By Mary O’KEEFE and Charly SHELTON

It is not easy to start a business, let alone make it successful and long lasting, but in Montrose there are legacy businesses that have defied the odds through hard work and dedication and creating a solid base of loyal customers.

Berolina Bakery at 3421 Ocean View Blvd. is celebrating 25 years of service in Montrose. The owners Anders and Youna Karlsson have worked, lived and raised their children in the community. Along the way they have not only created a successful bakery but have given back to the community they call home.

“Anders was always the baker,” Youna said. “He started at 15 as an apprentice in Stockholm [Sweden].”

Youna is from Antwerp, Belgium and moved to the United States in the late 1980s. She and Anders met and married in America then moved to Sweden to work in a bakery there. Then the Montrose bakery became available.

“It was owned by a Swedish baker before,” she said. “He was retiring…moving back home and we owned a bakery in Stockholm at the time.”

They decided to take over the business. Those early days were not easy.

“I would be here early, 5 o’clock in the morning with my kids,” she said. “Simon and Phillip were here in the back in their playpen.”

There were a lot of early mornings and a lot of very hard work to establish the clientele that travels from as far away as Palm Springs to get the unique pastries at Berolina.

“We have a very, very loyal clientele,” Youna said.

And now Berolina provides shipping.

Berolina has been supportive of the community. It has supported Crescenta Valley High School Prom Plus, Relay for Life and countless other non-profit organizations. For many local students Berolina is their first job.

“We have always tried to hire local people. Many of them are high school kids and for many this is their first job. They get really good training [with us] and even when they go to college they still come back,” she said.

She said over the years there have been some changes. Social media provided an additional way to outreach and finding workers who are motivated and willing to work has been difficult. It takes time but she does have a “good team” of workers.

Youna has advice for those who are thinking about starting a new business.

“You have to work really hard for the first 10 years, night and day,” she said.

But it is worth it, she added.

“I had always wanted to be a flight attendant,” she said of the career she thought she wanted.

She had been on a plane and watched the flight attendants doing their job but after years in the bakery business she knows fate took her in the right direction.

“I realize how much I appreciate my job,” Youna said.

Also celebrating an anniversary this year is the quintessential toy store in the Montrose Shopping Park – Tom’s Toys. After 50 years in business, Tom’s Toys has become a staple for the children of the Crescenta Valley. Owner Ted Frankel, who bought the store 20 years ago, enjoys having a store in Montrose.

“It’s been a good clientele for us, the traffic has been good, the parking is good [with] lots of other [places to shop],” Frankel said. “We’ve found good landlords; that’s important.”

Tom’s Toys has become a chain in its last 50 years, with six stores at one time that is now downsized to three really strong locations – Beverly Hills, San Luis Obispo and Montrose.

“The whole thing is presenting the best possible store to the community and how they respond to it,” Frankel said. “And they’ve responded really well.”

The store began across the street, where Town Kitchen and Grill and Pepe’s now stand. Then 25 years ago, it moved to its current location at 2281 Honolulu Ave. in the Montrose Shopping Park.

Frankel feels that all of his stores are a unique experience, and the Montrose branch matches the town in that feeling of classic, old-time toy store.

“If you look at Montrose, it’s kind of like you’re going back in time and having an experience you could have had 20, 30, 40 years ago,” Frankel said. “It’s a great town, I like it. I live in Northridge, only 30 minutes away, and it’s a good town. It feels good up there. It’s nice for reminding people what they have, and I think that community really enjoys having the [Montrose Shopping Park] here.”

  Charly Shelton, Mary Okeefe