by Louise Manoogian Simone
Archie Dickranian: A Horatio Alger Story
Philanthropist, leader, successful businessman and often called the "godfather of the Armenian Community," Archie Dickranian, 87 years young, has lived in California since 1923.
Escaping the massacres and the burning of Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey, Archie, his parents and two sisters were planning to resettle in independent Armenia but the sudden communist takeover convinced them the United States was their only haven. Relatives in California sent the necessary invitation and $200 for travel expenses. Determined to pay back the money as soon as possible, the Dickranian family emigrated to Sacramento for temporary work at the Libby canning factory.
With the usual migrant worker conditions at Libby, father and son decided after a few months to take the river boat to San Francisco when they heard that famed restauranteur George Mardikian was hiring Armenians. Hailing a cab at the dock, they asked, in their limited English, if the driver knew where the Armenian Church was. "Sure, get in," the taxi driver said. Dropping them off a few miles away, they looked around but could find no church. The Dickranians soon discovered they were on the corner of "Army" and "Church". They returned home finding neither Mardikian's restaurant nor the Armenian Church.
By 1925, the family was resettled in Los Angeles with Archie quickly finding a job at Ralph's market in the vegetable department. "I worked hard, doing more than four other employees put together. I always kept a dictionary in my pocket to look up the names of vegetables so if customers asked for carrots I would know what to look for. My first paycheck was $16. I took it home to my mother without even opening the envelope. As we sat in the kitchen counting the money we discovered it was $17. After much discussion and soul searching, I took the dollar back to my boss to tell him he made a mistake. 'No,' he said to me, 'you've earned it' and he gave me a dollar raise each week until my salary was $25 a week."
In a short while, Archie was made manager of the vegetable department but it was no achievement for his mother. "We sent you to school to be a man, not to work in vegetables!" she said.
During those years, grocery owners sold the various departments, meats, vegetables, staples, to concessionaires. Determined to move on, Archie soon bought, for $125, the vegetable concession at Redwood Market on Beverly Drive, serving sections of L.A. and all of exclusive Beverly Hills. "I always gave good service and with a smile. The customers liked me. They followed me to each new location." Business was good for Archie Dickranian and he soon expanded to three more markets.
By the early thirties Archie had established his own store, the Premier Market, on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, serving his loyal customers for the next 50 years. Two generations of famous movie stars shopped at the store. "They used to tell me all their problems. I knew more about them than their families," says Dickranian with his wonderful smile.
Like many of the first Armenian settlers in America Archie Dickranian lived simply and saved his money. "I was making enough to invest so I kept buying all the property around the store. No stocks, I didn't like stocks, just real estate. Once a property a few doors away came along for $90,000 but it had tenants with a sixteen year lease at $350 a month. Nobody wanted it but I figured I'd buy it and put it away for my children and grandchildren." Needless to say, it's worth millions now.
An active member of the Beverly Hills community, Archie Dickranian has served as Chairman of the Rotary Club and the Red Cross during the Bel Air fire, Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Ass't. Treasurer of Beverly Hills, all the while giving a helping hand to newly arrived Armenians in Los Angeles. Contributing to countless Armenian organizations and churches, Mr. Dickranian is also the major benefactor of the Tekeyan Dickranian School in Hollywood. He has a special dedication to the Boy Scouts having joined the organization when it was founded in Istanbul, Turkey in 1921.
Mr. and Mrs. Dickranian, the parents of daughters Cindy (Mrs. Ken Norian) and Laurel (Mrs. Walter Karabian), reside in Beverly Hills.
Viken Momdjian: From Beirut to Encino
"I've seen people upset when they're transferred twenty miles from Encino to Westwood. For my generation from the Middle East, who have been uprooted by sudden nationalization and civil war, moving has been a way of life. You learn to adapt," says Syrian born Viken Momdjian.
Producing Sooneti casual and GDC high fashion men's clothing, Momdjian and his brother, Asbed, manufacture, wholesale and retail the entire line. With administrative and design offices in London, Milan and Westwood (California), fifteen retail stores in Oregon, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado and California, a wholesale operation in Europe and the Middle East and production in China, Korea and Hong Kong, the Momdjian brothers are successful international entrepreneurs.
In an effort to simplify the overseas operation, the Hong Kong office supervises production in Asia and the London office coordinates the distribution of all goods. "We are constantly on the lookout for sourcing in various parts of the world. Lately, Portugal has become a viable contender and Turkey also has good products but I won't do business there," says Viken Momdjian.
Custom duties for goods imported from Asia continues to be a problem for the London office run by Asbed Momdjian. "The United Kingdom has a China quota so we are constantly negotiating for our share. But at least now custom duties have been eliminated in the European countries. It's becoming cheaper and easier to manufacture in Europe which is important in the rapidly changing fashion market. It takes four weeks there whereas it's six to eight months in Asia," notes Momdjian.
Achieving against seemingly insurmountable odds, world events have played a major role in the Momdjian family lives and business careers. Viken Momdjian explains their evolving history, "My father was born in Aintab, Turkey and raised in Aleppo, Syria after the genocide. He worked hard to make a living and succeeded through the years, operating a locally famous toy store. After Syria was nationalized in 1959, he fled to Lebanon at the age of 38, having to start all over again. It was a hard four or five years until he established another retail store."
Joining his father in the business after college, Momdjian adds, "We expanded our export operations in neighboring Middle East countries. Under the open-door policy of Anwar Sadat we began selling in Port Said with a retail store and a warehouse. It was always a problem though because everybody dealt in cash. Checks were unknown in that area of the world. After Sadat's assassination we sold the business to our Egyptian partner. We started another store in Dubai to take advantage of the large Iranian trade there. When Khomeini took over, the traffic stopped and we closed again. It's terrible, you know. You go through all the problems of setting up an office, computers, telephones and all the equipment you need to do business, and then suddenly it's all for nothing."
Mr. Momdjian, continuing, relates the past ten years, "In 1982 we opened a Cyprus administrative office, worried about the possible Israeli invasion. We had stayed in Lebanon through most of the civil war but, finally, when my father was kidnapped for a few hours in 1986 we left for good." In 1987, as the whole Middle East economy declined, Viken Momdjian and his parents moved to Los Angeles, and his brother to London.
The Momdjians' story is familiar to many who have seen political events suddenly alter their lives. But it is also the story of determination and perseverance.
Judge Dickran Tevrizian, Jr.: Serving the U.S. District Court
Dickran Tevrizian, at 31 years old the youngest Municipal Judge to ever serve in California, was first appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1972. His second appointment, as Superior Court Judge in 1978, came during Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s term as Governor of California. In 1982, Tevrizian retired to private practice, joining the firm of Manatt, Rothenberg, Phelps and Tunney. "They were all Democrats and I was the only Republican," says Tevrizian with a smile. In 1986, Governor George Deukmejian enticed him back to the judicial system, appointing him US District Court Judge. He is the first American-Armenian to serve as a Federal Judge.
As Municipal Judge, Tevrizian's caseload consisted primarily of criminal cases. Today he presides over securities and corporate violations along with civil rights litigation. Like many in the public eye, Judge Tevrizian receives the customary "hate" mail from disgruntled individuals who have personal interests in the cases he has tried. Asked what they consist of, Tevrizian says, "Usually they are filled with ethnic slurs, calling me an Armenian pervert or parasite." With a certain amount of determination and humor Tevrizian often tracks down the offending authors.
Born in Los Angeles, Judge Tevrizian says he has seen his hometown transform from a "lily white" city to a "third world" city. As far as the Armenian community is concerned, estimated by Tevrizian to number 250,000 in greater Los Angeles and up to 400,000 in all of California, he feels it is growing more political, sophisticated and affluent each year.
With a wide variety of friends and associates, the very personable Tevrizian combines his "American" and "Armenian" life with great ease. It is no doubt a legacy from his father who emigrated to Los Angeles from Harpoot, Turkey in 1919 and from his mother who was born in New Jersey. Speaking only English to their children so that they would be sure not to have an accent, they succeeded at the same time in instilling a great pride of heritage.
Tevrizian's grandparents were successful merchants in Harpoot, offering the family a luxurious life for the times. Overnight Dickran Tevrizian's grandfather was killed during the massacres, leaving his grandmother widowed with eight children. Escaping to the United States in 1919, the family soon settled in Los Angeles, safe but penniless. Tevrizian, Sr. and his brothers, far from their comfortable upbringing, managed to find work as busboys at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. After a year they went on to selling produce on street corners, eventually saving enough money to buy vegetable and grocery concessions in downtown L.A.
Dickran Tevrizian, Sr. soon accumulated enough cash to purchase a large plot of land between Crenshaw and Olympic from the Southern Pacific Railroad. He built a market on the property called "Club Mart", running it during and after World War II.
In 1948 he went on to developing real estate. "I can fix anything that breaks," says Dickran Tevrizian. "My father insisted I work after school from the time I was eight years old. I had to report to the construction site every day. I think one of the reasons I went to law school was because I was tired of working with my hands."
Living one block from the market, Dickran remembers the days when Jane Wyman and Ronnie Reagan, who were courting at the time, used to shop in the store.
Judge Tevrizian graduated Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Finance in 1962. Three years later he received his J.D. from the U.S.C. School of Law. Tevrizian and his wife Geraldine, nee Vanley, met at college. They are the parents of two daughters.
Judge Dickran Tevrizian has been a lecturer for numerous Bar Associations, California Continuing Education Programs and State Bar Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He serves on the Central Board and Western Regional Board of the AGBU and the Board of Directors of the Armenian Assembly.
Mike Derderian: Quality and Service in the Carpet Industry
If quality is important in today's competitive business climate then it is easy to understand Mike Derderian's success. President and owner of Royalty Carpet Mills, a corporation with over $100,000,000 in yearly gross sales, Mike Derderian prides himself in manufacturing a superior product. "I've spent most of my business career eliminating the middleman," says Derderian. With quality control the primary goal, Royalty cards, combs, spins, plies, tufts, dyes and finishes every yard of carpet manufactured. Only the raw materials are purchased outside. The plants work two ten hour shifts and the dyeing vats are in process twenty four hours a day. Warehouse inventory, with a range of 60 varieties ready to be dyed to the customer's specific needs, is stocked at all times. This versatility in every facet of production offers not only quality control but also an ability to quickly adjust to market demands.
Located in Irvine, California, a modern architecturally planned city, since 1973 Royalty's headquarters and plants are five minutes from the center of town in an industrial park (on Derian Street, of course!) that looks more like a resort than a commercial complex, another example of Derderian's superior style. The Company today has expanded to 550 employees and 575,000 sq. ft. in Irvine and one manufacturing facility out of town.
After a tour of Navy duty Mike Derderian, like millions of American, decided to move from Detroit to Los Angeles. "I didn't have a job but I was confident I'd find something." he says. He began working at Zinky's Shoe Co., eventually rising to general manager but soon switched to selling office equipment. "I was doing well selling dictaphones until the Germans came along selling two for the price of one," he says.
Visiting a friend one day at his furniture store, Derderian met a carpet salesman on his rounds who offered him a job. "I told him I didn't know anything about carpets but he said 'look, you're a salesman and your Armenian. I like Armenians.' He gave me my own territory in L.A., some samples and a price list. Hell, I figured I can do what he's doing. That's how I first started with a distributorship."
It wasn't long before Derderian's sales accounted for 80% of the carpet company's production. "They began to consider me a threat so I figured it was time to start my own business." This was 1963 when all carpets were manufactured in Georgia and other southeastern states. Derderian first opened in a small warehouse in Compton, California, with 10 employees and one tufting machine. By 1969 he had expanded to 40,000 sq. ft. with 20 employees and in 1973 he moved to Irvine.
Asked if the recession has hurt sales, Derderian responds, "Its a different ballgame. You've got to hustle more but the business is out there."
Ron Tutor: President of Tutor-Saliba Corporation
"Construction is a business of significant risks," states Ron Tutor in the annual report of Tutor-Saliba. With over three billion dollars in completed projects, the company stands today as one of the top 50 contractors in the United States. Ron Tutor says his company's chief asset is its ability to perform: performance that comes from a broad scope of capabilities, the right technical staff and field supervision, and one of the largest equipment fleets in the country.
Tutor is proud of the company's on-time, on-budget job completion. A quick review of Tutor-Saliba's contracts confirms the statement. The Los Angeles International Airport's $125,000,000 expansion was finished in time for the 1984 Olympics. The San Diego Convention Center, the San Francisco Cable Barn, the Van Nuys Municipal Court Building, the Marriott Hotel in Palm Desert, the Redwood Park Bridge bypass, the Soulejule Dam, a stealth bomber facility, the Tillman Water Reclamation Facility, a Palm Springs Hospital, the San Francisco Main Post Office and the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Manhattan Beach are just some of the significant contracts.
Majoring in Finance with a minor in Engineering, Ron Tutor graduated from USC. After joining A. G. Tutor Company, founded by his father, Ron Tutor at the age of 26 took over management of the company and focused its efforts on public works projects. In 1972 he organized the merger of A. G. Tutor Company with the N. M. Saliba Company, creating Tutor-Saliba Corporation. In 1983, Tutor diversified the company's business base by acquiring Owl Crane and Rigging, one of the largest crane companies in the Western United States.
Asked about the business climate in Southern California, particularly the Los Angeles area, Ron Tutor says, "I don't know why anybody would want to move here. Jobs are down and growth has stopped. The defense industry was our strength. This is the most overbuilt place in the country."
Somehow that doesn't seem to stop Ron Tutor. He is currently working on the underground construction of the Los Angeles subway system and the new U. S. Court House in downtown Los Angles where Judge Dickran Tevrizian will soon be presiding.
Tutor is president of United General Contractors and Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Southern California Carpenters Pension Trust. In addition, he is Chairman of the Construction Engineering Council of the College of Engineering, USC, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps and Hathaway Children's Services.
Jack Chalabian: Inventor and Manufacturer
Selling newspapers by the time he was eight years old, Jack Chalabian says, "I dreamed of becoming a dentist when I graduated from school but I was short of money, so I took a job at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner instead." On hindsight, it turned out to be a very lucky decision.
Chalabian, having risen to the post of circulation manager at the Herald Examiner, realized new systems must be developed to distribute newspapers. Starting in a garage, employing himself and one other individual, Jack Chalabian founded the K-Jack Engineering Company in 1963, specializing in the manufacture of newspaper vending machines. Today he produces up to 50,000 vending machines a year in two plants located in Gardena, California and Palestine, Texas. Holding over 380 mechanical patents as well as the design patents on the USA Today news rack, he sells his product to 3000 newspapers in the United States, Canada, Germany and Australia. The cost per vending machine, with a selection of 34 different models, ranges from $160 to $300.
Through the tool and dye operation, assembly and painting process, Chalabian manufactures the entire product in his plants. A family business, Jack Chalabian's wife has been a partner since its inception. Mrs. Chalabian's office includes a play-pen as she baby-sits for her two-year-old grandchild while working. The Chalabian's daughter is a practicing doctor and their son has joined his parents in the business. The company employs 150 people, including 30 Armenians.
Mr. Chalabian has expanded his business to include the Ry-Jak Construction Company, providing services to tenants of his rental property and the building of custom homes and industrial complexes in the Southern California area.
Born in Los Angeles, Jack Chalabian proudly displays, on the wall above his desk, the Armenian Passport issued to his father before his emigration to the United States in 1922. Next to it is a photograph of General Schwarzkopf, the hero of the Gulf War. Asked why he has it hanging, Mr. Chalabian responded "Well I think he was a real role model. I like what he stands for."
Mr. Chalabian serves as the Building Committee Chairman for the recently completed construction of the Ararat Retirement home, a $15,000,000 project in Mission Hills, California. From 1972 to 1988 he was a captain in the Reserve Forces Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and a member of the special task force for terrorist activities before and during the 1984 Olympics.
Armen Hampar: The Booming Business of Motor Oil
If you've stopped at a gas station to buy Top, Chevron, STP or Unocal motor oil for your car, most likely the product was blended and bottled at Armen Hampar's Lubricating Specialties Company. Located in Pico Rivera, California, the company is a major purchaser of the "middle cut" of crude oil. The middle cut is the portion of each barrel which can be mixed with additives to produce government standard lubricating oil for the military, automotive and aerospace industries.
During the company's dynamic growth over the last twenty-five years, Hampar has seen many competitors fold as the recession, environmental regulations and cuts in defense budgets seriously eroded sales. The only major competitors remaining are the large oil companies who sometimes manufacture their own lubricating oil. Even then they often turn to Armen Hampar, who besides producing his own blend, bottles their product. With the industry completely changed over to plastic bottles, many companies like Chevron and Exxon have outdated canning machinery. Finding it cheaper to use Hampar's plastic bottling assembly line than retool, they ship both the bottle and oil for the filling and packaging process. "I'm probably one of the last survivors in this field," says Hampar.
Looking towards the future, Lubricating Specialties is now exporting its product to China, "Our product is quite well known there," says Hampar. He is also negotiating a three way joint venture with China and Hong Kong to establish a company in Asia producing motor oil.
Armen Hampar was born in the New York city area. Transferred by his firm to California in 1966 he liked what he saw and decided to stay, opening his own business a few years later. Active in the greater Los Angeles community, Mr. Hampar served on the Western Diocesan Council for four years, during two of which he presided as chairman. Mr. Hampar traveled to Armenia shortly after the earthquake to initiate the Diocese's Armenia recovery programs.
Ralph Vartabedian: Business Reporter for the Los Angeles Times
Ralph Vartabedian has been covering the shipping, defense and automotive industry as a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times since 1981. "The defense industry always rates high interest here," says Vartabedian. "We have over 250,000 in the greater Los Angeles area employed in defense alone. The recession in the United States has been even more severe in Los Angeles because of recent cuts in U.S. military budgets."
Vartabedian, whose work includes serious investigative reporting, adds, "I spend most of my time checking and double checking information provided by disgruntled employees and whistle blowers. A lot of people are appalled by the high cost of military production. Today the United States pays 2.2 billion dollars for each B2 Bomber produced. Can you imagine how far that would go to build schools or reconstruct the Los Angeles riot area."
One article may take weeks as Vartabedian researches his topic with financial analysts, government officials, employees and industry management. Often reporting on abuse and overcharging, accuracy is the key to Vartabedian's success since his targets read each article word for word attempting to find an error or contradiction that may counteract the damaging publicity. Asked if the Los Angeles Times ever tried to curb some of his critical articles, he replies, "No, they've never stopped me. And the defense industry has been the paper's largest classified ad customer."
Majoring in economics at the University of Michigan, Ralph Vartabedian soon found journalism a more enticing career. Before moving to California he was a reporter for the Oakland and Kalamazoo, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota newspapers.
Asked if the business community was ready to invest in the reconstruction of the destroyed riot area in Los Angeles, Vartabedian says "It would have been easier ten years ago when business was better. But Los Angeles is a jewel. People want the city to succeed. Its not a place where you can just say forget it, let's move somewhere else." He adds that there is great technical talent in the region but alternative industries must be found to replace the declining ones.
