Photo Gallery: LCF Bookstore Opens in New Spot

After multiple construction delays, the Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse marked its grand opening at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Chevy Chase Drive.

The beloved La Cañada store drew approximately 100 members of the community to Monday's ceremony. The event featured commemorations and praise from representatives of L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) and state Senator Carol Liu, as well as members of the LCF City Council and Chamber of Commerce. 

"You are an inspiration to all of us in the business community,'' chamber member Joel Peterson said, noting the tenacity and vision ever present by store owners Peter and Lenora Wannier.

A retired astrophysicist from JPL, Peter Wannier expected the store to open at this site last August. But myriad delays for everything from contaminated soil (a gas station used to occupy the corner property) to additional utility lines and an ADA-required  elevator to ferry disabled patrons from the underground parking area to the selling floor, slowed the process. All told, the project topped $1 million, Wannier said.

The new store. an olfactory blend of fresh-cut wood, new books and percolating coffee, is located at 1010 Foothill Blvd., mere feet from the space at 946 Foothill Blvd. where they had been selling books, and where a big rig truck rumbled through the wall in April 2009. No one inside the store was physically injured too seriously, and, Peter Wannier pointed out, "We never went a day without selling a book.''

Monday was no exception, as clerks sold books throughout the ceremony.