Others look around and decide to fill the gap. One of those people is Lisa Farber.

You may not know the name, but you likely know the face: she is sort of everywhere. With eyes so wide she seems perpetually surprised and a mass of curly hair that belies her age, she wanders Laguna Beach cultivating clients for her one-woman enterprise, “Laguna Beach Times” a free, advertising-based newspaper/newsletter/flyer created to spread the word about Laguna business and entertainment.

Something the Visitors Bureau or the Chamber might have done, but did not. Something the newspapers might have incorporated as an insert, or the town might have offered on their website, but did not. As an aside, there has been talk for years about a town-wide calendar incorporating all events and activities, and some list some, but nothing comprehensive, yet.

Five years ago, Lisa published the Times with the tag line: “Living, Thriving and Spending Locally.” Roughly 3500 copies of the six-page publication is distributed at 125 locations every two weeks and includes a list of happy hours in town, a map of landmarks and parks, horoscopes and tide charts, a bit of editorial plus a whole lot of ads at prices highly competitive to local newspapers.

Lisa is an unlikely media tycoon. A Canadian who meant to be an actress, she found her way to Laguna after a skiing sabbatical in the states. She drifted briefly to Las Vegas to pursue the music business but was drawn back to Laguna, she said, because there is so much going on here. On the subject of Laguna, Lisa sounds like the town greeter, and says that her true calling in life is “to get the word out.”

So, she hit the pavement, and that’s where you will find her still, not only to sustain the Times, but launching the second year of her Laguna Beach Bar and Restaurant Discount Cards. Something else others might have done, and a few retailers like Zinc have their own cards, but Lisa wanted to establish a card with broader appeal that will incentivize locals to stay local. She sold just 400 cards last year and hopes to build over time. The $20 dining card offers a 25% discount on 13 restaurants, from ReMark’s to the Beach House to Dizz’s, and the bar card, which is just getting going, offers a Buy 1 Get 1 for $1 drink offer, currently at Ocean Avenue, Mozambique and Cubana Cigar. Cards can be purchased at participating restaurants or at World Newsstand.

When she isn’t working her business, Lisa gives a weekend entertainment report on KX 93.5 FM, Thursday and Friday mornings, and she might be found at the Cliff at Sunday afternoon Music Matters or the Pearl Street Sessions on the first and third Tuesdays at the Wine Gallery or attending happy hours and events. Perhaps the only time she isn’t promoting the town is at her regular Bikram Yoga class where the heat and tranquility restore her for everything else.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. Minding our Business focuses on 

By Randy Kraft.

Santina Davies is in the business of rehabilitation. Her own physical rehabilitation has been her full-time occupation for six years.

Following a successful climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Davies slipped off Table Mountain in Capetown, South Africa, which she hiked only to take in the view. She fell 125 feet and had to be airlifted to a hospital. When she awoke 15 hours and multiple surgeries later, she was told she would never walk again.

Last week, she walked slowly and tentatively in high heels, but on her own, to the stage at the Port Theater in Corona del Mar, where she shared her story to Friendship Shelter residents and supporters on behalf of the organization’s 25^th anniversary. Her appearance is a natural book-end to her first public appearance two years after the accident at the agency’s annual gala, where she received an honorary award for her spirit and tenacity.

“I still have challenges and pain,” she told a rapt crowd, “but I learned that working hard every day I need to build on each small success.”

Her message must have resonated with homeless individuals who have only small steps to take and must take each small step before they can rehabilitate their own lives. She shared the stage that night with her friend and Friendship Shelter supporter Paola Porrini-Bisson, who recently produced her first film about mountain climbers, which won the Tribeca Film Festival’s award for best short film, and Jim Doti, president of Chapman University, an avid mountain climber. Climbing mountains is an apt metaphor for homeless people trying to rebuild lives.

Davies has devoted most of her days, every day for six years to physical therapy. The task was Herculean. She had disconnected both wrists, punctured a lung, and fractured her back and spinal chord. But, she said, the moment the doctors said she would not walk again, she was determined to do just that.

Determination comes naturally to Davies. The youngest of nine children, she migrated from Italy to the U.S. at age 13 and was the first to learn to speak English, so she became the family spokesperson for her first five years here. She is a strong-minded woman who has traveled extensively and enjoyed the good life with her husband in Laguna Beach. Thus, when she became suddenly dependent on others, she wanted more than anything to do something for herself. Any small thing, she said.

“At times I wanted to give up, but something inside of me wanted to try again, and try harder. I started choosing to believe that if I can do one thing, I can do more.”

The one thing Davies always had was hope. Hope, and a dedicated support system of family and friends. This is often exactly what homeless people do not have, so a person like Davies, who has been a generous supporter, reminds them that they can do whatever they set their mind to. She also advised them to listen to their counselors.

“Only worry about what you can do today,” Davies said in conclusion, words she will likely be whispering to herself these days. She confided to the group that she has just been diagnosed with cancer. Knowing Davies, she will wage that battle with the same determination and hope. We are all rooting for her.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. Minding our Business focuses on locally owned businesses and business people. 

Randy Kraft

I just signed on for the Five Points plan at Heidelberg Café. Why not? They didn’t ask for my email address, so no spam, and they don’t require a commitment, and after a few visits, I might win a free iced-tea. Why not?

My Zinc card is well worn and in my wallet at all times. I accumulate points there rather quickly and occasionally enjoy the delight of a discounted lunch. CVS and the supermarkets offer many versions of rewards programs for valued customers, as do places like Laguna Beach Books. The capitalist equivalent of loyalty: shop regularly, earn rewards. Apparently, these days, customer service and quality product are simply not enough.

Each retailer is tied to a different rewards system, many of which, although they claim otherwise, save and sell my data to marketing companies. Every now and then, I peek into my email junk folder before I trash it all, where I find an odd assortment of solicitations inviting me to purchase everything from penile implants to plastic surgery. Clearly they know my age but not my gender, which often confuses. When I am reminded in this way that my shopping patterns are fodder for direct marketing, and in the interest of preserving a modicum of privacy, why may be the better question, not why not.

Perhaps there is a better alternative that serves all Laguna Beach: a shopper’s reward program for locals. A united, hopefully secure system, with one card, to minimize the maddening multiple array of plastic shards hanging from my key chain, and a further incentive to shop local?

I vaguely recall discussion by the city’s business task force, or was it the Chamber of Commerce, on just such an idea – where did that go? School Power has its own “Laguna Locals” card, earned with a $100 donation and sponsored by a large number of shops, restaurants and service organizations, which supports the foundation. Laguna’s Parents Club has the “Parents Perks” card, offering a 20% discount to members.

Smart fundraising, of course. However I urge the city’s business leaders to consider once again a program to motivate and reward locals for staying local. All the more important in the Internet age. A sign-up rewards program, so no resident feels obligated or coerced [although peer pressure might be fierce] with points accumulating across a wide swath of participants, also voluntary. Every resident and every commercial enterprise should have the opportunity to join. One card for all, and all for one. Perhaps we might be good neighbors and open our fabulous incentive program to neighboring residents in Dana Point and Corona del Mar who like to shop here.

Why not?

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people.

By Randy Kraft.

Paul Greer is learning to cook with spices. All sorts of spices, with which he is becoming familiar as he prepares to open, with his wife Mary, the Laguna franchise of The Spice Merchant. Tucked into the former Latitude 33 bookshop, one imagines each of the 300 spices, teas, salts, sugars, olive oils and specialty foods to be shelved there, also tell a tale.

Spice shops have proliferated in recent years and Greer suggests it is a direct result of the economy.

“People are cooking at home, they want to do more themselves,” he said recently at the shop, which is in the midst of a renovation, including reclaimed barn posts with metal shelving that are the hallmark of Spice Merchant shops in Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, and Temecula, Calif.

Perhaps the abundance of ethnic recipes available via the Internet has also fueled the demand for a wider variety of ingredients. Savory in Corona del Mar and Penzy’s in Santa Monica are two other California spice shops that have captured the imagination of local cooks.

This is Greer’s first foray into retailing, a mid-life career change that he’s always wanted.  He currently sells furniture to commercial properties and intends for a time to keep his day job while also managing the Spice Merchant. One son, an aspiring graphic designer, will help out in the shop and his wife, a human resources professional, will eventually add staff.

Greer hopes at some point to have at least a second store, once he learns the ins and outs of the business. Launching as a franchisee is a smart way to start. Corporate owner Lisa Freeman of Michigan sources product from a variety of growers, ensuring quality and consistency from store to store. All spices and teas are natural, and some organic, Greer said. Products will be merchandised in bulk and sold in both pre-packaged jars and packets, or by weight. Most spices will be priced at $2.79 – $5 per ounce, depending on the rarity of the spice or tea. Gift baskets will also be available.

At the moment, Greer is immersed in the learning curve. “There are spice packets all over my house at the moment,” he said, although he favors standbys like cinnamon and curry.

The Spice Merchant will also carry teapots, grinders, pestles, mortars, infusers, and other accessories to enhance the experience, and will be open every day, with hours complementary to neighboring Ocean Avenue shops. Greer said that inspections are moving along quickly and the city has been supportive, and he has met with the Culinary Institute and other potential partners. He also hopes the Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting soon after the soft opening this month.

I can only imagine the delicious scent that will greet patrons at the door and the stories these spices will tell.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people. 

Randy Kraft

Another gallery has shuttered its doors – Swenson – and in its place, an upscale concept store promises simplicity with style. Joining the ranks of swank shops like Trove, Riga and Anastasia, what you might call not-so-shabby chic, this new addition, Simple, is another doorway to downtown renewal.

According to proprietors Hesham and Jenni Elmished, shopping at Simple is all about the experience. Billed as a lifestyle shop for men and women, the store will offer a heavier dose of menswear [a dictate from the city] as well as women’s wear and a plethora of personal and home accessories [towels, jewelry, bags, etc.] that are sure to make browsing central to the experience, and the couple plans to also include local art as décor.

Despite a location on touristy Coast Highway, Simple is meant for locals. The owners pride themselves on tailoring their merchandise to suit local tastes. Hesham [aka Sammy] said he carefully edits the merchandise. “I buy for my customers,” he told me proudly.

This couple knows something about the shopping experience. Their east coast concept stores, branded as “AndCompany,” have been successful in three towns in suburban New York and Connecticut, from where they relocated last year, and they have also operated retail and commercial businesses in Egypt.

What brought them to Laguna Beach? Hesham, as a young migrant to the U.S., took a road trip across country in search of the perfect beach town. At Dana Point he stopped to be banquet manager for the Ritz Carlton when it opened. Hospitality is only one of his credentials: he has a degree in mathematics and he was the driving force behind Egypt.com, among other things. He met Jenni, who hails from Northern England, when she was 19 and spending a year in the U.S. with cousins. They knew at once they would make a life together, including three children, the youngest of which is a senior at Laguna Beach High School.

“We wanted them to know where they came from, which is why we lived for 12 years in Egypt,” Jenni told me. However they continued to spend summers and Christmas holidays in Connecticut, where they migrated in 2008. Now they have put winter behind them, like many of us, and are already proud members of the Laguna Beach community.

Jenni holds a degree in special education, but she shares her husband’s passion for retail, and has been spearheading a full renovation of the 2,100 square foot shop in a minimalist design, allowing elegant merchandise to stand out. “We want the shop to feel more like home than a store,” Jenni said.

“Comfortable and stylish, not trendy,” Hesham added. “Fashion is not Wall Street anymore – professional but casual is the new work uniform. Less is definitely more.”

Simple is located at 460 S. Coast Highway. www.shopatsimple.com is still under construction and, in the interest of full disclosure, I discovered during the interview that Allan Simon, chairman of Firebrand Media, the Indy’s parent company, is Simple’s landlord.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people.

Randy Kraft

A few years ago, I noticed a striking woman with an elegant short hair cut and asked who styles her hair. I had a short do only once, what they called a pixie when I was 12 and in a fit of adolescent rebellion cut it off, and all these years later, I had the same sudden desire for dramatic transformation. Of course, it helps to be gorgeous to begin with, but few of us look beyond the haircut – think of all the women sporting thick bangs right now, who do not resemble Michelle Obama.

Turns out, the woman with the haircut was Antonietta Bianchini, the owner of Vogue Salon, and her companion was one of her stylists, Erin Alvarez, who has a sense of adventure about hair and also pays close attention to her customers’ personal style, a winning combination. For example, most hair stylists might have been appalled to watch my locks go gray, but Erin encouraged the desire to age naturally, for which I am most grateful.

The short cut she gave me back then, while beautiful in every way, was not right for me. I prefer to feel my hair blow in the breeze, and longer hair keeps me tethered to the music of my youth: “Gimme head with hair, long beautiful hair, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen waxen…” However Vogue became my every six-week destination for a haircut, first in Dana Point, and then in Laguna when the salon relocated to the Old Pottery Place. [They also operate Vogue Salon in Newport.]

Laguna Beach Books and Tootsies, the two shops that flank the salon, might have been concerned at first about the scent of hair dye and the whir of blowers, but they had nothing to fear: Vogue has proven to be a good neighbor with lots of good cheer.

Case in point: Erin and friends will embellish March ArtWalk with a DIY Blow-Dry class. I think their nine seats may be reserved, but anyone can stop by to watch their super-stylists teach customers the secrets to the perfect blowout. We all know how elusive that can be – my hair looks one way on those eight days a year when I leave the salon, and quite another from home – and I am always trying to do better [truly I am, Erin.]

In this crazy world of politics and violence, recession and angry rhetoric, a blowout class is just plain fun, and a form of art all its own. After all, on first Thursdays, we peer at the same art we can see any time, drink mediocre wine, greet friends, and ride around on a trolley, so why not a lesson in style? My older daughter, a serious soul like her mother, often reminds me that we wear our hair every day.

You may want to stop in at Vogue Salon around 7 p.m. on March 7 to enjoy the class, and you might also enjoy a little leftover champagne. And, did I mention this is a BYOB: bring your own blower?

For more about Vogue Salon go to www.voguesalon.com or call 949.376.7600.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people.

Randy Kraft

I reside just over the Laguna border in Dana Point, aka SoLa: South of Laguna, not to be confused with South Laguna. However, my work, my friends, my bookstore and hairstylist, and better places to eat, are in Laguna, so several times a week, I drive north on Pacific Coast Highway where the iconic sign welcomes me to the Home of the Pageant of the Masters. A similar sign greets drivers heading south from Crystal Cove.

Having just enjoyed another fabulous Laguna Music Festival at the Playhouse, and eagerly awaiting the fall season of Laguna Dance Festival, I wonder if we might reconsider the city’s identity. Yes, the Pageant and the Festival of Arts attract tourists each summer, but so does the Sawdust Festival and Art-a-Fair, and so do all the galleries all year long, and the music festival in spring and the dance festival in September, and the Playhouse most of the year.

Laguna Live brings us good music at least twice a month, at the museum or the Inn at Aliso Creek. The Laguna film and documentary series regularly hosts interesting and alternative filmmaking, and the My Hero project invites us to participate and view video projects by local filmmakers focusing on home-grown stars.

And what about the exhibits at Laguna College of Art and Design featuring some extraordinary young talent, or the six shows annually at the Gallery Q at the Susi Q Community Center displaying artwork by seniors, students and teachers that might otherwise never find display space?

There are more attractions of course, but you get the point. Seems to me Laguna is an attraction of festivals, large and small, and I wonder if the city understates its artistic presence by identifying itself with only one show, as unique and iconic as it is.

Heresy, I suppose, to suggest that Laguna reconsider its calling card, but I propose that City Council consider a new profile. Perhaps, welcome to Laguna Beach, home of the many festivals of arts. Or, home to artistic endeavors.  Or, home to those with a passion for the arts. Or, home to travelers seeking the arts… what fun it might be to find the right words.

In the end, words and slogans are merely that. The message should represent the essence. The Pageant of the Masters is an astonishing experience and a great draw, but Laguna Beach is more the sum of all its parts. I would urge movers and shakers to reconsider the city’s identity, especially now as the village entrance moves back into the center ring. What will the sign say? More to the point, how will the village entrance represent the real Laguna Beach?

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people.

Randy Kraft

Valentine’s Day arrives for me in the form of giant red hearts perched on poles along Coast Highway bordering Laguna Nursery. Just as pumpkins announce Halloween and glittery lights mark Christmas, owner Ruben Flores decorates our urban landscape as well as the yards and gardens of clients throughout the world. I am an unabashed fan.

I first wrote about Ruben six years ago, in “Laguna Life and People” magazine, when he took ownership of the landmark nursery. I interviewed him at his home, from which he operated his award-winning landscaping enterprise: Visionscape.

That home sits at the top of a steep hill where multiple terraces have been carved into the earth as not only patios, but as display and staging area for the garden accessories that ultimately find their way to the grounds of a client. Ruben scours the world for fountains and timepieces, benches and sculptures, in contemporary and traditional designs that suit his aesthetic, and many of these can now be found at the Hip District nursery.

Laguna Nursery is far more than a garden shop. I suggest you wander as if an art gallery. Every inch of space is filled with fanciful or elegant, and often one-of-a-kind pieces. Make sure to look up because treasure is piled to the rafters. On the back of the property, along Glenneyre Street, a formerly run-down structure was transformed into a gift shop, an addition to the business that also enhanced the neighborhood.

I once called Ruben an earth whisperer, because he seems to be able to coax from the land an exquisite blend of indigenous plant life and plantings by design. With a degree in horticulture and a famous passion for all things beautiful, especially in the garden, he told me he is still happiest digging in the dirt, when he’s not on an acquisition venture, or serving the community.

These days Ruben is also a community whisperer, with his fingertips on many philanthropic projects meant to beautify Laguna Beach. With very little coaxing about five years ago, he dispatched plants and planters across the highway to dress up the grounds around Friendship Shelter. He serves as consultant to the South Laguna Community Garden, frequently conducts garden tours, and was recently drafted to the beautification committee of the Chamber of Commerce.

Ruben also organizes lively special events at the Nursery, including cabaret nights and wine tastings. In addition to the orchid festival on display now, he will host a Valentine’s Day bash on Feb. 16. I can tell you from experience that the food and wine are always fine.

For more about Ruben and his whisperings, go to www.lagunanursery.net.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people.

Randy Kraft

Crank Brothers are not brothers. Founding partners Carl Winefordner, lead engineer, and Frank Hermansen, industrial designer, share a passion for sport and excellence in design. That combination has catapulted the Laguna start-up into an international enterprise with a reputation for innovative product engineering and aesthetics.

You might call Crank Brothers the Apple of bicycle essentials. Everything but the bicycle itself, although among their extensive product line-up is a “dreambike” made up of their many add-ons.

In keeping with their devotion to sport, they recently announced their third annual race club sponsorship: Chloe Woodruff of Arizona, a national mountain bike champion, and Judy Freeman of Colorado, a racer and sports journalist. Both will compete throughout the year in multiple off-road venues, including the World Cup, and their progress will be posted at the Crank Brothers website. Crank Brothers is one of a coalition of sponsors, including Scott Bicycles, Lazer Sport helmets and Clif Bar, with coaching by Lee McCormack and outfitting by Pactimo.

Their announcement stated, “As a tribute to the golden era of racing, we’ve created a world-class women’s specific cross country mountain bike team around the idea of classic style and design… Because nothing encompasses the beauty, power, and fierce spirit of racing than a woman on a bicycle.”

Rewind to the mid-‘90s. Hermansen and Winefornder, who had previously designed scuba gear together, build a better bicycle pedal and stumble into the biking accessories market, first with the Speedlever, followed by the Eggbeater clipless pedal that put them on the map.

In a nano-second, the home-based operation on the Canyon Road became known for elegant product design, eye-catching packaging, and loyalty among independent retailers, the gatekeepers of the industry.

At a presentation to the Laguna Beach Business Club five years ago, the founders confessed they were flummoxed by business planning and operational management, so they partnered with Andrew Herrick, an industry marketing pro who helped them build a long-term plan. Herrick advised them to move more slowly following a string of second-generation disappointments.

Since then, Crank Brothers has been cranking out one winner after another, and in 2007 was acquired by Italian bicycle saddle company Selle Royal. They now operate in a real office on Broadway, with 35 employees in total. Herrick is the company’s chief executive and vice president of Selle Royal NA.

Crank Brothers still operates like a small business, with one employee or another answering the phone by name and without heavy-handed publicity. They do not disclose financials, but according to spokesperson Amanda Schaper, pedals remain their best-sellers, and tools/pumps are much in demand. The extensive product line-up includes wheelsets, bars, stems, saddles, seatposts, tools, and even athletic wear,

According to Competitive Cyclist magazine, “Don’t get distracted by their beauty, Crank Brothers components sing on the trail and their durability is second to none.”

A 2009 Velo report pointed to the importance of the company’s Laguna Beach heritage. “The area is the stomping ground of the Laguna Rads, a long-established group of mountain bike riders, many of whom were instrumental in shaping the sport in its early days.”

Laguna Rads is still around and Crank Brothers’ future seems as stellar as its past. Learn more at www.crankbrothers.com or Laguna Cyclery on Thalia Street, their first customer.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This column features Laguna businesses and business people.

Randy Kraft

When Laura Linsenmayer, 34, decided to open Roots: The Beauty Underground, it made sense to set up shop in the town in which she was rooted. Her family relocated from Ohio to Laguna when she was 10 years old and this is the place she calls home.

First, however, she set about learning all there was to learn about the beauty business and spent more than a dozen years as an apprentice, before setting down roots on Forest Avenue last August.

“This is what I wanted to do for as long as I can remember,” she said recently from her elegant shop at the Lumberyard. “When other kids were playing office or school, I played salon.”

Determined to learn the business, she attended beauty school in Orlando, Fla., then migrated to New York City, Park City, Utah and Los Angeles, progressing from salon receptionist to hairdresser, cosmetician, and sales representative for Estee Lauder, Primrose Salon, and Bare Escentuals, were she moved the business from 44^th in national revenue to fourth  in two years.

“I used other businesses as my classroom and learned how to, and how not to run a business.”

When she returned to Laguna three years ago, she took over management of Bay Beauty Supply in Dana Point, and when her offer to purchase the store was declined, she decided it was time to open her own.

Linsenmayer has several spiral-bound notebooks filled with thoughts on best practices and she pays close attention to trends. Over time, recognizing how toxic many beauty products are, she sought out healthier alternatives. Roots offers high-quality, mostly organic and natural products that, she says, serve the woman in Chanel as well as the woman wearing Patchouli.

The bright space at the shop mimics a French-style apothecary. White walls, dark wood floors, and black and white furniture serve as a backdrop to colorful merchandise: skin and hair care, tinctures and essences, scents, hair accessories, and a full complement of cosmetics. She is still sourcing elsewhere, but is considering a line of her own.

Such products can be expensive, so Linsenmayer’s policy is fair pricing every day: no discounts, no sales. She also offers free samples because customers like to try before they buy. She keeps watch for the best new products and constantly shifts the line-up. Even natural beauty, she acknowledges, is a fashion business.

Last fall, Roots held a mother-daughter event and in February will host a Valentine’s Day party, which she hopes to make an annual happening. You can see by her bright smile and up-beat demeanor that she is always thinking about what’s next, tempered with realistic expectations.

“I will grow as I am ready to grow,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes, adding that she envisions a Roots in every beach town on the southern coast. All in good time, of course.

Roots is at 384 Forest Avenue, Suite 9. www.ROOTS-beauty.com.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. This is the first of a new column on Laguna businesses and business people.

By Randy Kraft

In the interest of full disclosure, I do not drink coffee. Never got the taste for it, although I love the scent. What I do like is to sit at a comfy café chatting with friends, reading or writing.

I enjoy the energy of human connection, the occasional eavesdrop on conversation, and the warmth of a cozy space on a chilly day or the contrast of sea breezes buffered by heaters on an outdoor patio.

You might say I am a café hound, the daytime equivalent of a lounge lizard.

Every neighborhood enjoys a favorite coffee café and Laguna has plenty. However, with the demise of Café Vienna, South Laguna has lost its center. Other than the Starbucks outpost at Albertson’s, there is no coffee café south of Koffee Klatch in the Hip District until you cross the border into Dana Point.

I whiled away many hours at Café Vienna over the years. Servers were friendly and speedy. Omelets and soups were hearty and the healthy harvest muffin especially good [still available at Heidelberg Café.] In summer, Vienna opened for dinner, white tablecloths and all, providing an oasis for locals seeking shelter from downtown. Prices were reasonable and seemed to remain constant throughout the six years I was a patron [perhaps a clue to their ultimate demise.]

The Lettners sold off their ownership in Heidelberg Café a couple of years earlier and provided the food service to the Sands Café at Aliso Beach, so they spent more time at Café Vienna, with many slices of veal for dogs and warm welcomes for regulars. For some, Café Vienna was the South Laguna Community Center. Lots of planning meetings have been held there. In fact, I interviewed there for my first job with the Indy.

How can a community like South Laguna, filled as it is with artists and architects, gardeners and community activists, keep folks in the hood without a café? The donut shop and Papa’s Tacos are great, there are good restaurants, and Coyote Grill has a thriving bar scene and an excellent weekend breakfast/brunch, but where can one sip a cappuccino and read the Indy? Vienna was the place, and now it’s gone, and those of us who live on the south side of town mourn its passing.

Neopolitan took Café Vienna’s place – a gourmet wood-fired pizza bistro with fine food and a hipper, fresher decor. Café Vienna was definitely in need of sprucing up. However, at Neo, no breakfast, no Austrian pastry, no veggie burgers for lunch. No place to while away the hours with endless refills of iced-tea. I hang out now at Pain du Monde in Monarch Beach, where the food and drink are quite good and the crowd lively, but way south of South Laguna.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered City Hall for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com.

Randy Kraft

Thirty-three years ago, when my first-born was a newborn, my husband and I, at that time living in New York City, were considering a move to suburban Connecticut. He had accepted a position in Bridgeport, on Long Island Sound, on the northeast corner of Fairfield County, so we mapped a radius of roughly 30 minutes driving time or train commute and spent a couple of weekends driving around exploring options. The town we liked best was Newtown, the northwestern edge of the county, the scene of the disastrous shooting last week.

Newtown is a borough rather than a town, incorporated in 1824, and the quintessential storybook version of a small New England community. Oak trees and maples line the streets, steeples punctuate the landscape, and a giant flagpole marks the center of town. We fell in love with a massive Victorian home a short walk from town center and I had fantasies of walking my daughter in her stroller on my way to the small stores that lined Main Street, stores owned by people who also lived in town, who conversed with patrons about schools and traffic and real estate values. Ssound familiar? The house had been split down the middle and still provided ample living space for two families, with tall ceilings, dark wood floors, and original marble fireplace mantles. Lots of history there and plenty of backyard space for kids.

There was a real sense of community in Newtown, a familiarity that bonds people, and even this city girl felt like she might find a footing there. However, in the end, despite its charms, we didn’t move to Newtown because it was too far from Manhattan and a cumbersome drive to Bridgeport, but we longed for a place just like it – a safe place, a family place, where children rode their bikes to school or to their friends’ homes, where people greeted each other warmly when they met and gathered at town hall to watch movies together on Friday nights. We ended up in a larger and more sophisticated town on the south end of the county, closer to New York and closer to the ocean, and plenty of New England ambiance, but Newtown has always held a special place in my heart.

Despite the influx of Starbucks and traffic jams, Newtown is much the same. At least it was until this week. I think I speak for everyone who has ever been there, or who lives in a small town, or who has children, or who cannot bear the violence that permeates our culture, or who simply feels compassion for the plight of others: my heart weeps for Newtown. And for times gone by.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com.

Randy Kraft

When I relocated to Laguna Beach nearly seven years ago, the embers of battle between the various factions within the city’s populace and the developers of the Montage resort, were still smoldering. Having not lived through that war, I saw only the outcome: a stunning resort on a gorgeous beach with a lovely park where my dog and I strolled each morning [and what some have called the most expensive dog park in America.] Not to mention a huge annual infusion into the local economy.

Stu Saffer, then publisher of the Indy, my new boss, sat me down the first week on the job and recited chapter and verse on the history of the Montage. He singled this story out not only because it was fresh, and fascinating, but because he believed it would serve as good orientation for a new reporter. Covering the city required context and it was indeed a good lesson. The story of the Montage is both history and prophecy, and now the stuff of legend.

This was never more evident than on a recent evening when a reported 3,500 people, including a whole lot of gleeful children, made their way to the annual Montage holiday party and tree lighting. Watching people stream into the event, I couldn’t help but chuckle, because there are people in town who still won’t step foot there.

Like so much in America, Laguna can be deeply divided on its persona. One might call this the past versus the future divide, but that would be overly simplistic. More like the village versus beach town versus arts community versus good-place-to-live or good-place-to-visit divide, each with a different perspective, and agenda. We might label this the Montage Divide, and we continue to see the ripple effect, including the recent downfall of an open space initiative and the rejection by City Council of funding for the South Laguna Community Garden.

I also wonder, if the economy had not tanked, whether plans to redevelop the Aliso Creek Resort, aka Ben Brown’s, would have even gotten off the ground by now, where factions had also constructed their forts and prepared for battle, including plans to ensure the spoils of their war. Such battles, which are waged in towns throughout the country, not to mention the federal government, seem more intimate here and intense because our destiny often falls into the hands of a small group of people who argue on behalf of the rest. Battles fought by the same people over and over again make even the best of friends and neighbors grouchy.

The political here is decidedly personal, and certainly the process is also a study in democracy. We have a voice. We argue and often find compromise. However, especially at this time of year, we might let bygones be bygones and appreciate all that we have to show for our disputes. The Montage is a perfect example.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered the city for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com. She often takes a walk at the Montage and sometimes sits by the fire with a book.

Randy Kraft

I took a stroll through Laguna this past Saturday, merely for the sake of enjoying the balmy day, and the pleasure of watching families together doing the same. A stroll is by definition without purpose and I had no mission, only window shopping, which is always fun in town.

I’ve never done the black Friday thing; never comfortable in the middle of a frenzied crowd. I understand the evolution of this shopping madness, however I wonder if you feel as I do that it has gone too far. Opening on Thanksgiving Night? Urging people to leave the communion of family and friends, make others leave the nest to work, all in the name of discounts and an early shopping rush?

I am old enough to remember when retailers were closed on Sundays. That was meant to be family day. I remember walking down the commercial street on Sunday afternoons, just a half a block from my apartment building in the Bronx, on the way to visit a family member or perhaps to the subway to go to a museum in Manhattan. In contrast to the normally bustling week day, Sundays were as quiet as the first blanket of snow. People greeted each other warmly. Without a sense of purpose beyond the pleasure of the day, postures were more relaxed and smiles brighter. The lack of intent is nearly meditative and should be so on Thanksgiving, when even the fervor of football is largely collegial.

Black Friday, which has extended itself into a Black Weekend, begat Small Store Saturday and Cyber-Monday. I’m pleased for the economy that the populace spent $59 billion on Friday, but I’m fairly certain they would have spent that over time anyway, and retailers might report better profits if the season were more sane, and profits turn into jobs.

Saturday in Laguna, shoppers perused the merchandise, and I hope they made just enough purchases to make them happy and keep our local retailers in the black. Laguna Beach Books was busy when I stopped by and that is especially important to me, as the fate of independent booksellers is in our hands. In fact, the fate of all retailers, and our own sanity as consumers, may rest in carefully considering where we shop, and when, so that we not only protect our pocketbooks, but our community and our culture as well.

Is this what we have become – a nation of shoppers? Well, Saturday at least, in Laguna Beach, we were a nation of strollers. Something our friends in Europe do often, but that’s a touchy subject. After all, their finances are in the red.

On Hospitality Night, take a stroll and shop local. Good for body and soul, and the community pocketbook.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered City Hall for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com.

Randy Kraft

This is a message to the many people in Laguna Beach who knew and cared about Danita Crivello and who mourn her passing.

In the general culture of grief, only the immediate family – parents, children and grandchildren, spouses and siblings – are sanctioned as mourners. The second tier of friends and colleagues stand behind them at a memorial service and join them with casseroles and condolences, before we go home and go on to mourn privately. We all grieve but we do not have in this country a common culture for grief, so we’re on our own.

I know this too well. Last year I lost a nearly life-long friend. He was like an adopted big brother, the sibling I never had. His absence left a terrible void. I was with the family when he passed, in North Carolina, and returned to California soon after, where I have quietly marked his passing with occasional tears, private reminiscence, and the painful recognition that we are all aging and face too many such losses in the years to come. I was not an official mourner. No one asked me how I was doing, as I asked his wife regularly. No one offered a shoulder or a handkerchief. No one asked me to share my fondest memories. Until last week, when I lit a memorial candle to honor the one-year mark, I did nothing and said nothing. A stoical mourner. After all, I was just a friend.

After 9/11, counselors descended on Manhattan to support all those who suffered that tragedy, and there were many. The nearly 3,000 that perished left behind many more thousands left to deal with their losses, as well as immediate family, and it was this collective cost, beyond trauma, that required consolation. The therapeutic professionals knew that and responded immediately. Even those of us who did not experience a direct personal loss felt those fatalities as if our own, especially those of us living in New York City or Washington D.C.

In some way, Danita Crivello’s loss touches Laguna Beach as a community. I’m told her sheer determination to stave off the cancer was an inspiration, and those who know her speak of her enthusiastic outlook on life. When I first relocated to town six years ago, one of my neighbors shared her anguish over Danita’s battle, so even though I didn’t know her, I knew of her and rooted for her. She was a highlight of “Lagunatics” and members of No Square Theater were profoundly saddened that her passing coincided with the 2012 performance. They too had hoped for one more spotlight to shine on their friend.

In a community where we are all connected by so few degrees, we have to mourn our losses. Take the time to grieve. Talk with friends or see a grief counselor. Shed the tears you need to shed. Smile at the happier memories. No point to hide. It hurts and it’s okay to hurt, for anyone who feels the loss. By acknowledging her absence, you celebrate Danita’s life.

Randy Kraft is a freelance writer who previously covered City Hall for the Indy and pens the OC BookBlog for www.ocinsite.com.