Greer’s OC: Each item like a small piece of history
Yoki Shop recently relocated to a new store in Newport Beach on the Coast Highway. The shop is the brainchild of its owner and founder, Jeff Yokoyama, a longtime surf industry veteran who designs Generic Youth, Yoki’s Garden and Pidgin Orange clothing lines. They’re based on three tenets he strongly believes in: design, make and sell different.
Purchasing a Yoki Shop apparel item is like taking home a piece of history, whether it be an iconic USC football jersey repurposed into a skirt for Yoki’s Garden; a beach towel that once traveled to a tropical beach and is now a pair of hip shorts or a hoodie; or an interior designer bolt of fabric that’s been made into a cool Generic Youth jacket.
Yokoyama is committed to non-waste, repurposing materials and manufacturing local. The collections are mostly made from salvaged materials, and many are one of a kind. Stop by the new store to pick up a hoodie, tank top, hat, boardshorts, tees, aprons, popular Fight On Fingers, logo apparel and more.
Yoki Shop is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 2429 W. Coast Hwy., Suite 102 in Newport Beach. For more information, call (949) 650-5511 or visit https://www.yokishop.com.
Free lunch for veterans
Soprano’s, a favorite local Italian restaurant in Costa Mesa, is honoring veterans this Friday by offering veterans or anyone currently in the military a complimentary lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Soprano’s offer fresh Italian recipes handed down from the owner, Brooklyn-born Joe Morano’s Italian grandmother. Favorite menu items include penne alla Joe’s Nana, lightly breaded eggplant and fresh ricotta with housemade marinara sauce; and penne con sarge with sliced grilled chicken and sundried tomatoes in a light cream sauce flavored with tarragon and cognac.
Also choose from antipastis, insalate, hot and cold sandwiches on Italian baguettes, homemade calzones, pastas, entrée specials and fresh made-to-order pizzas.
Soprano’s is open for lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and dinner 4:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday at 2400 Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa. For more information, call (949) 645-8515.
Café Lucca in Irvine is also honoring Veterans Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday by giving all active-duty military and veterans a free lunch plate (choose from sandwiches, salads and pastas) with a soft drink or coffee. “There are no strings attached — we encourage those who have served our country in the past, or are doing so now, to come in and allow us to express our appreciation with a small gesture,” co-owner and chef Cathy Pavlos says. “It’s the least we can do for all that they do to serve and protect our country.”
Cathy and her husband Elliot Pavlos are celebrating the day in honor of her father, a Korean War veteran who passed away earlier this year. Guests can also leave their name, rank, company and dates of service to be thanked in within Lucca’s weekly e-newsletter.
Lucca is in the Quail Hill Village Center at 6507 Quail Hill Parkway in Irvine. For more information, call (949) 725-1773 or visit https://www.luccacafe.com.
Free beauty treatments
On Veterans Day, men and women associated with the military, either active duty or reservists, spouses and mothers, can come into any Marinello Schools of Beauty campus (excluding Spa Academy locations) and receive a free spa manicure and pedicure. Also, Marinello Schools of Beauty campuses will be giving “Marinello Loves Our Vets” postcards for vets who are based overseas. Upon their return, the postcards offer vets a free haircut and 20% off any service, redeemable through Valentine’s Day 2012.
In Orange County, Marinello Schools of Beauty can be found at 663 N. Euclid St., Anaheim, (657) 549-6131; at 19022 Brookhurst St., Huntington Beach, (714) 962-8831; or
at 23635 El Toro Road, Suite K, Lake Forest, (949) 586-4900.
Help autistic surfers
Calling all surfers! The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is gearing up for its second annual surfing Santa competition at 8 a.m. Nov. 19 to help children with autism. Simply dress like Santa, surf Salt Creek and you can raise money for Surfers Healing and children with autism.
The Surfing Santa Competition features a $1,000 prize for the Flying Rudolph Big Air category. Other categories include Santa’s Helpers (15 and under), Santa’s Elves (16- to 20-year-olds), Toymakers (ages 20-plus) and Yule Loggers (open longboard).
Newly added this year is a bodyboarding heat. The winner receives $500, with a portion of the proceeds from entries for the heat going to support the Eddie Solomon Cancer Foundation. The entry fee is $40 per person and includes the contest and a “Surf Swag Bag.”
Surfers Healing exposes the people living with autism to the therapeutic experience of surfing. Founders Israel and Danielle Paskowitz discovered that their autistic son Isaiah suffered from sensory overload and that the ocean served as a calming respite.
The Ritz-Carlton’s Community Footprints program includes the surf contest and the annual Holiday Surfboard auction, and has raised more than $57,000 in the last three years. The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is at One Ritz Carlton Drive in Dana Point. For more information, call (949) 240-2000 or visit surfingsantacontest.org.
Offbeat treasures
Upscale flea market finds ranging from new to vintage treasures can be found at the Pelican Courtyard in Newport Beach from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The flea market returns every second Saturday of the month. Shop from an eclectic mix of one-of-a-kind home accessories, upholstery, art, jewelry, apparel from Button Up Wrap, vintage scarf headbands by Recyclicious and much more. The Courtyard is in the Mariner’s Mile area at 124 Tustin Ave. in Newport Beach. For more information, visit https://www.pelicancourtyard.com.
Triple roller derby
Fans of the OC Roller Girls can catch three games Saturday at the Rinks in Huntington Beach. At 6 p.m., the Rolling Knockouts take on the Crash Test Bunnies; then, at 7 p.m., the Psycho Ex-Girlfriends compete against the Hidden City’s Heebie Jeebies from Oceanside. The final game takes place at 8 p.m. when the OC Roller Girls’ Blockwork Orange skate against the Wildfires from San Diego Derby Dolls. Tickets range in price from $12 for general admission to $22 for VIP bleachers.
The Rinks is at 5555 McFadden Ave. in Huntington Beach. For more information, visit ocrollergirls.com.
Working Wardrobes benefit
Costa Mesa-based Working Wardrobes is hosting a morning of food and fashion at Baubles & Bags from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda.
Enjoy a delicious brunch by Crème de la Crème catering and runway fashions by Rakish. Proceeds from the brunch will support Working Wardrobes’ programs and services that help men and women confidently reenter the workforce. Guests can contribute to the “Dress the Client” initiative, where they will be able to purchase clothing for dolls and pledge support to Working Wardrobes.
Guests can also shop for a cause at the Hanger pop-up shop, featuring clothing and accessories. (The Hanger boutiques in Laguna Niguel and Tustin are upscale consignment stores, with proceeds supporting the organization’s mission.)
Also, you can enter an opportunity drawing for handbags from St. John’s and Dooney & Bourke, as well as bid on silent auction items such as a “girl’s shopping weekend” at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, tickets to see “Dancing with the Stars” and South Coast Plaza shopping and valet passes.
Individual tickets for Baubles & Bags cost $100.
To purchase tickets and for more information on the event, call (714) 210-2460 or visit https://www.workingwardrobes.org.
The Nixon Library is at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. in Yorba Linda.
GREER WYLDER writes Greer’s OC for the Huntington Beach Independent each Thursday and the Daily Pilot and Coastline Pilot each Friday. She’s the founder and president of greersoc.com, a free daily e-mail service that provides the latest in Orange County fashion, dining, music, events and trends. Her blog can be viewed https://www.greersoc.com and she can be contacted at greer@greersoc.com.