Corona del Mar Today: Ceremony welcomes new juice bar

Local and state officials were on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning to welcome Corona del Mar’s newest juice bar, Sejuiced Superfood Juice Bar, at 2744 E. Coast Hwy.

“Welcome to Corona del Mar,” said Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich just before the owners used oversized scissors to cut a red ribbon. “We love to have new businesses in the community.”

Owners Kelly and Richard Meeker, who live on Fernleaf Avenue, said they had been working for years on their juice business, which opened earlier this year, and have a regular clientele.

“We’re the only [juice bar] that cold-presses on site,” Kelly Meeker said. “We also are all organic, and we use glass bottles. If you are juicing to improve your health, you want cold-pressed, organic and glass bottles.”

Kelly Meeker created all the Sejuiced recipes, which include three coconut smoothies and other drinks that contain bananas, kale, bee pollen and pink salt.

The Sejuiced brand also offers raw snacks and juices, including a Good Karma drink with carrot, pineapple, orange and turmeric and a Purifier drink with watermelon, strawberry and mint.

Richard Meeker said the couple plan to expand their menu to include more choices for kids as well as a cleansing juice regimen.

“We want to encourage healthy eating,” he said.

The ribbon-cutting, with free samples, drew about 20 people. A representative for state Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) presented the Meekers with a certificate. Representatives from the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce also attended.

The shop is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

The space formerly was occupied by a dry cleaning business.

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El Cholo to open officially Monday

Corona del Mar’s newest restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner beginning Monday — but customers who are curious about El Cholo’s cuisine can already stop in for a sneak peak, according to a sign in front of the business.

“We are currently in training to serve you better,” the sign states. “Please join us for dinner starting on Wednesday the 18th through Sunday, the 22nd. Monday the 23rd we will be open for lunch and dinner. See you soon.”

The restaurant, at 3520 E. Coast Hwy., originally had a September opening date. The restaurant will replace Landmark, which closed last spring.

A customer who said she dined at El Cholo on Friday during the soft opening gave the restaurant a rave review.

“It was really kid friendly, with fantastic service,” Amanda Walter said. “We’ll make it a regular spot. It’s a great addition to Corona del Mar. Everybody was super nice, from the manager who came to talk to us down to the person busing our table. We had a great time.”

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Library, pocket park on council agenda

The Newport Beach City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a contract to develop a pocket park on the sloped, grassy area below the Hobie Surf Shop mural in Corona del Mar.

Members will also consider hiring an architect for a project that would combine the Corona del Mar fire station and library.

Selich first suggested creating the park in 2012, and the property owner agreed to donate the land. But the owner died before the transfer was complete, causing a delay. The mayor announced in January that the park was able to move forward.

Clean Cut Landscape has offered a bid of $78,670. The total budget for the park is $95,000 to cover contingencies. The 1,300-square foot park will require about $5,000 a year for maintenance, a staff report states.

“The proposed improvements will aesthetically enhance the area and provide a place for patrons to enjoy the scenery along Coast Highway,” a staff report states. “Park features include terraced, drought-tolerant landscaping, an irrigation system, low block retaining walls, bench seating and walkway, and up-lights for the existing adjacent wall mural.”

Construction must be complete in 70 consecutive working days, the staff report states. Work will include traffic control.

The City Council also is expected to vote on whether to award a $457,750 contract to WLC Architects for a project that would demolish and rebuild the Corona del Mar fire station and library on Marigold Avenue. Both buildings are more than 60 years old and “have exceeded their intended service life and need to be replaced,” a staff report states.

The report states that staff previously issued a “minor contract” of $2,400 to WLC to “brainstorm” conceptual floor plans.

The proposed library size would be a third smaller than the current facility.

A “rough conceptual layout” document included in the staff report shows a two-story fire station, with living quarters for firefighters on the upper floor. The library is one floor and is shown as a blank rectangle, but library Director Tim Hetherton said the library is not an afterthought.

He explained that features would be added after the city conducts community outreach. The fire station had certain requirements for equipment bays and driveway access, he explained, that needed to be considered as a priority in planning.

Library board trustee Jerry King of Corona del Mar recently expressed concern that information about the plans had not been available to residents, and that the library space should not be reduced.

Library trustees and Corona del Mar Resident Assn. board members encouraged members of the public to reach out to City Council members with concerns or comments about the project.

Design, review, plan check and outreach will take 12 months, the report said. Relocation and construction could begin by late spring 2016, with construction taking 12 to 14 months.

The City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center at 100 Civic Center Drive.

Corona del Mar Today appears Sundays in the Daily Pilot. Read daily updates at coronadelmartoday.com.