Homegrown in Camarillo

Commerce is the lifeblood of any city. A strong local economy is reflected in so many aspects of a community- from city hall to the neighborhood YMCA.

Housing, schools, charities, churches and service organizations would not be possible without the support of successful businesses.

More important than a company's success, though, is its community-minded willingness to help support various hometown service organizations and charities.

Much of that "giving-back" mentality is fostered and maintained by businesses that are family owned.

Some are no more imposing than storefront coffee shops, others are billion-dollar corporations.

The success of family businesses takes a commitment from the whole clan. Each member must do their fair share- which often means working overtime and sometimes means working without the promise of a paycheck.

As employees of a family owned group of newspapers, our staff knows quite well what it means to wear multiple hats in order to get the paper to readers' doorsteps every week.

Regardless of occasional hardship, owners of family businesses head out the door every day to build their firms and make a better life for the next generation, or because they're ultimately responsible for their company's success or failure.

Each of these businesses comes with a story, and these are stories we want to share with the community.

Today the Camarillo Acorn begins "Homegrown in Camarillo," a series of occasional articles featuring family owned businesses in Camarillo and the Pleasant Valley area. The stories will typically focus on multigenerational family businesses either based or begun in Camarillo.

Please see page 17 for the story of the Belvedere family's two generations, who have built a pair of successful restaurants in Camarillo. We welcome readers to submit names of local family businesses that prove the entrepreneurial spirit of mom and pop shops is alive and thriving.

Commerce may be the lifeblood of a city, but a true community is built on the openhearted contributions of its local family owned businesses.