Susan Truax, Kelli Truax-Taylor, owner, Treva Haskell
and Toni Bennett of Bruce’s Candy Kitchen.
Kevin and Lisa Malcom are the owners of Frite and Scoop.
Kathy Kleczek, owner of La Luna Loca in Cannon Beach and
Astoria, with Kevin Leahy, CEDR executive director
2016 Entrepreneurship: Small Business Award
La Luna Loca
Kathy Kleczek, owner
This award goes to the owner of an eclectic boutique. Since
hanging her “shingle” in 1998, the owner has been singularly
committed to sharing her lifelong love of other cultures with
residents and visitors of the North Coast, while devoting equal
attention to the needs of the community right outside her front door.
The stores are filled with colorful products from all over the
world, including Bali, Thailand, Nepal, Mexico and the United
States! The owner has nurtured close personal relationships with
the artisans and craftspeople whose products she sells.
The first boutique opened in Cannon Beach, and a second
location was opened in Astoria in 2013. This is truly entrepre-
neurship at its best!
16 • Who’s Who 2016: The North Coast’s Business Guide
2016 Customer Service: Small Business Award
2016 Business Service to the Community :
Small Business Award
Frite & Scoop
Bruce’s Candy Kitchen
Kevin and Lisa Malcolm, owners
Kelli Truax-Taylor, owner
It is my deepest honor to nominate this Astoria business for a
CEDR Business Award. The winners strive to provide the utmost
in customer service. The business was recently nominated and
awarded the Best Customer Service Award by the Coast Weekend,
and rightfully so. They are constantly setting the standard for
customer service through their own modeling, but also through
gentle conversations or reminders to the employees if and when
needed. The company is there to serve the customers to the best
of their ability. They use social media heavily to keep customers
informed of menu offerings, schedules, and changes to the usual
business activity. They take their online review very seriously. If
you check their online reviews, you would see that they feature
comments on the high quality of customer service. The best part
about this business is that the owners are truly humble and do not
take the credit or success for themselves. Upon receiving the
customer service award from the Coast Weekend, the owners
promptly planned a celebration in which they treated their
employees to dinner as a way to say thank you and recognize that
the owners alone do not make a business. They were adamant that
their employees are the face of the business and were the ones
that earned the award.
It was my pleasure to strongly recommend this business,
headquartered in Cannon Beach, be given an award for their
charitable contributions in the South Clatsop County area. This
business opened their doors more than 50 years ago, and the
business has remained in the family since that point. The business
owners and employees are prominent in the community and
enhance the quality of life in South Clatsop County through their
involvement with various civic groups including: Seaside Kids
Incorporated, Seaside School District, and through our
organization, the Sunset Empire Park & Recreation District.
During that time they have provided both monetary
sponsorship, as well as generous donations in order to enhance
or even provide special events and other activities. Specifically,
they have provided enough of their famous saltwater taffy to fill
6,000 eggs at our Spring Egg Hunt, candy bags, and prizes for
our Halloween Thriller event and family carnival, support for our
Children’s Holiday Celebration and, the latest example, a
generous financial donation that provided a top-notch
photographer at our Daddy-Daughter Dance. Their partnership is
truly invaluable and sets an example for many other businesses to
be mindful of these opportunities and to give back.