The idea is simply to pick your favorite three businesses and spend $50 at each one, thus doing your shopping and saving the local economy
by Kevin Barry
“There will be growth in the spring,” says Chance the Gardner, the leading character in Jerzy Kosinski’s brilliant novella Being There, immortalized on film by Peter Sellers. The U.S. President, played by Jack Warden, responds “I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I’ve heard in a very, very long time.”
A simple soul, Chance knows only about gardening, but seasonal growth also applies to our life at the beach. And with that comes economic growth of Manhattan’s and Hermosa’s shopping and dining districts, in which I am fully immersed as President of the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professional Association (DMBBPA) and as a Board Member of the newly-formed Downtown Hermosa Beach Business Association.
The vibrant quality of these two small towns is easily understood by walking through the streets (think Vitality Cities) and experiencing the unique personality of each establishment. Merchants and restaurateurs point out that the shopping and dining choices in Manhattan and Hermosa are so varied that they brings the world to our doorstep and make supporting local businesses easy.
As one Hermosa storeowner puts it, “Think globally, shop and eat locally.”
Chandra Shaw, owner of Manhattan’s Trilogy Spa and DMBBPA Vice-President, has been working with DMBBPA’s Executive Director Mary Ann Varni to implement our version of the national campaign The 3/50 Project, which promotes “saving the brick and mortars our nation is built on.” The idea is simply to pick your favorite three businesses and spend $50 at each one, thus doing your shopping and simultaneously saving the local economy. As the campaign’s website makes clear, if you “spend it online… nothing comes home.” (This week my wife Shelby’s three picks were Bella Beach Kids, Tabula Rasa Essentials, and Allison by the Beach.) As a society we are becoming more aware of the advantages of shopping locally, including improving time and energy efficiency by not having to drive so far, benefiting our environment as well as our daily lives.
Manhattan Mayor Richard Montgomery’s State of the City address three weeks ago expressed a positive perspective on Manhattan’s economic future. Councilmember Portia Cohen was equally upbeat as she gave her monthly report at our DMBBPA meeting last week, noting a small increase in sales tax revenue over the last two years. I believe great things are in store for our area, and I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of two new restaurants in Manhattan Beach, MB Post and Strata. Both promise us world-class cuisine, visionary architecture, and added excitement for the downtown dining culture.
For MB Post, the Simms Restaurant Group will team up with one of L.A.’s most talented chefs. He has garnered Michelin stars and worked in some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens. Renowned architect Steven Jones has designed the space with reclaimed wood and communal tables. It’s described as “a social house” and is slated to open in mid-April. (I must proudly disclose that I’m a MB Post investor.)
Lori Ford, owner of Hermosa’s Gum Tree gift shop and cafe, said of recent improvements in Hermosa, “The renovation of upper Pier Avenue certainly has helped to bring people back to the downtown. It looks beautiful. Everyone has positive things to say about it when they come in to our store, and there’s a real feeling that this town is coming into its own. We’re seeing more and more customers coming in from the surrounding beach cities as well.”
With the days becoming warmer, she expects even more walk-in customers.
“As painful as the process of renovation was, it inspired many new relationships between business owners, and, I believe, will create a stronger business community. Small businesses add great local flavor and bring money back to their communities through tax dollars, payroll, and other monies, which benefits everybody. I really do feel like we’re all in this together, and it’s nice to be able to share ideas and find solutions to the challenges of doing business in tough economic times.”
Wikipedia defines progress as “the theory that scientific progress drives social progress; that advances in technology, science, and social organization inevitably produce an improvement in the human condition.”
Last year was an anomaly for the El Gringo Mexican Restaurant chain. Owner Bill Graw described it as the “the perfect storm.” The combination of the sluggish economy and the worst beach weather in 100 years made them change their game plan and innovate. In an effort to make up for slow sales, El Gringo took advantage of scientific progress and joined cutting-edge internet communication networks Facebook, Twitter and Groupon, as well as the more traditional taco truck craze.
Their “Old Red” truck has really made a difference. “If our customers think twice about coming to us – we will go to them,” Graw explained. Old Red has been so popular that El Gringo has already added a second taco truck. “Statistically, 2011 has to be a better year,” Graw said. With every great day of weather, business in the restaurant picks up, a happy development that he expects to accelerate with the approach of spring.
“I hear from our customers that people are tired of eating at home,” Graw said. “Going out is fun. We live at the beach and if it’s sunny, people go out.”
Another great example of a unique social experience in the neighborhood is the independent bookstore Pages, in Manhattan Beach. It’s the perfect example of how a small-town gathering spot can use modern technology like their e-newsletter as well as old-fashioned word-of-mouth to promote its weekly events, which help to create and enrich our community.
“Local and bestselling authors often celebrate their work through the many book signings and book-club meetings we have at Pages,” Margo Ferris, co-owner, told me. They have created a warm and inviting environment that is perfect for browsing. “It’s the kind of place where you end up talking with our staff and other shoppers about books to read,” Ferris said.
Open-air patios are the trend, and Easy Reader’s Kevin Cody gives my Hermosa restaurant Sangria credit for starting it by “knocking out the wall between the dining room and the street.” The cafe culture, so vital as a social component in New York City and Europe, has taken a while to become a major part of our culture in the South Bay, where dining in the fresh salt air is a healthy experience.
Newly opened Hot’s Kitchen, featuring gourmet tacos south of the Pier on Hermosa Avenue, offers open air dining, as will the soon to be open gastropub The Rockefeller on upper Pier Avenue, a collaboration between the creators of St. Rocke/Union Cattle Co. and my fellow lifeguard/business partner Chris Bredesen. In Manhattan, open air dining will be offered at the upcoming MB Post and Strata, along with spectacular ocean views at this new offering from the Zislis Group).
“We feel great about prospects for this spring and summer,” Gum Tree’s Lori Ford said. “We’ve been able to build a great customer base of locals, and we are so happy for that. The tourists are a great addition in the spring and summer, but it was always our goal to serve the local community first. It seems that every day we’ve got people coming in for the first time. They are always amazed that we’ve already been here two years. We believe in Hermosa, we want to raise our child here and put her through the amazing public schools. We feel lucky every day to live in this little town by the sea.”
Kevin Barry was the 2009 Distinguished Philanthropic Event winner at the Celebration of Entrepreneurship by Bank of Manhattan and co-owner of Sangria and the Reader’s Choice for LA County Lifeguard of the Year in Easy Reader’s 2001 Best of the Beach balloting. ER
