These photos are from Sunday at Alpine Village in Torrance, where they hosted a benefit concert and a classic car and bike show. The concert had four bands, with headliners The Fabulous Thunderbirds and three bands from Wild Records; The Rhythm Shakers, The Delta Bombers and The Neumans. I guess I am getting old because the definition of a \”classic\” was 1992 or earlier. As you can see from the photos, the cars that showed up were indeed classics. The music was definitely classic. The crowd was small, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and that is really what it is all about. Having a good time while doing something good for others. Continue reading
These photos are from the Torrance Centennial Birthday Bash which was held Sunday at Wilson Park in Torrance, CA. I have to say, this was a very fun family event that included arts and crafts, live music, games for the kids, food trucks, a petting zoo and culminated with the release of 100 doves and a parachutist team that came down with a centennial flag along with flags of Torrance, California, and an American flag. It was a beautiful day and those that took advantage of it seemed to have a great time.
There seems to be some discrepancy as to whether the City of Torrance was founded on October 24, 1912 or October 28, 1912 but it is clear that we had much better weather today than they had 100 years ago. Torrance has grown a lot in the last 100 years and I am sure the next 100 will be just as prosperous; someone will have to update this for me as I probably will not be around. Continue reading
These photos are from the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the new Chase Bank located at the corner of Hawthorne Blvd. and 182nd St. in Torrance which was held Friday, October 26. The event was attended by the Mayor, a few city council members and representatives from the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC). While it may seem that there are more Chase Banks than Starbucks in Torrance these days, this branch is a little different than others in the area. The new branch was built \”green\” and the technology inside the bank is different with its upgraded ATM\’s. From what I can tell, the purpose is to allow customers to do more transactions without the assistance of a teller. For instance, the new ATMs will provide currency in denominations other than just twenty dollar bills. The bank has also included a drive up ATM as well as the walk up type for after hours banking.
Chase Bank is offering some tempting offers with cash rewards for opening new accounts with them, with up to $500 available if you open the account with a large enough deposit. With today\’s interest rates, that is a pretty nice bonus. If interested, visit the new branch for more details. Continue reading
These photos are from the Business & Beer return visit to the El Segundo Brewing Company (ESBC) tasting room. This was our second visit to ESBC and we had a few more people than our first visit there, so that was a good thing. El Segundo Brewing, also known as Blue House Ales, is a microbrewery that makes some of my favorite IPA\’s (White Dog and Two 5 Left). They also have some nice pale ales as well as their Hyperion Stout. Last night they offered a vanilla bean stout that was so good we had to bring a growler home with us. Since it is football season and ESBC offers tacos for Thursday Night Football, their Thursday night visitors usually stick around a little longer. Since the World Series is going on, they showed the San Francisco Giants winning game two instead of football, but I heard no complaints about that. Since there was a pretty large group of people not associated with Business & Beer, we had a few people asking about the Business & Beer concept, so we may have gained some new attendees.
Next week we will be returning to Strand Brewing Company in Torrance. Strand Brewing is one of my favorite microbreweries in Torrance and has a great selection of ales, IPA\’s and a nice stout. This will be our third visit to Strand Brewing, so you know it is a crowd favorite; if you have not joined us there yet, you are in for a treat.
Remember, if you are a small business owner in the South Bay or work for a company that networking is an important part of your job duties, Business & Beer is something you want to check out. Everyone that comes is looking to network and we all enjoy American craft beers. If you want to be sure you are always aware of our upcoming events, please sign up to our mailing list on BusinessNBeer.com and Like our Facebook page. We have a nice group of people attending and there is always good beer. We have no dues or mandatory meetings, so this is a networking group with no downside. Continue reading
Wednesday evening, The Beach Reporter crowned Ortega 120 in Redondo Beach as their October 2012, Restaurant of the Month. I discovered Ortega 120 in 2009 when I saw them on a local news station on Cinco de Mayo. What caught my interest was that the \”120\” in the name referred to the number of tequilas they served. I immediately knew that was where I had to spend that Cinco de Mayo. I was happy to discover that not only did they carry more tequilas than I will probably ever try, but they had really good food too. I think that having the lady up front making tortillas in front of everyone was an indicator that they had confidence in the freshness of their product. Not only do they have great food, but their Margarita has been named the best in LA for a couple years now. I have returned several times since.
Tonight\’s event was very well attended and there were appetizers, live music and $5 Margaritas. It was a recipe for a fun evening. Congratulations to Ortega 120 on being named Restaurant of the Month for October 2012 and thank you to The Beach Reporter for the invitation. I can not wait for your next event. Continue reading
These photos are from the grand opening, open house and ribbon cutting at Sign*A*Rama South Bay, located at 1820 W. Carson Street in Torrance. My regular readers know that I have been concentrating my efforts in 2012 towards promoting local businesses, so when the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC) made us aware of the upcoming event I made a point of reaching out to the owners of this new business to offer them some free exposure. I have to admit, this was one of the more fun ribbon cutting events I have attended in the last year. Not only did they offer wine, beer and snacks, but they also had a DJ providing music and an appearance by The Soozi Show. I am not sure if they were expecting any kids or not, but all the adults sure seemed to enjoy her \”high-jinx\” and balloon creations.
The City of Torrance welcomed Sign*A*Rama with the mayor and about four city council members as well as a large contingent from the Chamber of Commerce. I was only able to stay a couple of hours, but it looked like everyone was having a good time and I noticed some networking going on. Looking around the shop I could see that Sign*A*Rama does posters, banners, fliers and signs of all types and sizes and it appears they do it all in-house. If you support local business and you need a sign made, you might want to check out Sign*A*Rama South Bay. I noticed that if you order online, you get an immediate 10% off; so if you need additional incentive, there you go. Continue reading
Saturday afternoon, October 20, 2012, was the first Hollywood On Tap beer festival benefiting The Blank Theatre Company. This fund raising event was held at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The festival included more than 40 craft brews and included dozens of local craft brewers, several food trucks and live music. 100% of the proceeds went to benefit The Blank Theatre Company, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Regular readers of this blog know that I have been attending many beer festivals sin the last several months; so of them have been going on for a while and a few of them have been first time events. If I did not know better, I would have thought this was an event that had been going on for a while. It was very well done.
They had just under 1,000 attendees which is very good for a first time event, and there were no obvious issues for anyone. The live music included a Who tribute band and a couple others along with a DJ. While the Who cover band was my favorite, it was pretty obvious everyone was enjoying all the music. As far as the beer was concerned, there were several award winners from the 2012 Great American Beer Festival held last week. I could go on, but looking at the photos will show you what a good time it was and how much fun people were having. I am really glad we went and I can not wait to see what happens should they have a 2nd Annual Hollywood On Tap. I sure hope that happens; I will be there if it does.
The watermark was donated to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for RA patients, by RA patients. Continue reading
These photos are from our Business & Beer meet-up at the Alpine Inn at Alpine Village in Torrance. It was our 15th gathering and we had 15 attendees; coincidence? Probably. I have to say I was pretty surprised at the number of people that came out. The last time we did Business & Beer at Alpine Inn we only had eight people come out. That was pretty much the reason that we set Alpine Village as the furthest south we would venture with our group. If we continue to grow the way we are, I may have to consider expanding our reach a little.
Next week, October 25, Business & Beer will be headed to El Segundo Brewing Company (ESBC), in El Segundo, CA. El Segundo Brewing is a micro brewery that creates some of the finest hand-crafted ales in the South Bay. Usually the micro breweries we visit do not provide food, however, since it is football season they will have tacos available. I have been informed that they will try to have something special to tap for that evening. In addition, because our group is growing, we will likely meet inside the brewhouse. It should be a great time.
If you are a business owner in the South Bay and/or networking is an important part of your business model, you should consider joining us. To stay current with our upcoming events you can get on our mailing list and Like Us on Facebook. We support local brewers and local business so come on down. The worst that can happen is you will have a good beer with some good people. Hope to see you soon. Continue reading
Monday evening was the opening night for the 1st Annual Rocktoberfest at LA Live, which began with a charity jam with the proceeds from this evenings function going to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. Gene Simmons got on stage and played a set with the band along with several others. Wolfgang Puck provided the food for an Octoberfest meal with a California twist. There were lots of celebrities whose names I do not know, but James Gandolfini, Nikki Sixx and Bill Engvall were among those I did recognize. The true stars were the Wounded Warriors that attended tonight\’s event.
Besides the food, beer and live entertainment there was a silent auction for everything from beer, to signed guitars to a wedding package. This silent auction goes on until Rocktoberfest ends on Sunday, October 21. Every night there are different events going on at LA Live so if you are looking for something fun to do this week, you might want to check out LA Live. You can get more details at Rocktoberfest.com. Continue reading
These photos are from Chef Shafer\’s 17th Annual Halloween Ball, benefiting the Pediatric Therapy Network which was held yesterday in Old Torrance. Chef Shafer is the owner of The Depot and Buffalo Fire Department restaurants, both located in downtown Torrance. He was also the recipient of this year\’s Torrance Citizen of the Year Award and I suspect that this event is one of the reasons he was presented with this honor. Chef Shafer said when he started this fundraiser there were less than 50 attendees and he was able to host it in his restaurant. Yesterday\’s event had more than 750 attendees and required several tents out together which took an entire block of Cabrillo Avenue.
Besides the costume party, live musical entertainment and dinner there were a couple of auctions and some raffles to help raise monies for the Pediatric Therapy Network (PTN). There were four tables of items available in the silent auction which offered everything from beer to a big screen TV. It was obvious that by the end of the night a very large sum was raised for the PTN and judging by the photos, everyone had a great time.
The Pediatric Therapy Network is a Torrance located non-profit children\’s therapy center founded by therapists and parents committed to providing quality services for children with special needs. Their ambassadors seemed to enjoy the event as much as everyone enjoyed having them there. This was my first time attending, but I have a feeling it will not be my last. Continue reading