Yuma businessman branches out

The rest of the country may think it's in a recession, but local businessman Frank Ruiz didn't get the memo.
 
"I've got a box full of potential projects," he said. And he's chomping at the bit to share some of them with the community.
 
Ruiz entered the local business landscape in January 2003 when he started a janitorial supply business, Desert Best Distributing, out of the front closet of his home. In the next three years he had moved twice into ever larger quarters, and in 2006 was presented the coveted Small Business Development Center Success Award that recognizes enterprising new businesses in the state.
 
Today, he's bursting at the seams again and, always on the lookout for new opportunities, has branched out into other endeavors that range from chemistry to family fun to fine dining.
 
"I'm having fun doing all this stuff," Ruiz said, adding that he believes the secret to his success is finding the "right people. I put the people in place who know what they're doing."
 
That includes such people as Barry Webster, former marketing director for the Cocopah Casino who was getting ready to move when Ruiz convinced him to unpack his bags and become Desert Best's marketing director. Dale Hall, a longtime neighbor of Webster's while in the Marine Corps, was lured back to Yuma as sales executive for the chemistry project.
 
Funding the various endeavors is the AEA Federal Credit Union. "Without their help, we wouldn't be doing all this," Ruiz said.

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Company to distribute sanitizing product said to kill parvo virus

Desert Best owner Frank Ruiz and his partner, chemist Shelby Carl, have acquired the rights to a formulation they've named DBK - active ingredient trichloromelamine - that beats bleach as a sanitizer, they say.
 
DBK "is very effective" in killing many kinds of bacteria such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella, said Dr. John Marchello, a meat scientist and head of the University of Arizona Meat Science Laboratory, who has been testing the product for about six years.
 
"It's amazing stuff," Marchello said. "I've done research that shows it kills the bacteria immediately."
 
At the same time, it is nontoxic to people and animals and can be used to sanitize food and food processing equipment, he said.
 
Initially, Desert Best will be marketing the product for use by pet owners to kill the virus that causes parvo. Marchello said tests by the UA Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory show that DBK will kill the parvo virus within six minutes.
 
DBK can be sprayed wherever dogs might be but won't hurt the foliage or harm the dog, Ruiz said. It will be available at Crazy L Feed and Tack and 4 Paws.
 
The original formulation was used by the military during World War II to wash fruits and vegetables and sanitize mess kits and canteens in the field. In 1964, the Food and Drug Administration approved it for use on food-contact surfaces such as milk and water bottles and processing equipment, Marchello said.
 
DBK is sprayed on all of his lab equipment each morning. And he uses it at home to rinse fresh fruits and vegetables.
 
Marchello said DBK is "consumer friendly." It's cheap to produce, works in cold water, remains effective for hours in solution and has potential for a multitude of uses.
 
For several years, an elderly man in central Arizona had been making the product to rinse bar glasses, Marchello said. "But he never marketed it."
 
That's where Desert Best comes in. Carl has improved on the chemistry, and the company plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Yuma. Until then, it will continue to get the product from the existing plant, warehouse it in Yuma and start distributing it in a limited market until it builds up supply.

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Business takes over planned family fun center in Yuma

In his most recent endeavor, Desert Best owner Frank Ruiz has acquired the stalled family fun center that was under development off 24th Street between Avenues 4E and 5E, formerly called the Zone.
 
He's renamed the project Yuma Fun Factory, teamed up with an entertainment specialist to complete it and is quickly moving forward with plans to complete it by October.
 
"It's time to get it done," Ruiz said.
 
"I've hired his expertise to create a fabulous fun center," Ruiz said of Robert Busse, who each fall puts together the Fun Farm Corn Maze and Fear Farm Haunted Attractions on 58 acres in the Phoenix area.
 
Busse said the Yuma Fun Factory is in the final design stages and construction is expected to begin this month. Some of the work was done by the previous developer, including partial construction of a nearly 17,000-square-foot building.
 
"I'm really excited to be part of this project," Busse said. "Yuma has always needed something more for the kids to do. Absolutely ... I'm looking forward to getting started. We want to give something to the community all ages will enjoy."
 
The initial phase calls for finishing the existing building to house all kinds of amusement games, a nice restaurant with an awesome view of the mountains and a sports  bar. Other features will be two 18-hole miniature golf courses with touches of Yuma's history, go-cart, bumper cars and other activities.
 
There will be lots of other fun stuff, too, said Ruiz. His team has been scouring local salvage yards for "tons of stuff" that's being fixed up to provide fun, safe elements with lots of lights and whistles for children to play on.
 
That is just the first phase, and eventually will also include such water features as a lazy river, Ruiz said.

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Restaurant tenant announced for Kress building

A year after acquiring the downtown landmark Kress building, which for a while was known as California Bakery, Desert Best owner Frank Ruiz has settled on a restaurant tenant and is nearly ready to start work.
 
He said the restaurant will be operated by Christine Gapp, currently co-owner of Da Boyz Pizza in the Foothills. It will be much more than a pizzeria, Ruiz said, adding that it will be a nice family restaurant similar to Spaghetti Factory.
 
Gapp will operate the restaurant on the ground floor of the historic building and use the mezzanine for private parties.
 
She could not be reached for more details on the plans.
 
As for the rest of the building, he intends to develop a large banquet room and a blues club on the third floor, and a patio lounge on the rooftop.
 
Ruiz said he expects demolition work to start within the next couple of weeks to begin renovation of the building.