Inside East Valley Business

Owners of a small theater-restaurant in Scottsdale scored a small victory in a long-running dispute with the Harkins Theatres chain.
The proprietors of Farrelli’s Cinema Supper Club, a restaurant and movie house where customers dine while watching major Hollywood movies, said the distribution branch of 20th Century Fox will give them movies at the same time they’re given to the nearby Harkins theaters. Access to new movies was an issue at the heart of a long-simmering dispute between Farrelli’s owners and Harkins. Co-owner, Wendy Farrelli, said Harkins officials used the company’s heft within the local industry to enjoin distributors from sending movies to her theater in a timely manner due to the Supper Club’s proximity to two of their locations. Farrelli said her inability to acquire new movies was hurting her business.
Harkins officials deny they’ve tried muscling out Farrelli’s and maintain that the rules governing movie distribution are set by the distributors.

Sales down at your business? Customer retention nonexistent? Stressed about getting financing for your new business?
Repeat after me: Om … om … om…
A business coaching center in Scottsdale is putting a New Age spin on improving your company’s bottom line in these uncertain economic times.
For about $250, instructors at the QuantumPathic Center of Consciousness will teach you how to find success through positive thinking and other techniques.
QuantumPathic Center of Consciousness is offering a course called “The Consciousness of Business,” on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. near 68th Street and Clinton Street.
“The mission of QuantumPathic Center of Consciousness is to teach people how to heal themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually using the QuantumPathic Energy Method, a technique based on quantum physics that combines energy medicine and cellular therapy,” said a press release from the business.
Some of the topics covered at the class will include the “law of attraction verses the law of distraction,” and the “wordology” of business.

Retailers are soldering on despite the souring economy, according to a report by CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate brokerage firm.
The firm’s market analysis for the first quarter of 2008, released today, shows that despite a drop in consumer spending, relatively few stores are closing while plenty of new retailers are vying for real estate.
“The retail vacancy rate has risen four consecutive quarters, ending first quarter 2008 at 6.41 percent, said a press release that accompanied the report. “While this is 1.32 percent higher than a year ago, the vacancy remains at a healthy level.”

The Go Daddy logo head, with hair apparently flowing in the wind and shades to combat the slow-moving bugs, always looked like a speed demon.

So it’s only fitting that the Scottsdale-based web domain provider is taking to the race track.

On Saturday the company’s newest pitchman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., debuts the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet he designed.

Earnhardt, a two-time Nationwide Series champion, plans to rev up the sleek black, orange and green vehicle at the Texas Motor Speedway.

“I was excited about it when I designed it. Now I just can’t wait to get it out there,” Earnhardt said in a statement.

Go Daddy announced its Earnhardt sponsorship in December. The agreement made the Internet speedster the primary sponsor for the No. 5 NASCAR Nationwide Series Chevrolets for six races in 2008.

Mark Martin, the all-time leader in Nationwide victories, will also drive the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet this year. Also driving for Go Daddy this season is Canadian road racing ace Ron Fellows.

The Mesa Riverview shopping center lost its first tenant this week.

Blame it on the Wine! – a bar and restaurant – shuttered its doors on Sunday, long before the center has become fully operational.

Restaurant owner, Mindi Perdue, could not be reached for comment. In a story about the shopping center that ran in the East Valley Tribune on Jan. 20, Perdue complained that the lack of stores at Mesa Riverview was driving customers to the nearby Tempe Marketplace, a livelier center that recently opened about one mile west of Riverview. Perdue said the lack of customers was killing her business.

Going Green is a becoming a popular term in the business world.

 Basically, it describes companies that are not only becoming environmentally friendly, but are turning a profit by doing so as well as firms that are selling green products. The East Valley is an especially fertile place for Going Green. On April 4, for example, from 7:30 to 9 a.m., a breakfast sponsored by the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce will focus on how companies can not only improve the environment but can also have economic success.  The speakers will tell guests who will pay between $15 and $30 to attend that:

* 500,000 new jobs could be created in green industries by 2030.

* 41 percent of consumers buy products containing recycled material.

* 64 percent of consumers would be willing to pay more for products and services that produce lower greenhouse gas emissions.

* The current green market in the U.S. is estimated at $229 billion.

The session will be at the DC Ranch Homestead Community Center, 9797 E. Union Hills Drive, Scottsdale. Guest speakers include Gerry Keim, associate dean at the Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Management; James Porter, owner and head chef at Tapino Kitchen and Wine Bar and Lauren Simmons, vice president of marketing at Scottsdale C.V.B.

Then, on April 17 the Tempe Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business Council is sponsoring a Hot Topics lunch about the business of sustainability. That’s the word used to describe how businesses can not only operate in an ecologically-sound environment but how they can  profit economically. The luncheon is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Embassy Suites, 4400 S. Rural Road, Tempe and cost is $20 for chamber members in advance, $25 at the door and $30 for prospective members. Information about theScottsdale session: (480) 355-2700 or www.scottsdalechamber.com. In
Tempe, call (480) 736-4285 or www.info@tempechamber.org

Go Green!