisclosed sum. Santa Margarita Toyota had $41 million in sales last year. Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Penske Corp. Inc. owned it until June 2013, when Dinsmore bought out his partner, Roger Penske. Graham said he aims to increase sales.
Entertainment
House of Blues Anaheim owner Live Nation Entertainment Inc. lists a May 31 closing date for the Downtown Disney venue in a filing with the California Employment Department. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification by Beverly Hills-based Live Nation is a “permanent closure” affecting 300 mostly part-time workers, but a House of Blues spokesman said its new home at Anaheim GardenWalk plans to keep its current roster and add 100 positions. House of Blues is exiting its 23,000 square feet at Downtown Disney for 40,000 square feet at GardenWalk.
Healthcare
Plaintiffs in a recently settled class-action data breach lawsuit against Irvine-based St. Joseph Health have started to receive their payouts. The $28 million settlement deal was reached in August and approved in February in Orange County Superior Court. It calls for each class member to receive a minimum of $241 and other proposed benefits, according to the Daily Journal legal trade newspaper. St. Joseph was sued in 2012 on allegations it failed to secure confidential medical information of 31,802 patients from February 2011 to February 2012. The data included histories of diagnoses, prescriptions and other confidential information.
Manufacturing
Anaheim-based food maker Nellson Nutraceutical named Jamie Better chief executive. He’s been chairman since 2014 and is an operating partner of Mount Kisco, N.Y.-based private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC, the majority shareholder in Nellson. Better takes the reins from Scott Greenwood, a food industry veteran who served as chief executive for about two years and remains a company adviser.
Media
Digital First Media expanded Brian Calle’s duties as opinion editor at the Orange County Register in Santa Ana and the Riverside-based Press-Enterprise to include oversight of the editorial board and opinion content for its entire Southern California News Group. Calle, who joined the Register in 2009 as an editorial writer and columnist, will “actively engage community leaders and publish editorials around local issues specific to each market” in the region where DFM has a presence (see related OC Insider item, page 3).
Real Estate
Irvine-based CoreLogic Inc. named James Balas chief financial officer. He was promoted from controller and principal accounting officer and will replace Frank Martell, who will continue as COO of the real estate information provider.
Restaurants
Lake Forest-based Johnny Rockets Restaurant Group plans to recast its 1950s diner theme in favor of a “more modern” look—contemporary music, employees in white polo shirts and jeans, new color combinations, and a dining counter mixing light and dark woods. The restaurant redesign will extend to new and current locations, drive-thru restaurants and smaller sites in nontraditional areas, such as college campuses. The chain said it also plans kiosk ordering and new menu items.
Services
Orange-based real estate appraisal company LRES acquired InsideValuation, a commercial and residential appraisal company in Reno, Nev., on undisclosed terms. The deal allows InsideValuation appraisers to provide services in all 50 states. InsideValuation’s Reno office has estimated annual revenue of $5 million to $10 million. LRES has annual revenue of about $27 million.
Anaheim-based Bedrosians bought Oregon Tile & Marble, in Medford, Ore. The companies make, import and distribute tile, glass and stone products for consumer and commercial clients. Family-owned Bedrosians, founded in 1948, now has about 40 locations in 10 states, including the 36-year-old Oregon Tile & Marble’s five locations in three states. The purchase includes entry into Idaho and Oregon. The company is building five locations in states where it operates and in New Mexico, a new market.
