RSF Business Spotlight focuses on local businesses and all the up and coming events.
a nilo photo
An F-117 stealth fighter cruising San Diego is part of the legacy of Rancho Santa Fe congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Now serving federal prison time for bribes and corruption, many intertwined with San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) that continues to procure stealth aircraft contracts. For more real-past-time commentary on the Cunningham-SAIC connection before the fall, follow this link to a Chalmers Johnson piece. A Cardiff resident, Johnson, 79, was a CIA consutant who later headed UC Berkeley's Center for Chinese Studies, taught at UC San Diego and has been a prolific commentator on U.S. foreign policy.
+++++BREAKING NEWS+++++
La Jolla Bank was the 20th bank to fail this year and second in California. Destroyed by bad commercial loans to developers -- and sued by, among others, former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, and his high-profile family -- regulators sold the bank, and its assets to OneWest, which is owned by a group of private investors led by Steven Mnuchin, chairman of Dune Capital Management. The group also includes hedge-fund operators George Soros and John Paulson, bank buyout specialist J. Christopher Flowers and Michael S. Dell, founder of computer maker Dell Inc.
Established in 1985 as La Jolla Village Savings, the thrift has three San Diego County branches, three in Riverside County, two in Orange County, one in Beverly Hills and one in Dallas.
"La Jolla depositors can continue to write checks and use ATM or debit cards to access their money, the FDIC said. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual."
For more details on this stunning announcement, read the entire FDIC report by following this link...
The prominent Tarkanian family of Las Vegas is suing La Jolla Bank -- based at Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. -- to block foreclosure of an investment property, charging the mortgage at issue was tainted by fraud.
Former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, his son, U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian; and family matriarch, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian are part of the lawsuit as principals of a company called Vegas Diamond Properties LLC.
Vegas Diamond and co-plaintiff Johnson Investments LLC filed suit in Clark County District Court Jan. 8 against La Jolla Bank and Action Foreclosure Services in hopes of blocking foreclosure of 13 acres of vacant investment land on south Las Vegas Boulevard at Barbara Street, near St. Rose Parkway.
Court papers show La Jolla Bank loaned Vegas Diamond and Johnson Investments $25.5 million, with the Las Vegas land securing the loan.
Vegas Diamond and Johnson Investments planned to use some of the La Jolla Bank loan money to pay off older loans; and then earn a profit by re-loaning some of the funds to California real estate developer and broker Robert A. Dyson Jr.
They thought Dyson Jr. would use the money for development of a real estate project in Anza, Calif.
The Las Vegas lawsuit says Dyson Jr., who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in California in 2008, has defaulted on the loans from Vegas Diamond and Johnson Investments – causing them to default on their loan from La Jolla Bank.
Juno Technologies, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is being awarded a $10,048,864 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N65236-09-D-5822) for Integrated Shipboard Network Systems and Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System support services. The contract includes four one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $30,245,402. Work will be performed in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and is expected to be completed by March 2010. If all options are exercised, work could continue until March 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively awarded. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., is the contracting activity. For more on Juno Technologies, follow this link...
Rancho Tissue Technologies on Aliso Canyon Road this week received a prestigious eco-label certification from Verifloral, making it one of the few plant tissue culture companies in the nation to be recognized by the industry for quality cuttings. Rancho Tissue spcializes in succulents, or water-retaining plants. For more on this horticultural subject, check out the Rancho Tissue blog by following this link...
CalPERS, the giant California state pension fund, is taking a close look at its investment with Ralph Whitworth, who heads Relational Investors, a shareholder activist firm based in San Diego.
A law firm hired by CalPERS is examining the nearly $17 million Relational paid an obscure middleman who helped secure business from the pension fund, The Wall Street Journal reports today.
Relational Investors is headed by Ralph V. Whitworth and David Batchelder, who met while working in the 1980s for Texas oilman and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens.
Relational buys up stakes in underperforming companies like Mattel and J.C. Penney for a turnaround directed by Whitworth.
CalPERS is Relational’s biggest investor. The pension fund has about $1.5 billion in Relational.
Huge fees are standard for middlemen who successfully line up investments from CalPERS, but Relational’s payment to Tullig Inc. stands out. No one earned more from a single client.
Tullig Inc. is an obscure New York firm headed by an obscure man named Donal Murphy. What he did to earn his rich paycheck is as clear as mud.
Essentially, these middlemen are lobbyists and operators. It’s a shady business — money buying more money — that is finally getting some attention following a massive kickback and bribery scheme at New York State’s public pension fund.
Whitworth is perhaps best known for paying Paul McCartney $1 million in 2003 to perform at his wife’s private birthday party at a restaurant Rancho Santa Fe. The couple filed for divorce less than a year later.
Much more on Relational Investors and other Seth Hettana stories and information, follow this link....
New Year's in prison. It's bad news-good news for Rancho Santa Fe resident Bill Lerach, you know, the class action honcho who went to prison for paying kickbacks to get those lucrative class action lawsuits. Yeah, Lerach's serving time alright, but follow this link to read what type of time, EXCLUSIVE to 92067 Free Press.
(Speaking of federal prison, did U Know? Former Cong. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-RSF, in federal country club prison for taking massive bribes while in office, collects an annual $42,476 congressional pension.)
What do Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman; the golfer Annika Sorenstam; former Vice President Dan Quayle; and Peter Chernin, former president and chief operating officer of the News Corporation have in common with a Rancho Santa Fe attorney?
It's an RSF attorney leads class action suit against super-exclusive Yellowstone "ski-in-ski-out" community...Special to 92067 Free Press
What does the exclusive Yellowstone Club of "Ski-in-ski-out" homes and provate slopes -- a home to Bill Gates, among others -- have to do with Rancho Santa Fe?
Michael J. Flynn. The Rancho Santa Fe attorney is lead counsel in a class action lawsuit as spectacular as the ultra-exclusive resort homes of the super wealthy at Big Sky, Mont., near Helena.
RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif., -- The first nutrition bar containing resveratrol, the ingredient in grapes acclaimed for its potential to forestall the ravages of time, is about to hit the marketplace.
The aptly-named WINETIME™ Bar, developed by ResVez, Inc. of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. contains as much resveratrol as 50 glasses of red wine. The bar, a rich, dark chocolate flavor harmonized with dates and almonds, is high in fiber and also contains seven extra "super fruits" -- cranberry, noni, pomegranate, goji berry, acai, mangosteen and blueberry.
"It is a true healthy indulgence," said Malcolm Nicholl, President and CEO of ResVez. "If you love chocolate and wine and you want a nutrition bar that really tastes great, this is for you."
Resveratrol has soared in popularity after positive coverage on major TV shows such as "60 Minutes," "Oprah," and a Barbara Walters Special. A substantial amount of research validating a remarkable range of health benefits has been published. Though most of the trials have been conducted with animals, the results of human clinical studies will soon begin to appear in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Forbes most expensive zip code list released recently. Rancho Santa Fe ranked sixth in the nation.
California is represented well in the list's top 10 priciest ZIP codes: Duarte, Beverly Hills, Rancho Santa Fe, Santa Barbara and Los Altos Hills all make the list, taking the number four through eight spots with prices hovering around $3 million.
Coming in third was New York's West Village neighborhood, 10014, which Forbes said is now fully gentrified and hitting a $3.5 million median asking price. The West Village had a 24% decrease over the last year, the list said.
On average, the 500 ZIP Codes on the Forbes list dropped 7% in asking price. Only one-fifth of the country's most expensive ZIP Codes saw prices rise, and in a few of those ZIP Codes, prices were skewed by a single high-priced listing, Forbes said.
Here are the top 10 most expensive ZIP Codes, by median home price, as reported by Forbes:
07620, Alpine, N.J., $4,139,041
94027, Atherton, Calif., $3,849,133
10014, New York, N.Y., $3,521,514
91008, Duarte, Calif., $3,444,773
90210, Beverly Hills, Calif., $3,367,167
92067, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., $3,362,493
93108, Santa Barbara, Calif., $3,284,652
94024, Los Altos Hills, Calif., $3,277,500
10065, New York, N.Y., $3,176,534
07926, Brookside, N.J., $3,121,115
Check out Forbes full list, complete with an interactive map comparing ZIP Codes
Cielo, a gated community at the edge of Rancho Santa Fe, has struggled to build sales momentum.
There are 26 active listings (this house is number 13th on the list), ranging from $1.595 to $7.999, and five contingent/pending listings currently, but only seven have closed over the last six months, averaging $301/sf:
An insider's guide to North San Diego County Real Estate for more info on Cielo....
Blink-182's DeLonge Lowers Sights on Listing
Frontman Tom DeLonge of rock-pop band Blink-182 has relisted his Rancho Santa Fe home for $5.1 million, more than 20% below what he spent for the house, renovations and décor.
In 2005, the 33-year-old singer and his wife, Jennifer, an interior designer, paid $5.5 million for the house in Rancho Santa Fe, a bedroom community about 25 miles north of the city. The couple spent more than $1 million on renovations and décor, according to their listing agent, Laura Barry, of Barry Estates.
The 6,500-square-foot house -- in The Bridges, a 540-acre gated golf community -- sits on 1.1 acres and has five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The couple first listed the single-story house for $6.25 million in 2007.
Blink-182, whose early-2000s hits include "What's My Age Again," went on hiatus in 2005 but said at this year's Grammy Awards that it was reuniting and will tour this summer.
What does it take to get featured in "RSF Business", you ask?
Simple. Be really good and truly dedicated at something instead of being BS like a lot of people out there and you know who you are even though you fake it until you "make" it in public.
That's why we are letting you know Andy, the Barber, is back, just so you know. He is WELL worth the trip up Del Dios Highway to scenic Grand Avenue in Escondido.
We made it back! I'll be opening the shop a day earlier than expected. I'll start back at 9am on Friday and give those of you who get my email a head start. As always, if you would like to make an appointment, I'm glad to meet you a few minutes before I open. If you're running late, just give me a call and I'll be happy to stay a few minutes after closing. Thank you for your patience in giving me and my family the opportunity to take this wonderful trip.
Andy the Barber
PSTake a look below to see some helpful reminders for the shop…
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Relative Foreclosure Counts (courtesy Bubbleinfo)
Tobias suggested that we compare the foreclosure counts (NOD, NOTS, & REO of SFRs and condos only) to the number of homes to see the relative impact. The home counts come from city-data. Also included here are the number of active listings of detached and attached, and the number of those sold in May, 2009:
Town or area
F/C Notices
# of Homes
% in default
ACT/Sold in May
Mo. of Inv.
Del Mar
32
6,714
0.48%
188/19
10
La Jolla
169
19,529
0.87%
478/38
13
Encinitas
189
19,138
0.99%
240/35
7
Solana Bch
61
6,072
1.00%
144/10
14
RSF
49
3,517
1.39%
366/15
24
Carlsbad
552
33,717
1.64%
503/124
4
Carmel Vly
195
11,304
1.73%
267/44
6
Oceanside
1,691
59,498
2.84%
563/226
2
We can say that over 10% of Rancho Santa Fe is for sale!
THURSDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2009 AT 12:42 PMjim@jimklinge.com
(760) 434-5000 Carlsbad
(858) 560-7700 Carmel Valley
RSF - You’re Surrounded!
The sellers in Rancho Santa Fe have been holding strong, but there have been some inching closer to the exits, led by the banks.
“But Jim, those aren’t the Covenant!!! There’s a difference!!!!!!!!”
Oh really? The Covenant has its own cracks in the armor:
Street Address
Previous Sales Price/Date
Current List Price
% below last SP
5840 Lago Lindo
$2,875,000 5/07
$2,500,000
-13%
6368 La Valle Plateada
$3,595,000 8/06
$2,250,000
-37%
17925 Avenida Alondra
$4,600,000 8/05
$2.18 to $2.38
-53%
There are 324 active listings of detached homes in 92067 and 92091, a number that has been growing all year.
Last month, TEN closed escrow! Rancho Santa Fe sellers - you should lower your price!
Foreclosure Data
In an attempt to replace the foreclosure lists that have been published in the right-hand column called ‘San Diego County REOs’, there is now access to the foreclosureradar service - click on the ‘Foreclosures’ button in the crimson-colored banner at the top of this blog site ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
They don’t allow you to directly access the entire file, but if you find a property that you’d like to receive more information, click on the street name. It’ll open a box for you to send in your email address, and either wifey or I will send you a printout that looks like this (click on link):
This printout is a property sold by what’s-her-name - note that her accomplice will probably end up with a minimum of a year’s free rent before her fate is decided.
Cross-reference these with what you find on www.fidelityasap.com and you should be able track foreclosure activity fairly closely.
Apparently telling people to give empty titles and worthless shares of stock to employees in order to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in workers' compensation premiums is a big no-no.
So much for Rancho Santa Fe-based ConAPA and its fearless leader Eugene J. Magry (allegedly).
"This company falsely promised its clients that if they gave their employees empty titles and worthless shares of stock, they could avoid tens of thousands of dollars in workers' compensation premiums," said California Attorney General Jerry Brown..
"But you can't simply call a security guard a vice president and avoid complying with the law through a sophisticated and fraudulent scheme."
Neither Magre nor a representative of ConAPA returned telephone calls seeking comment on the lawsuit.
ConAPA has 40 clients, and in recent years helped more than 200 firms avoid buying workers' compensation insurance for all employees, according to the sut.
Most of the clients employed workers in injury-prone industries, including housekeepers, security guards, roofers, maintenance personnel and cooks.
According to state corporation records, ConAPA started business in January 2003, a time when skyrocketing workers' compensation premiums were crippling companies. Small employers, particularly in high-risk occupations such as construction, were desperately seeking ways to cut comp costs. Since then, rates have fallen by about 50% because of a 2004 overhaul of state laws.
Oh by the way, The Review published a puff piece on Magre, as usual without credibility. Follow this link for the RSF Review's June 14, 2007 glowing praise of the man now under state indictment for fraud. "Magre's philosophy has built him a solid reputation with Ranch residents," the Review said. Note also, the paid ad for Magre's business side-by-side with the article, another violation of journalism ethics.
U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK THIS WEEK RELEASED A 162-PAGE LIST BY A TEXAS FIRM CATALOGING MADOFF INVESTORS FOR THE COURT.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE RANCHO SANTA FE AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY RESIDENTS WHOSE MONEY MADOFF MADE OFF WITH IN HIS GRAND SCAM.
(Madoff, left)
1. BOBBI COHEN & EUGENE & SMITH TIC 6290 BRYNWOOD COURT SAN DIEGO, CA 92122.
2. ERNEST ABBIT LIVING TRUST NADINE LANGE LIVING TRUST 2727 DE ANZA ROAD T-27 SD 56 SAN DIEGO, CA 92109
3. ERNEST O ABBIT 2727 DE ANZA ROAD SD 56 SAN DIEGO, CA 92109
4. GERALD J BLOCK P O BOX 7015 RANCHO SANTA FE, CA 92067
5, IRVING PINTO 3310 CAMINITO DANIELLA DEL MAR, CA 92014
6. JAMES SLEEPER 205 S HELIX AVE #64 SOLANA BEACH, CA 92075
7. JANICE H NADLER 4755 BEACHWOOD CT CARLSBAD, CA 92008
8. LEONA KREVAT PO BOX 1747 RANCHO SANTA FE, CA 92067
9. MARTIN S FISHER AND BEATRICE G FISHER TTEES FISHER FAMILY TST DTD 9/17/96 16128 SELVA DRIVE SAN DIEGO, CA 92128
10. MARTIN S FISHER 16128 SELVA DRIVE SAN DIEGO, CA 92128
11. MORRIS FELDER LIVING TRUST 2635 2ND AVE APT 928 SAN DIEGO, CA 92103
12. SYLVIA COHEN SEACREST VILLAGE 211 SAXONY ROAD #164 ENCINITAS, CA 92024
13. TIMOTHY S TEUFEL 15636 OAKSTAND ROAD POWAY, CA 92064 02264
14. VALERIE TEUFEL 15636 OAKSTAND ROAD POWAY, CA 92064
(Photo right, William Gershon, RSF resident, believed ripped off by Madoff)
THE MADOFF SCANDAL CONTINUES UNFOLDING. SOME LISTED BY THE COURT DENY HAVING INVESTMENTS WITH MADOFF. OTHER NAMES ARE NOT ON THE LIST BUT STILL BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN BILKED. ADDITIONAL RANCHO SANTA FE AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY MADOFF CLIENTS, ACCORDING TO A BLOG POST FROM DON BAUDER, LEGENDARY SAN DIEGO BUSINESS WRITER, INCLUDED:
1. Robert J. Mintz of New Balance Investments LLC at a Del Mar address -- the same one his office occupied eight years ago. His Asset Protection Law Center is now in Fallbrook
2. Lawrence and Leona Krevat of Rancho Santa Fe are on the list. He died a year ago. "My husband was invested with (Madoff) from the day he started," says Leona Krevat. "We did not know him personally. We knew a lawyer who knew him and he advised us to get connected with Madoff." They took some of the Madoff money out of their IRA account when her husband reached 70 and a half, as is required by law, "but we still have enough to be significant. I am heartsick over the whole thing. He would send us statements. When the stock market started to recede, we were very happy we were making 10 percent." She has hired a lawyer to try to get money back.
3, William Gershen of Rancho Santa Fe, president of Vanguard Industries, is in with a revocable trust with his wife, Debra. "My attorney has instructed me not to make any comment," says Gershen. An unidentified source close to Gershen says that he did not have that much money in the pot.
Others on the list: Murli and Rani Hathiramani; Morris Felder living trust; Gerald J. Block of Rancho Santa Fe; Patricia F. Slattery of Oceanside; Robert and Sherry McKenzie of Encinitas; Sylvia Cohen of Encinitas; Sylvia F. Wernick revocable trust; John Todd Figi revocable trust; Timothy and Valerie Teufel, Poway; Peter Copen charitable trust, Carlsbad; Dewitt Drury iter vivos trust, Vista; Irving Pinto, Del Mar; James Sleeper, Solana Beach, and Janice Nadler, Carlsbad.
That's the concept at Z Private Post where owner Zion Vohannes mixes mail with coffee milk drinks. The store has fax service and mailbox rentals as well as Wifi and a small cafe outlet serving espresso, pastries and coffee drinks. The café seats about 30 people. It's at 18027 Calle Ambiante, Suite #102, telephone # (858) 759-8400. Enjoy!
Decanter Wine Lounge opened this weekend Jan. 30-31.REVIEWS THE OPENING..."Why would Decanter Wine Lounge & Restaurant invite press (Buzz wasn’t on the list) to an opening that included the public at $45 a pop, for appetizers and main courses, according to the invite that went to Rancho Santa Fe residents? One member of the invited press and a guest arrived to find the public relations person had neglected to add their names to the guest list so the hostess wanted $90. Once in, they encountered a surprising series of food and wine missteps, which they found odd especially if the chef/owner, Jayson Knack (whose resume includes opening Nine-Ten Prospect) wants to make a good impression on potential customers including those who write about the place. Decanter officially opened January 30 and promises nearly 200 wines by the glass with 4500 bottles to choose from."
Decanter signed a seven-year $496,041 lease for a 1,495-square-foot space in Suite 201, according to Burnham officials. Prato Cleaners signed a five-year, $233,436 lease for 1,026-square-feet in Suite 402, said Burnham marketers leasing out space in the center.
Owner Jason Knack has been enthusiastic about fulfilling his dream of creating a wine lounge featuring the nation’s largest selection of wine by the glass. “We’ll be having 200 wines available by the glass,” he said. Knack will be owner and sommelier, the last detail significant considering his many years as a sommelier at some very toney establishments. Originally from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, Knack, 35, was sommelier for the Kimpton Restaurant Group, operating luxury hotels and dining establishments around San Francisco. He also managed the five restaurants for the Sheraton Hotel and Marina in downtown San Diego and a Hillcrest wine bar. “We’ll start construction of our restaurant, and lounge, in September with an official opening date in December,” Knack said. “We’ll be carrying a large wine offering with a full small-plate menu in an area that is really underserved. The fact is this was a unique opportunity to work in an area that enjoys good wine and food.” Entrees will be in the $10-to-$14 range with glasses of wine starting at around $8, and going up through the $18-to-$19 glasses and beyond. Bottles of wine begin at around $35. “We want to create a social atmosphere where people can come in for a few glasses of wine and meet friends,” Knack continued. “We want to provide a space where people walk in and go “Wow, this is beautiful.’” Knack said he liked the Tuscan Village feel to the Cielo shopping center, adding “It’s greatest strength is also its greatest risk. We’re close to people with disposable income, but some of these people have more wines in their wine cellar than a wine bar, so we have to find a way to get them out of their multi-million dollar homes.”
This just in from the "Bubble Markets Inventory Tracking" Blog listing upscale housing inventory and sales (shown in parenthesis) thorugh November. Following this is the presentation on the revamped Heaven's Gate property for sale.
Population 1995: 2.66 million Listing per population ratio 7/1995: 1:138 Population adjusted record high inventory: 22,174 homes.
Inventory numbers are listed first followed by sales figures in parenthesis, with corresponding inventory and sales information from prior year to the right. Inventory include SFR, Condos, MFR, and land parcels, data obtained from ZipRealty. Sales include new and resale homes from DataQuickNews.
AS FOR HEAVEN'S GATE:
Speaking of Heavens in RSF, let's also take this opportunity to do an update on the current incarnation of the Heaven's Gate Compound.
18239 Paseo Victoria, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 --5 beds, 7.0 baths, 8,760 sq ft on 3.1 acres --05/2004: purchased for $1.8 million --xx/2007: razed old compound and reconstructed --10/2007: listed for $10,000,000 --06/2008: re-listed for $8,880,000 --Price Reduced: 07/12/08 -- $8,880,000 to $8,879,999 --Price Increased: 07/17/08 -- $8,879,999 to $8,880,000
Almost a year later these flippers are still waiting for a buyer. Looks like a buyer for spec Heavens in RSF is proving to be more elusive than Do's spaceship to Heaven.
"Except one's got to wonder..., what if there was no UFO connected to that Hale-Bopp comet and that 39 cult members didn't get picked up that day and transported to their celestial paradise.
So that'll be $9 million to live in a 8,760 sqft mansion along with 39 souls in limbo. But then again, maybe Do was right and that UFO did pick them up...
And if we have a contest between Do vs. Duncan and Montecastro, who would be able to sell the most ice to the Eskimos?"
FOR MORE SPECTACULAR PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET MDUE TO $40 MILLION-PLUS OVERDUE PROPERTY TAX BILLS AND OTHER FLIPPIN' FLIPPING ISSUES CHECK OUT THE BLOG'S RSF SECTION BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK....
AND...WHAT IS IT WITH THESE FINANCIAL MAGAZINES AND THEIR TOP WEALTH LISTS? GUESS IT'S GOOD ADVERTISING SINCE, ONCE AGAIN, THE LATEST WEALTHIEST YADA YADA LIST GOT 92067 RANCHO SANTA FE FREE PRESS ATTENTION. BUSINESSWEEK.COM AND ZILLOW.COM PARTNERED UP FOR THIS LITTE DITTY: THE 32 SMALLEST TOWNS WITH THE HIGHEST HOME VALUES.
RANCHO SANTA FE CAME IN 11th PLACE ALTHOUGH THE ACCOMPANYING PHOTO LOOKED SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE ANYWHERE EXCEPT RANCH SANTA FE.
Small Towns with Big Money
From summer resorts to wealthy suburbs, a look at the most expensive small towns in the U.S.
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA Median home sales price: $1,822,094 Population: 3,271 Median household income: $200,000
SoCal Water Summit works through cutback woes (updated Nov. 18)
"I think I'm going to opt out," said Tom Chino, a member of the family that owns Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe. "We'll have to cut down on our crops. But with the economy being so bad, we might not be needing so much anyway. The slowing economy has cut the number of customers."
(Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe: "Spanky")
By Dan Weisman
ESCONDIDO -- Uncertainty, concern and economic fears filled the Grand Ballroom at the California Center for the Arts on Wednesday, Nov. 11 as an Ag Water Summit 2008 sought to provide guidance for soon to be water-strapped growers in San Diego County
Challenged by drought, court orders, new environmental regulations and water supply decisions, some 800 growers, and others, packed the hall looking for answers to some very open-ended questions such as what kind of water plan to try and whether to stay in business.
(Left, RSF Reservoir) The San Diego Farm Bureau organized the event featuring expert speakers and water-related exhibit booths.
"This water situation isn't short-term," said Ken Roth, chairman of the California Avocado Commission's Southern California Agricutural Water Team. "We will have to work with this situation for a while."
San Diego County agriculture is the most water-intensive in the nation. High value nursery crops, citrus and avocados, require large water allotments. (Below, Lake Hodges)
San Diego growers had been getting up to 30 percent discounts from the regional Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that distributes water to SoCal water districts. The flip side of that program was a pledge by growers to take cuts of up to 40 percent of their water allotment should the resource become scarce.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SAN DIEGO AGRICULTURE. THE COUNTY CROP REPORT TELLS THE ENTIRE STORY. TO VIEW IT FOLLOW THIS LINK...
(RSF resident Luawanna Hallstrom was honored recently as "Farmer of the Year" for her work as chief operating officer of her family's Harry Singh & Sons. For more on this prestigious honor follow the Farm Bureau link...)
RANCHO SANTA FE SCULPTOR TURNS JULIAN APPLE ORCHARD OPERATOR
Patrick Brady might not be your grandfather's idea of a farmer.
But the self-proclaimed wilderness lover, highly popular sculptor and, now, apple grower, considers himself the steward of his 10-acre Raven Hill Orchard featuring seven varieties of apples and a steady stream of fruit, and tourists. The orchard began production around 1991 to supply apples to the Julian Pie Company.
"This area is pristine," said Brady between servings of tea and philosophy, including a dissertation on Khalil Gibron's "The Prophet", adding, "It's on the edge of the wilderness. Go up that hill and you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Salton Sea from there. I live in a teepee on the property. It's a natural way to incorporate oneself into one's environment."
Brady believes his orchard transcends time and place as he seeks to educate new generations from the city in the natural arts and bring all generations closer to nature.
"Art helps people see the depth of things," Brady said. "The apple orchard is one of the only places where people can go hunt and gather. There is a primal need of man to hunt and gather."
Brady grew up on an Irish dairy farm. His family lives in Rancho Santa Fe. Along with his brothers, Brady started leasing the orchard in 2006. He built the teepee after the Witch Creek Fire destroyed his home October 2007 and decided to make it a permanent fixture in his lifestyle.
"My favorite aspect of being here is the sense of belonging," Brady said, "belonging to life, belonging to something so much greater than my individual self. Nowhere have I Felt the connection so profoundly than here."
California investigators get down on labor code violations around North County nurseries
Investigators with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement were completing as many as 14 audits this week of 35 nurseries and agricultural operations found violating state labor laws during a recent enforcement sweep, officials said.
Twenty-four, two-person investigative teams conducted labor law violation sweeps throughout the state of 194 agricultural businesses, mainly nurseries, on Sept. 24-25. This resulted in 35 citations, 25 stop work notices and more than $269,000 in fines, said Erika Monterroza, a spokeswoman for the labor standards division. More about the sweep at Nursery Labor Code Violation Story...EXCLUSIVE ON www.92067FREEPRESS.com
(Left, Ampol Orrungroj, a Thailand native, said he was cited for paying in cash violating state labor laws during a North County nursery sweep by state labor investigators. But his mom-and-pop wholesale nursery has only two employees and he later provided the pay records to state officials. However, Orrungroj said he was still hassling with the officials and wanted to tell people it just wasn't fair. Meanwhile, Color Spot Nursery, one of the largest in America with 300 employees in Fallbrook, initially was fined $100,000 for workman's compensation payment violations, but later had the fine rescinded when proper records were produced, officials said.)
GEORGE KOO IS AN OUTSPOKEN, AND CONTROVERSIAL, U.S.-CHINA TRADE EXPERT. IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT FINANCIAL TURMOIL, HE SET OUT TO DEFINE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO BRIDGE THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE TWO CULTURES. AFTER ALL, CHINA HOLDS SOME $1 TRILLION IN AMERICAN DEBT. READ ALL ABOUT IT IN GEORGE KOO SPEAKS.
Macadamia nut harvest season begins this month in Southern California with first signs indicating the crop has rebounded after a tough 2007 that featured frost, freeze and fire cutting output in half. The season runs through January. Check out MACADAMIA NUTS
CAFFE POSITANO OPENS SECOND OUTLET THIS WEEK OF SEPT. 28 TO OCT. 4. SAY HELLO TO DEL RAYO VILLAGE THEN. THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN RECENTLY AS TIM CUSAK AND COMPANY FINISHED PREP WORK FOR THE OPENING. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL THE 6027 PASEO DELICIAS #F LOCATION AT (858) 759-1940.
Speaking of Del Rayo Village, while there how about...
Riding the road to La Lace
By Dan Weisman
Susan Fuller Owner La Lace Boutique
Days spent shopping haute couture at Paris, training for triathlons and pursuing a high-powered legal career aside, Susan Fuller couldn't shake that darn dream. Looking back, days passing to nights, it just kept gaining on her.
La Lace. La Lace Boutique. The Del Mar Country Club resident loves fashion to death. So, when the opportunity arose, coupling a retirement as a patent agent with a highly desirable retail space opening at Del Rayo Village, years of dreams gave way to a solid financial plan and a new age in locally available haute couture lingerie, gowns, bustieres, linens, soaps and gifts. "I thought there was a need for this," said Fuller, sitting behind her designer desk amid a tastefully arrayed display of specially imported objets d' fashion. "I want this to be a destination spot, Fuller continued. "A place where people know they can come and get the service they want. I wanted high-end merchandise, that was quality and unique." The store opened softly last month, a faux Paris Hilton display in the window fronting San Dieguito Road. A more elaborate grand opening with a live fashion show, music, food, and champagne, is set for next month. But the buzz has spread. "It's elegant," said Gracie Mahvi, owner of the burgeoning Gracie Boutique around Rancho Santa Fe and Carmel Valley. "It has something every woman would want to be in," Mahvi said, "because it's how women feel inside — feminine and pretty. It's a perfect addition to the Del Rayo Village." Fuller has three a full-time and three part-time sales assistants. These include Carmel Valley resident Betty Rosenberg, who said early shopping has been brisk and pleasurable. "Working in such a beautiful setting with these gowns, the silks, is fabulous," Rosenberg said. "Everyone just appreciates the quality and they're excited." Fuller has a lifelong love of fashion as well as experience early in her working life in the retail trade. She found herself raising a family while working many years in the legal profession. The last few years, she worked in the highly technical capacity as a patent agent. "I made the decision three years ago to leave the law," Fuller said, "started researching and contacting vendors. I finally retired in August 2006, took four months off since I have worked all my life and then the space became available." That space in the rejuvenated and newly fashion-centric Del Rayo Village got the grand plan moving forward, something Fuller does with seemingly non-stop energy. She finalized her comprehensive business plan, hired interior subcontractors and turned the space into shape. "It's been exciting watching her do what she can do when she puts her mind to it," said Duncan MacDonald, one of Fuller's sons, en route to climbing Mt. Whitney. Service is highly personalized. Lines carried include the best of Sabbia Rose, Ritratti, Eres, Janet Reger, and La Perla. The shop also carries fine European bed linens, soaps, selected gift items. Limited edition candles sell for around $90, basic lingerie for around $100; gowns for $300 to $2,500, bustieres for $250 to $450; camisoles that can be worn inside or outside, $200 to $500. "Some of these things, you have to go to Paris to buy," said Fuller, with years of buying experience throughout Europe and more recent visits to Paris and other European showrooms. "Most of my lines can not be found in San Diego." Fuller isn't resting on her lingerie laurels, though. An active family person, she also is giving some of herself to support an important cause. Fuller is one of 100 invited participants in the Million Dollar Challenge sponsored by Qualcomm. Friends who participated in last year's challenge tweaked her interest in supporting the cause. She has been training for a while to ride the fund-raising 600 miles in seven days, starting Oct. 20. Each rider has pledged to raise a minimum of $10,000 to benefit the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Back to La Lace, it's open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with private shopping available by appointment. La Lace is at 16077 San Dieguito Road, Suite # B4. For more information call (858) 756-2727 or visit www.lalace.com
1. Light at the end of Via de la Valle: As the world, and a greater Rancho Santa Fe, passes them by, Claudia Knorr wonders what it takes to shine some light on her family's internationally recognized business.
2. Lemon Twist, naked sushi, Village Market
3. La Fe Tortilleria keeps the faith – and business – going
4. Jose Balderas, ice cream maker, likes it hot
5. Keebler’s elves have scaled back production and Hostess’ Twinkies are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but for Ne-Mo’s Bakery, it’s the heck with low-carb diets and full speed ahead in profit making while fresh pastry baking.
6. J. D. Anderson loves to grow bananas... California banana plantation is hard to find.
7. T&H Prime Meats and Sausage combines custom cutting with retail sales.
Chino Nojo, or Chino family farm, the best appreciated, premiere boutique fruit and vegetable farm in the nation
As the world, and a greater Rancho Santa Fe, passes them by, Claudia Knorr wonders what it takes to shine some light on her family's internationally recognized business. "So many people have moved here lately, and they don't know we exist," said Knorr, whose family owns, and operates, Knorr Candle Shop and its candle-making factory at Carlsbad. "Or people will stop by and say we've been driving by for 20 years and hadn't stopped by before. "Everybody thinks we're the best kept secret in Rancho Santa Fe," Knorr added. "We are the largest candle shop in the U.S." In this age of mass consumption and confusion, fast times and even faster modes of conveyance and communication, Knorr Candle Shop has remained firmly fixed in its roots. "We're a tradition," Knorr continued. "People have come here to get their candles for 85 years. I just want people who didn't know to know about us. This is beautiful and unique." Added Knorr: "I always say you can't argue in candlelight." Claudia Knorr, and husband Steve Knorr, lights the way for the candle shop these days, a kind of family legacy begun after Steve's grandfather, Ferdinand, left his native Poland, and the rule of the Russian Czar, in 1904. Ferdinand, known as Fred, was a master machinist, a tool and die maker building many of the machines that powered the early economy around the emerging city of San Diego. The first of the North County Knorrs also developed a fascination for bees. He bought 22 acres "to put his bees on in 1923" at what is now 14096 Via de la Valle, according to Claudia Knorr. He produced an improved honeycomb for his bees and started producing dripless, smokeless candles with a gentle fragrance that became all the rage, she said. "He had so much beeswax, he started to make candles," Claudia Knorr continued. "The Rancho Santa Fe Inn and Chino farm were the only things out here. The factory grew. He established the candle shop in 1928. Everyone built around here after that." Henry Knorr, Fred's son, and his wife Judy, took over the operation in 1950. Henry Knorr, now in his 80s, also a master tool and die maker, continues to be a daily, and active presence around the shop, making new machines, advising those who pass by on beekeeping technique and honeymaking. The factory outgrew the Via de la Valle location, so the family moved it to Carlsbad near Palomar Airport in 1994. It's a wholesale and mail order operation, employing 12 people year-round with more than 20 workers during the hectic holiday candle-making season. The candle makers holiday season starts at Halloween and continues through New Year's Day. About 60 percent of the shop's business is done during that period, Knorr said. However, she wouldn't disclose annual sales figures for the professional candle-making world is surprisingly small in number and highly competitive That holiday rush is then and this is now, the candle loving off-season when people wander in off the heavily traveled road to stock up on candles and related gift items. Those in the know head to the shop to stock up on beekeeping supplies available in the back lot. A design outlet owned by some friends also occupies the space. "We're like a huge hive," Knorr said with a laugh. Slow doesn't mean stop though. Sometimes people come in for a candle, or two. Other times, they come in to buy candles seemingly by the pallet-load. One well-appointed lady buys $1,700 worth of candles at a time, intended to fill her houses at Rancho Santa Fe and Las Vegas, Knorr said. "People usually come in here for dinner candles, scented candles for kitchens and gifts, new candles," Knorr added. "But you just never know. Some people will come here from all over for just one scent. We also carry so many candle holders." Candles with crosses, a more Gothic look, are quite in vogue, according to Knorr, along with sculpted candles, household candles, candles in shells and shells in candles. Also very hot these days are wedding invitation candles with the wedding invitation actually emblazoned on the candle. Then, there are "naked lady candles", actually quite G-rated, birthday candles, floating candles, sunflower candles, butterfly candles, and now even the quite popular vegetable candles. That's correct, vegetable candles, candles made to resemble asparagus, peas in a pod and other non-edible versions of fruits and vegetables. One of the more popular items includes fruit inside the candles lending sweet scents to the air while burning slowly into the night. These include sweet citrus, balsam and lemon peels. Another new trend is for candles designated specifically for different rooms in a house. "I'm always trying to find new and unique candles," Knorr said. "All the great candle makers have gone out of business. Everyone is going offshore to manufacture gifts and candles. I am proud of our product and that ours are made in America." Scented jar candles sell for $20 to $25, and burn 40 to 60 hours. Larger pillar candles go for $3 to $50, depending on size. A container filled with beeswax costs $40. The best selling scents on candles include tobacco, lavender, orange, vanilla, and red curry. Industrious is the key word for the shop and the candle making process. It takes 160,000 bees traveling 150,000 miles to collect enough nectar to produce one pound of beeswax. One pound of beeswax makes one pair of solid 12-inch tapers. The candles burn at a rate of 1 1/2-inches per hour. The Knorrs buy their beeswax in bulk. They bring in 500,000 pounds of the stuff annually, trucked in on giant pallets. A typical day at the shop featured people dropping by in drips and drabs. Linda Pickering, from Pauma Valley made a special swing by the candle shop to show her longtime friend Linda Hackert, visiting from Sheridan, Wyo., a thing or two about local ambiance. "We came here just for the candles," Hackert said. "It's just a fabulous place." Jody Moynihan, of Carmel Valley, was trying to gather items for a Cathedral Catholic High School fundraiser later this month. "I usually come around holiday time, Christmas, Halloween," she said. "They have some unique items. It's fun to shop here." That's all good, but the Knorrs feel they have something so unique, so integral to the area's development, history and shopping that they hope more people will get off the road and stop by their shop. The shop is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, visit the Web site at www.knorrcandleshop.com or call (858) 755-2051.
Lemon Twist
Katie Shull this week stopped by the Lemon Twist, or what's left of it since the Witch Creek Fire. She plans to rebuild the stand in a larger structure next year. "When I started the Lemon Twist, Del Dios Highway was more of an old country road than it is now," Shull said. "Farming is in my family. I took the name, Lemon Twist, from my dad's citrus grove in Rancho Santa Fe." Shull and a college friend built Lemon Twist 25 years ago. They began selling fresh navel oranges and other fruits and vegetables that were raised on the family farm, directly behind the fruit stand.
The Village Market was remodeling last week. No big whoop, except for the expansion of inside deli areas and some outside sprucing. Located at 16950 Via de Santa Fe, the market is THE market in town.
Jim Stump founded the place. He was a district manager for Mayfair Markets for more than 20 years. His territory included all of San Diego County from Orange County to the north to the Mexican border in the south.
Stump purchased his first San Diego store in 1977 at Kearney Mesa. The company acquired The Village Market in 1993 when the Big Bear store was discontinued. Stump's family now has six stores, in all, and 240 employees.
Stumps has made every effort to design the Village Market into a natural-gourmet store with an emphasis on service. Contact by phone for more information at (858) 756-3726. On the Web at
La Fe Tortilleria keeps the faith – and business – going By Franklin Fong
SAN MARCOS – In a city with 23,000 Latino residents accounting for 37 percent of the population, La Fe, which means “the faith” in Spanish, has a big hold as the only Tortilleria in town.
“The people in the area enjoy the ability to walk here which is a definite plus,” said owner Hoxsie Smith. “The city envisioned this as an area with residences and businesses in close proximity so you could live and work next door and not have to use a car. Ninety percent of the employees at our restaurant live just around the block.”
La Fe has been in San Marcos for more than 20 years in one form or another. It’s 25 employees produce 2,000 to 3,000 dozen flour tortillas and an equal amount of corn tortillas daily, Monday to Friday. Two delivery trucks and independent distributors take the tortillas across North County, into the city of San Diego to the south and as far north as Newport Beach. Henry’s Marketplace is the largest account.
Wholesale tortilla sales accounts for 70 percent of the company’s overall business, with sales estimated by Smith at $1.3 to $1.4 million annually. Corn is mixed in vats and flour rolled into dough balls before each rolls down separate production lines at the 4,000 square feet building in the heart of the city’s redeveloped Plaza del Paseo Center at 462 West Mission Road.
Vista has a much smaller tortilla factory, but other than that, La Fe is the only, and largest, tortilla maker west of Escondido which features three such factories..
San Marcos officials made La Fe part of an ambitious $18 million redevelopment project executed by the non-profit Southern California Housing Development Corp. about five years ago. Of course, they had to in a way. La Fe sat smack in the middle of the proposed project as well as in the hearts and dining tables of local residents.
Known as Plaza del Paseo, the area now features a vibrant community with 96 low-income apartments, 24 other apartments and 23,000 square feet of retail space with markets, shops, and services of all kinds, including a beauty salon, flower shop, clothing store and video store.
La Fe has a 15-year lease begun in 2002. While the plaza was built, Smith, an Escondido resident who bought the company 10 years ago, had to relocate temporarily to Tulip Street in Escondido. Sales were affected as many customers had trouble finding the new location or getting there.
With the move back to town, sales have been steady although Smith always hopes to improve. He created a La Fe Tortilleria dining experience that has attracted a steady clientele. Still, with its West Mission Road location just off the beaten track that many know as San Marcos Boulevard, Smith wants to get out the word to those who haven’t stopped by just yet.
“A lot of people don’t know we have a restaurant here,” Smith said. “We feel like the people that know about us come back. We have lots of repeat customers. They like our food, our quality, cleanliness and related atmosphere. They see the difference in having our really fresh tortillas and our tamales. We also have a full bakery with Pan Dulce pastries baked fresh daily.”
Restaurant customers also can look first-hand into the tortilla making experience. The facility was designed with glass windows surrounding the factory so interested parties could walk around and watch their tortillas roll off the assembly line.
Smith has taken the experience even farther, hosting tortilla factory tours for schools and educational groups. Recently, the MAAC Head Start program brought three groups of 20 students each to the Tortilleria tour.
“If a school of class calls and wants to do a tour, we always oblige,” Smith said. “We teach the kids about the process, take them through the production area. We let them play with the dough balls and always feed them with cookies before they leave.”
The restaurant has proven especially popular with the younger crowd which is a good thing considering 29 percent of San Marcos residents are under age 18 and 67 percent of Latinos in the county are 34 years old and younger, according to the 2000 Census. Smith said a lot of students from nearby Palomar College, Cal State San Marcos, and San Marcos middle and high schools regularly eat at La Fe as do their teachers.
That was the case Tuesday afternoon as several groups of students chowed down in earnest.
“I come here because the food is good,” said Adalid Castellanos, a sixth grader at nearby San Marcos Middle School. “I love the beans. I’m always here.”
Added Rachel Escalera, who has worked at La Fe since its 2002 return to San Marcos and lives right across the street: “People love the burritos here, the tamales and quesadillas. They definitely like the chicken and rice soup, too.”
La Fe also has a catering service. The panderia/restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 5p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (760) 891-0199.
Jose Balderas, ice cream maker, likes it hot By Dan Weisman
ESCONDIDO – Summertime is when Jose Balderas and his N. Broadway ice cream factory gives Willy Wonka a run for the money.
“Mango, strawberry, rompopo, which is like egg nog, over 20 flavors; popsicles, ice cream bars, it’s alright to eat as much as you want,” Balderas said. “You only live once in this world so enjoy it. What else can you do? It’s an ice cream factory.”
Indeed, Paleteria Azteca, opened by Balderas and family last year, is one of Escondido’s hidden treasures, a small storefront ice cream store in a nondescript strip mall that provides handcrafted ice cream and ice cream-related products daily for a local populace now sweltering with May heat.
“Not too many people sell homemade ice cream, homemade popsicles, ice cream bars, and icicles” continued an effervescent Balderas, 57. “My family had an ice cram business in Mexico. It was my dream to open one in Escondido. People taste the ice cream one time and they always come back.”
Paleteria roughly connotes popsicle factory in Spanish. The Azteca was inspired by Balderas’ wife, Crescencia, who hails from Puebla, a large town about 100 miles southeast of Mexico City, in the shadow of ancient Aztec pyramids.
The Balderas’s worked for years at the KISS International water filter plant in Vista. When the company went belly-up, the couple decided to take a mortgage on their house and sink some $100,000 into a start-up ice cream factory and shop.
The move appears to have been a rousing success. With only word-of-mouth advertising, more than 200 people on weekdays and even larger overflow weekend crowds are bringing in revenues around $20,000 a month. Commercial customers stocking ice cream parlors as far away as Hemet and Perris have become steady buyers as well.
So sweet has the Paleteria Azteca name become that Balderas anticipates opening a Valley Center store some time this year. “Valley Center is a very hot place,” he said. “They need ice cream there.”
What’s more, Balderas anticipates opening a Hemet store within the next year and continues to expand his wholesale business. After all, he has the right stuff, fresh and tasty to which he adds another ingredient of note: absolute dedication and love for ice cream.
Balderas opens the store-slash-factory daily at 8:30 a.m. Each of the 20 flavors of ice cream reside in two, 2 ½ gallon buckets, When the top bucket sells out, he replenishes it with ice cream made of all natural – and locally bought – ingredients created late in the day. The store closes at 10 p.m.
Butter pecan, coconut, French vanilla, guava, rice, even bubble gum with actual bubble gum all roll out of the factory in back using 15 to 20, five-gallon bags of milk a week. Prices basically are $1.25 a scoop, $3.50 for a very large with popsicles costing $1.25 each, a dozen for $10. Balderas also provides ice cream buckets for parties at $40 per which is half-price. He requires a couple days advance notice for that service.
Other Paleteria one-of-a-kind specialties include Bolis de Leche and Bolis de Agua, resembling Italian ices, Elote Preparado which is corn with cheese, salsa and mayonnaise; and Chicharron, a popular pasta dish with cabbage, tomatoes, pork, vinegar, and salsa. Fruit drinks, malts, and other unique specialty drinks generally run between $2 and $4 as do the prepared dishes.
Escondido homemaker Edith Torres was one of the multitude flocking to the Paleteria on Wednesday. She brought her brood, including Justin, 1; John, 10, Steve, 11; and Stephanie, 13.
“We love it here,” Torres said. “I just saw the sign one day last summer when they opened and stopped by. We’ve been coming here once or twice a week ever since. Everything is natural and fresh.”
Sweet words to Balderas’ ears. “I treat people nice,” he said before returning to the ice cream factory in back for another night of his Willy Wonka impersonation. whipping up fresh flavors. “Treating people nice has been the key to my business.”
Well, that and Escondido’s freshest and tastiest ice cream no doubt.
Paleteria Azteca is located at 675 N. Broadway. The phone number is 745-8620.
Ne-Mo’s finds a fresh niche for its nationally distributed fresh cakes and buns By Suzy Creamcheese
ESCONDIDO – Keebler’s elves have scaled back production and Hostess’ Twinkies are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but for Ne-Mo’s Bakery, it’s the heck with low-carb diets and full speed ahead in profit making while fresh pastry baking.
“We don’t have tremendous market share, but we do have tremendous consumer awareness,” said Ed Smith, founder and president of Ne-Mo’s. “We have a very strong, loyal customer base because we care about quality. We crack our own eggs. We use more cream cheese than anyone in the state...We make good stuff and do a good job.”
Ne-Mo’s not only created a niche market for fresh, baked-from-scratch products, but is profitable as well. A regional mass production bakery with national clientele, Ne-Mo’s has major distribution deals with 7-Eleven and Circle K and impressive penetration in the New York City metropolitan area.
North County consumers can find the individually packaged three-to-six ounce treats practically everywhere, from local markets to upscale venues. Cakes generally retail for $1 to $3.
The company has been profitable since Day One. It anticipates $35 to $40 million in sales this year. The company-owned 60,000 square foot production facility at 414-416 N. Hale Avenue soon will be supplemented by a second, 20,000 square foot facility nearby. The company employs 300 people, turning out 90 fresh pastry varieties at the rate of 300,000 cakes a day.
Not bad for a company Smith started in 1975, mixing his own batter in his Carlsbad bathtub and distributing cakes, one convenience store at a time.
A sous chef and baker from Chicago, Smith, 52, settled along the coast in the early 1970s working several bakery jobs to make ends meet. He baked, delivered, and sold pastries, evolving a concept for a specialty bakery, almost unheard of during a time when neighborhood mom-and-pop bakeries handled everything from bread to cookies at one location.
Smith made contacts in the baking and restaurant world, baking pans of carrot cake for well-known San Diego eateries such as Mr. A’s. One day, a local 7-Eleven manager caught on to the carrot cake quality, ordered a pan and almost immediately sold out.
From that start, it was a short distance to individually wrapped cakes and, in 1979 a major contract supplying 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Smith named his company Ne-Mo’s based on his nickname of Ned and his first wife Mary’s nickname of Mona.
“We created a whole cottage industry out of homemade goodness,” Smith said.
Ne-Mo’s relocated to Escondido in 1979. Smith sold the company in 1999 to San Francisco-based Horizon Food Group, an equity group specializing in quality, niche food companies, but remains in charge.
Ne-Mo’s fresh ingredients baked from scratch niche was unusual in the world of mass distributed baked goods. The industry has been dominated by giants going south on the corporate earnings chart. Interstate Bakeries of Twinkies and Wonder Bread fame went $1.3 billion in debt and into bankruptcy. Keebler Foods, a part of Kellogg’s $9 billion empire, drastically cut back production.
But Ne-Mo’s has never lost money in 25 years and continues to expand product lines with such newcomers as pull-apart cinnamon rolls and a projected line of chocolate chip pudding cakes to supplement the popular bundt and carrot cakes, banana and blueberry breads and black-and-white cakes.
“We make money every day or we don’t do the deal,” Smith said. “We are in the business of making money.”
Ne-Mo’s makes money alright, but does so with a relaxed corporate culture that relies on energetic and fully involved employees. More than 100 employees have worked more than 20 years for the company.
Those workers could be seen this week inside the large production facility that turns out cakes non-stop from Sunday night to Friday night, stopping only for a massive weekend clean-up to meet health standards.
Walking among production teams making wild blueberry bread on one side of the facility and chocolate bundt cake on the other, Duffy Burns, vice president for production, said 30 batches of 550-pound batter drums would become several hundred thousand bundt cakes bound for consumers nationwide.
“I like the culture of the place,” Burns said. “Everybody is very committed to doing the job as well as we can. We enjoy the challenge of making something different every day.”
J. D. Anderson loves to grow bananas By Franklin Fong
DE LUZ – A California banana plantation is hard to find.
For starters, there aren’t any producing fruit for the marketplace. That concept is fruitless due to the low cost of imported bananas found in markets everywhere.
Yet, what passes for a California banana plantation does exist. Jerry Anderson has a one acre banana tree plantation producing plant material for sale to nurseries and collectors.
And it’s very hard to find.
A past president of the Palm Society of Southern California, Anderson found the perfect microclimate for propagating banana trees at very, very rural De Luz. It’s miles and miles from nowhere.
J.D. Anderson Nursery that also has eight acres of rare and exotic fruit trees and palms overlooking Ross Lake. The hilltop nursery is about 20 miles northwest of Fallbrook and 30 miles southwest of Temecula.
To get there from anywhere, the hardy seeker of the Haa-Haa, dwarf Brazilian, Manzano, and 57 other varieties of banana must take winding, dirt roads that turn muddy in the winter rain and crack dry in summer.
“Believe it or not, we get people coming out here,” said Anderson with a laugh as he considered the trek that is difficult at best in this remote part of North County, about 75 miles north of San Diego.
“We’re not the most convenient location,” Anderson continued. “Some people start out grumpy when they get here, but their attitude changes as they walk around. We’ve been here almost 15 years. I was a plant enthusiast way back when. The place just evolved.”
Anderson is a San Clemente resident whose vast palm and rare fruit tree collection outgrew his Orange County home. This sent him seeking the semi-tropical; microclimate in a no-frost zone he found at De Luz.
“This is a very unique location with a mild climate that allows us to grow many of the tropical plants that we love,” Anderson said. “We’re just plant nuts.”
The nursery sells five separate categories: palms, cycads, bananas, tropical fruit, tropical plants. As befits a palm society leader, Anderson grows 400 to 500 palm species, believed to be the largest collection of different palm species in California.
Anderson also grows 20 varieties of mangoes, 100 cherimoya trees, 150 avocado trees, jack fruit, lichiis, longan, jaboticabas, and other fruit. Trees are used for cutting that nurseries and collectors re-plant and grow.
It’s all good, but in the course of his pursuit of rare and large tropical trees Anderson discovered a niche and a need. Nobody grew banana trees on the West Coast. So, it was hello Haa-Haa and full speed Manzano ahead.
The Haa-Haa is a dwarf banana plant with yellow skin and orange-colored flesh. Manzano produces large bunches of fruit with a sweet apple-like flavor. Dwarf Brazilian, Maia Maoli – 60 varieties in all – jut from the giant boulders and craggy soil at J. D. Anderson Nursery.
“I think the boulders absorb heat and release it at night,” Anderson said. “Banana plants will grow in poor soils if you give them what want in fertilizer and mulch. They take some room to grow. We water them every couple of days through drip irrigation. The largest problem is gophers. They just love banana trees and will eat right into the bulb. We set traps for them.
“A lot of people think if you don’t eat it, why grow it, but I like the aesthetics,” Anderson said. “I like the look of a banana tree, It’s very tropical. A lot of people get turned off by the banana trees because they look bad when heavy winds hit them. If you clean them up, they make wonderful landscaping plants.”
Anderson added: ““I like to be able to sit out and enjoy the looks of the garden. You forget all about what is going on. The world could be falling apart and you are at peace in the garden. Enjoy. It’s relaxing. Home Depot isn’t the only place to buy plants. They dominate, but you’re not going to find certain things.”
Anderson’s enthusiasm appears to be shared by many although he declined to reveal sales figures. A recent special sales event at the remote nursery drew hundreds. On this particular day, Kimberly Cyr, a Point Loma financial consultant and husband Steve, an architect, took the two hour drive north to stock up on palm and banana trees.
“This is way out in the middle of the boonies,” Cyr said. “A lot of plants you get here, you can’t get anywhere else. I’m morphing my garden to a tropical garden. I have some bananas we grew from pups. Bananas grow so fast, give your garden quick shade and that tropical look.”
A collector, Cyr said she also had 18 different palm trees, adding, “You can become obsessed with this stuff. You find yourself getting sucked into it. All these neat plants that are so beautiful; you have to have them.”
Banana trees are hot, too. “People have come from Texas and out of state,” Anderson said. “Somebody called from Denver and wanted mysore ( a reddish-brown plant with sweet fruit). We get a lot of drive-up traffic in the summer. We get a lot of collectors along with landscapers.”
A nursery visit isn’t necessary for those craving banana trees. Anderson ships anywhere. He takes the pups, or offshoots – “basically like a bulb,” he said – cleans and packs them for shipment. Pups go for $15 to $45, depending on type, and Anderson suggests starting them in a pot before transplanting. He also sends along growing instructions.
Dwarf varieties grow 7 to 10 feet; others can get up to 15 to 18 feet, or more, and plants can display a wide variety of leaves, fruit and other characteristics.
In the United States, only Hawaii has commercial banana plantations, with 1,600 acres that yielded $9.2 million in crops in 2003. “They grow like a weed in the tropics,” Anderson said. “It’s more of a hobby in California.”
Actually, at least one person has tried a Californian commercial banana operation in recent years, Anderson said, referring to Doug Richardson’s seaside Gardens along Highway 101 in Carpenteria.
“Doug had 30 acres of bananas and an exotic fruit stand,” Anderson said. “He sold bananas for $1.50 a pound. That’s kind of a crazy venture since you’re really not going to make money. They bulldozed his plants (in 1998 or 1999).”
Yet, amid the glory of his banana jungle, Anderson has one regret. “Coconuts,” he said. “We can’t grow coconuts here. I’ve tried many times.”
To that end, Anderson’s palm society contacts hooked him up to the ultimate tropical connections on the Big Island of Hawaii. Anderson bought a three acre property at Pahoa in 2001 where he can propagate even more varieties of palm and banana trees and maybe coconuts, too.
Anderson’s son Dan, 22, handles De Luz duties while he is away. “I’m producing a lot of seed material in Hawaii.” Anderson said. “Going back and forth to Hawaii is crazy.”
T&H Prime Meats and Sausage combines custom cutting with retail sales By Suzy Creamcheese
SAN MARCOS – A new Mission Hills High School helped business at T & H Prime Meats and Sausage, but in an unanticipated way.
“The big help for us was the traffic light put in last September (at Mission Hills Court),” said San Marcos resident Jacob Kappeler, T&H Prime Meats owner and master sausage-maker who doubles as president of the California Association of Meat Processors.
“A lot of people would drive around the curve on Mission Road at 50 miles per hour and never see us,” Kappeler said. “Now they see us and turn in to the store. It’s a positive.”
Kappeler, 68, a Swiss native, earned a horticulture degree from the University of Zurich while adopting sausage-making as a hobby. He emigrated to a New York farm in 1963, then relocated to Brawley in the Imperial Valley where he owned a sugar beet farm. He also honed his sausage-making craft, providing prime sausage for service club and church fund-raisers while winning numerous awards in statewide competitions and exhibitions.
T&H Prime Meats and Sausage debuted in 1995 at a 6,000-square-foot building at 735 E. Mission Road.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Paul Paxton, a Sprint safety manager who has been coming to T&H Prime Meats since 1999. “I bring in hogs, turkeys, and chickens from my Fallbrook farm. Jacob has people who come to our house to slaughter the meat. He kills it right there, plucks it, guts it, cleans it up, vacuum packs. I also buy half a steer from the kids at the Del Mar Fair.”
Ray Feist, an Oceanside attorney, came in with father-in-law Paul Cornell, 90-something, and interested in fresh Gouda also featured at the store. “I’ve been coming here five or six years,” Feist said. “Jacob does a great job with wild game and boneless stuffed pigs.”
Currently, Kappeler and his butchers have been deluged with Del Mar Fair auction purchases. People buy the animals from students who display them at the fair. The auction money finances many local agricultural programs in schools and 4-H Clubs. A mobile slaughter man slaughters the animals with the carcasses taken to T&H Prime Meats.
“We’re custom cutting and processing a huge amount from the fair,” Kappeler said. “We have a cut list: T-bones, porterhouse, filet mignons, roasts chuck roast cross-rib, prime rib. We hang beef a minimum of two weeks, but we try to cut pork and lamb as fresh as possible, at least by the next day.”
A good sized beef carcass of about 800 pounds ultimately costs the consumer about $700, or 79 cents a pound. The custom cut business has boomed in recent years, a development Kappeler links to 9/11, after which some people felt safer growing their own animals than counting on a possibly contaminated food supply.
About 65 percent of Kappeler’s business is custom cutting, done on-site with meat stored in a huge freezer. The store handles custom cutting exclusively from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
T&H Prime Meats turns into a retail Mecca from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Freezer beef runs $3.99 a pound. Numerous award-winning sausages, and other meats are available. Jalapeno cheddar has been most popular sausage recently selling at $5.99 a pound..
“Sausages have been the fastest growing fad food in past three years in America..because everybody turns out better sausage these days,” Kappeler said. “They’ve seen the light and don’t put in all those fats anymore, even if the price is higher. Even with low-fat and other diets, people still see the need eating meat. Once they are hooked on good meat, they stay with it. I see it as a good thing.”
REVIEWS THE OPENING...
Owner Jason Knack has been enthusiastic about fulfilling his dream of creating a wine lounge featuring the nation’s largest selection of wine by the glass. “We’ll be having 200 wines available by the glass,” he said.
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Susan Fuller Owner La Lace Boutique
