Tickets for Taste of Laguna nearly sold out

There are just a few tickets left for the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce’s signature event, “Taste of Laguna Food & Music Festival,” taking place on the Festival of Arts grounds, so purchase them soon.

On Thursday, Oct. 13 from 5-10 p.m., the Taste features tasty bites from some of the area’s best restaurants and food artisans, in addition to the amazing sounds of The Mighty Untouchables, taking the stage at 5 p.m.

With an estimated 30+ participating restaurants, bakers and food artisans serving up delicious culinary creations along with great local vendors, the 2022 Taste of Laguna Food & Music Festival has become the event of the year. 

“We are excited to welcome back Julie Laughton Design Build as our Presenting Sponsor,” said Paula Hornbuckle-Arnold, interim CEO of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce. “We are also extremely delighted to welcome Porsche of North America as the Signature Car Sponsor.” 

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Photo by Mary Hurlbut

Laguna Beach Beer Company at a previous Taste of Laguna

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Courtesy of Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce

Starfish, one of Taste of Laguna’s participating restaurants at a previous event, served up sushi 

Ticket prices are $150 for VIP and $85 for general admission at 6 p.m. VIP tickets include 5 p.m. entry, two drink tickets and a special seating area with Tequila Camisario tastings, and special wines from the Bordeaux region and Germany. Food is included in the price of the ticket, Drink tickets will be available for purchase at $10 inside the Festival grounds, with several bar locations throughout the event. There is also a silent auction with bidding starting online in September. Taste of Laguna is a 21+ event. The event will sell out so purchase your tickets early.

To register and for more information, visit www.tasteoflagunabeach.com.

Festival of Arts is located at 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach.

New crafthouse set to open in historic White House location by end of year

By SARA HALL

Work on a new crafthouse restaurant in a historic downtown location is in full swing and is expected to open by the end of the year, officials reported this week.

Finney’s Crafthouse is the new tenant coming soon at 300-340 South Coast Highway (formerly the White House Restaurant).

Construction is progressing nicely, said Brad Finefrock, who heads up development for Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen, in an email this week to Stu News Laguna.

“We are expecting to finish construction in early November, however we are still waiting for Edison for a date to energize the building,” Finefrock said. “As soon as the building is energized we will be ready to open.”

Longtime property owner Jules Marine also shared the same timeline for the project. 

“The remodel is going nicely,” he said. “So far, the slab has been laid and roofing is mostly complete, along with partition walls.”

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Photo by Mary Hurlbut

Work is in full swing at the 300-340 South Coast Highway location

Finefrock is enthusiastic about the new venture in Laguna Beach.

“We are looking forward to the next chapter of Finney’s at The White House,” Finefrock said. “The design and restoration of the building is going to be very special for past generations and new ones to enjoy. We are most excited to introduce our concept to the locals of Laguna Beach. We think they will really like what Finney’s has to offer.”

Finney’s Crafthouse has locations in Westlake Village, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Burbank, and Porter Ranch. In addition to the upcoming Laguna Beach location, Finney’s also has restaurants coming soon in Camarillo and Orange.

Although these restaurants share the same name, city staff previously explained that each restaurant has a unique presentation and does not take a formulaic or mass market approach; therefore, the it is not classified as formula-based business (as described in the Downtown Specific Plan).

The entire property has a 6,600-square-foot, four-unit commercial building that was constructed in 1915. Current tenants include Crazy Shirts, Carats Jewelry Store, and an upstairs office. The restaurant space is 4,789 square feet.

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Courtesy of City of Laguna Beach/Morris Skenderian and Associates

 A rendering of Finney’s Crafthouse restaurant coming soon to the historic White House location

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project at their Sept. 15 meeting with enthusiastic support. 

The conditional use permit was for the service of alcohol, increased seating, outdoor seating, and a 34 percent historic parking reduction at the location. The item also included approval of a coastal development permit. 

Commissioners were very supportive of the new restaurant (which will very likely still maintain “White House” somehow in its name) and renovation of the building. It’s a tired building and it’s exciting to see it get restored and become vibrant again, the commissioners agreed. 

“I applaud the effort and we’re all looking forward to seeing that happen,” Chair Jorg Dubin said at the time. “It is a prime, front row, center location in town and it’s always a shame to see a place like that just sort of linger, and the more that we can get those places revitalized it’s going to be a plus for the whole community.”

On Oct. 19, City Council voted 3-2 to move forward with the planned restaurant. Councilmembers Toni Iseman and George Weiss dissented.

Finney’s Crafthouse will include the service of alcohol and outdoor seating. There will not be live entertainment and, after a discussion and modification by council, the restaurant will close at midnight. 

Plans include updating/repairing the exterior of the building, enlarging the existing dining patio and exterior modifications to the K-rated structure listed on the city’s Historic Register. A folding door will be installed between the dining and patio areas. 

A variance to exceed the maximum building height allowed was also approved to make room for rooftop equipment, which was moved out of public view. New skylights were also approved.

Most of the council discussion revolved around the hours, location of trash containers, the seating count and parking.

Then-Mayor Bob Whalen made a recommendation, which was later worked into the approved motion, to set the closing hour at midnight (as opposed to the 1:30 a.m. requested in the application), a maximum of 120 seats (compared to the requested 143) and that the property owner obtain an agreement with the county to continue use of the library space for trash containers. If the agreement cannot be maintained, the applicant shall be responsible for constructing a new trash enclosure on-site or entering into a new agreement for storage of trash.

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Photo by Mary Hurlbut

Finney’s at the White House is expected to open by the end of the year

It’s a California casual, American tavern restaurant with a cost-effective menu.

The proposed menu features more than 50 made-from-scratch favorites, including shareable appetizers, gourmet salads, tacos, flatbread pizzas, signature burgers, sandwiches and steaks. The applicant also proposes to feature rotated craft and locally sourced beer on tap. Prices range from about $9-$14 for starters to $10-$15 for salads, tacos, pizza, wings, sandwiches and burgers. 

Finney’s operators like to buy and restore old buildings, Marine previously pointed out, noting that at least three other locations are more than 100 years old. 

“It’s going to be a wonderful project for Laguna Beach,” he said. 

Keeping the White House name in some way was important, he noted at the September Planning Commission meeting. 

Marine’s father bought the White House in 1959 and ran it through the 1950s and 1960s. 

At the time, it was the place to be. His father later sold the business, but kept the land, explained Marine, who worked at the restaurant as a busboy and dishwasher when he was a teen.

“This is kind of like the jewel of our family properties,” Marine said. 

The most recent owner and operator had been there for nearly 40 years. It started to go downhill and closed just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

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Sara Hall covers City Hall and is a regular contributor to Stu News Laguna.

Ribbon cutting at Tea & Turmeric draws crowd of well-wishers to congratulate the Reddy sisters

By DIANNE RUSSELL

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

Even though sisters Kavita and Vidya Reddy opened the doors of their Tea & Turmeric shop in December 2021, on Thursday evening, May 19, they were officially welcomed into the Chamber of Commerce. At the ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of Tea & Turmeric, Paula Hornbuckle- Arnold, acting interim CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, thanked everyone for coming. “I am excited to have Vidya and Kavita as part of our Chamber of Commerce.” 

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(L-R) Paula Hornbuckle-Arnold, Dawn Kamber, Vidya Reddy and Kavita Reddy

Chamber Board Director Lynda Halligan Olsen was on hand and said, “We’re really excited. Tea & Turmeric is not only a local business, it’s a family business.” 

Fifty to 70 people attended, milling around the unique shop full of handmade products, the Reddy’s own blends of Indian spices, spice kits and teas, their Ayurvedic Wellness line and so much more. 

Dawn Kamber, field representative for OC Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, presented Vidya and Kavita with a certificate recognizing the opening of the shop.

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(L-R) Lynda Halligan Olsen, Dawn Kamber, Vidya Reddy and Kavita Reddy

“The is a realization of a dream,” Vidya said. “This is a love note to our mother and grandmother. They instilled in us not only the love of food, but that it’s an expression of love, and it’s how we can communicate and connect. For the last two years we have all held our collective breath, but (on this occasion), let’s let it out together.” 

Kavita added, “Thank you for embracing our little dream.”

Attendees at the event were treated to amazing dishes Vidya made from her grandmother’s recipes and the sisters’ own personally blended spices. “It’s important to us because it’s not just about the recipes they left to us, but also that the food and spices are good for you,” said Vidya.

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Attendees 

They served their signature pink detox chai which is the top selling tea in the shop and one they blend themselves from their “granny’s” recipe. “We served curried hummus with pita chips and potato samosas with tamarind-date chutney,” Vidya said. “We also served our grandmother’s South Indian lemon rice. And finally there were spiced turkey meatballs. I made all the food, using the spice mixes in our Indian Made Easy Kit. It took me two days to make the food.”

Since the initial opening in December, Kavita and Vidya have rearranged the displays, transformed the center island and added more artisan products. 

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It took two days for Vidya to prepare the food from her grandmother’s recipes 

“We understand the store better now,” Vidya said. “The event took over two months of planning because we wanted to have our new video series in place. In the store, we installed several tablets that run videos we made to show how to use specific products like our Booze Infuse.”

Kavita admitted producing the videos was a lot of work, but worth it.

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New instructional video series

The two months of planning included the completion of their Ayurvedic Wellness line, which they wanted to have ready to launch at the event. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medicinal practice that divides people into three constitutions or doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha). Each dosha has its own set of recommendations for eating, exercise and self-care for living your best life. 

Vidya explained, “We created an online quiz of 10 questions that identifies the taker’s dosha. We have the dosha quiz on an iPad in the store, where you take a few minutes to answer the quiz, which tells you which dosha you are. For each of the three doshas, we have a kit that includes a full lifestyle guide, a customized tea, a customized spice mix, a kitchari which is a cleansing food mix, a beauty mask and a meditation stone.”

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Ash Alvandi, district director for Senator Dave Min, presented a Certificate of Recognition to Vidya and Kavita 

“We were very pleased with the turnout and glad that everyone had a great time,” said Kavita and Vidya.

If you visit the Farmers’ Market, the Tea & Turmeric booth is there every other Saturday. Stop by and say, “Hello.”

Tea & Turmeric is located at 1175 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

For more information, go to www.teaandturmeric.com, or call 949.715.9600.

Red Dragon restaurant project approved, parking plans will return to council for final review

By SARA HALL

After being stalled for years due to a definition disagreement with a state agency, the Red Dragon restaurant project was unanimously approved by Laguna Beach City Council this week. But the conditioned approval included direction on the plans for parking, which will return to council for final review before the restaurant opens.

Councilmembers voted 5-0 on Tuesday (April 26) to approve a Conditional Use Permit, design review, a Coastal Development Permit and several variances for the proposed restaurant at 680 South Coast Highway, formerly the Mosun restaurant and nightclub.

Although they also agreed that several conditions related to parking need to be worked out and return to council for review before the Certificate of Occupancy is issued. Several public speakers and local residents agreed that it’s a worthy project, but that the parking plan wasn’t clear and there were concerns about the potential impact on the neighborhood. 

“I’d like to see the project approved too (and) I’d like to see something that the neighborhood can support,” said Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen. “It sounds to me like there is a deal to be made there, it just needs more work.”

“Things need to be nailed down,” he added.

Conditions related to off-site parking agreements, a valet plan and employee parking can be modified to note that they will return to the council prior to the issuance of a COO, confirmed Principal Planner Martina Caron. 

Related to the other key items of discussion, councilmembers also agreed to a maximum of 150 seats, hours of operation limited between 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and parking planned for at least 52 customers and 30 employees.

Ultimately, the council approved a motion that also included removing take-out from the resolution (it was initially included in the previously approved CUP), but allowed for delivery services.

Whalen suggested they grant the CUP with the required condition that it comes back to the council on the items specified.

Others agreed that the parking plan is the biggest issue that needs to be settled before it returns.

Councilmember George Weiss said he loves the project, but is concerned that they are “pushing the envelope,” in terms of the parking not being fully thought out.

“It’s kind of messy,” he said. “There’s a number of moving parts to this.”

He suggested holding off on the applicant-requested breakfast hours until the parking plan is solidified and studied to ensure it’s working as expected. This is a high-end restaurant that will likely attract people from the surrounding areas, he noted, so it will likely be busy.

The building is beautiful and it’s a great addition to the city, he noted, but it’s a lot of people to accommodate and vehicles to park. 

“I support this project, I want it to go through,” Weiss said, “but I want it to go through with the best solutions for parking that we can come up with.”

It’s not fully figured out quite yet, Whalen agreed, although the applicant team didn’t know what the council was going to require, which makes it hard to finalize any parking plans.

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Courtesy of City of Laguna Beach/James Conrad Architects

Proposed elevation renderings for the Red Dragon project

Overall, councilmembers liked the project and were excited to see it come to town.

 “I just love the building and I think it’s going to make a really great addition to our dining atmosphere here in Laguna Beach,” said Councilmember Peter Blake.

It will be an improvement to the previously “blighted” area, he said. It’s also not intensified over the previous use, he added, if anything it will be reduced from the nightclub use to fine dining.

The applicant has gone out of their way to get the parking mitigation plan to work, Blake said. Many of the guests will likely take Uber or other rideshare services, he commented. He doesn’t anticipate a parking problem. 

And it should be conditioned on the parking they are proposing to bring in, he added. 

 “As long as they can park what they say they can park,” Blake said. “I think it’s time we opened this restaurant up and let people enjoy it.”

It’s been vetted “up and down” since starting the process about six years ago, he noted. 

Council previously approved the remodel project in April 2016. Design review was required for the upper-level additions, elevated decks, rooftop equipment and some other modifications. It was determined not to be a “major remodel” and that there was no increase in intensity, therefore city staff found it exempt from the need for a Coastal Development Permit. The Planning Commission later approved a variance to allow the roof to be constructed over the proposed trash enclosure. Construction started in early 2018.

A member of the public challenged the city’s determination in September 2018 and requested a determination by the California Coastal Commission executive director.

After a site inspection and a stop-work order for some additional slab demolition that had occurred, it was still determined not to be a major remodel by the city. However, after some back and forth with the CCC, it was concluded that the development requires a CDP. Based on this, city staff advised the applicant that new plans would need to be submitted as required for a major remodel and a CDP.

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Photo by Mary Hurlbut

The current property for the proposed Red Dragon project 

The city’s current land use element policy addresses major remodel, but it’s fairly vague, Community Development Director Marc Wiener noted at Tuesday’s meeting. It says more specificity is provided in the municipal code, but that’s not the case, he explained. 

“So, it’s really a difference in interpretation,” of what constitutes a major remodel, Wiener said, “the city’s understanding of that was different than the Coastal Commission’s.”

The CCC’s standard isn’t codified in the Coastal Act, he added, so it’s been a work in progress and developed through their review of projects.

“It’s kind of a moving target,” Wiener said. 

In the case of this project, the city believed it to be under the major threshold because almost 70% of the exterior structural walls are being preserved, but the CCC said the roof structure (which was completely removed) should also be included. 

Since that time, the city is now on the same page with the Coastal Commission, Wiener said. Staff is planning on bringing an ordinance before the council in June that will provide clarity to the definition and more flexible standards. 

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The CIiff Restaurant spotlighted for April

The Cliff Restaurant has been honored by Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris as the Local Restaurant Spotlight for April. The Cliff sits on a hill, overlooking the beautiful Laguna Beach coast. The Cliff is known for its signature cocktails, oceanfront dining, live music and gorgeous views.

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Courtesy of the Office of Cottie Petrie-Norris

(L-R) The Cliff Manager Kathleen Davis, Banquet Manager Louie Mateo and Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris

“I’m so happy to recognize The Cliff as our Local Restaurant Spotlight for April. This family-owned favorite is a staple for the Laguna Beach community and offers world-class ocean front dining with a remarkable view,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris.

Manager Kathleen Davis said, “We offer a stunning world-class oceanfront dining experience with 180-degree whitewater views. Our customers agree, best in Laguna!”

Visit them at 577 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, or their website at www.cliffrestaurant.com and follow them on Instagram @thecliffrestaurant and on Facebook @thecliffrestaurantlagunabeach.