9 minute read
Featured Pro: Amber Gay-Young’s Big Ojai Adventures
BY ILONA SAARI
Amber Young-Gay was aptly named, since her golden presence defines the word “energy.” Her early childhood was spent in the hustle and bustle of Sacramento, California’s state capital. Her mom, Glenda Young (a/k/a Bodhi, now a retired teacher), worked as a bartender/waitress at a restaurant in Old Sacramento owned by Amber’s aunt.
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AMBER & SAM’S WEDDING DAY AMBER & SAM AT A CELEBRATION AT THE VINE
Lyric by Nicholas Hexum of 311
In the basement was a light-up dance floor with mirrors by the bar. After-hours, before her mom would take her home, Amber played whatever she wanted on the jukebox and danced her “little girl, Shirley Temple-fueled heart out.”
When Amber was ten, she and Glenda moved to the East Bay area of San Francisco when Glenda took a job with Amber’s father, Wes Berg, at his playground building business. Soon, Amber began marching with the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps and Winterguard program where her golden energy was on full display. She dreamed of being in the world-class “A” Corps, and auditioned for the Blue Devils “A” Corps six times, only to be rejected each time. But, like a golden energizer bunny, Amber persisted and finally was accepted in the Corps.
During her middle-school years she lived with her mom in San Leandro and commuted 45 minutes to school so she could continue her education in the same school district. “After school, I would take the public bus to the end of the line at the Pleasanton BART station, where I would catch a second bus that would drop me at the end of the street where my mom worked and we would drive home,” she recalls. It may not be the harrowing stories parents tell their kids about trudging six miles through rain and snow to get to school, but it was a trek for a young kid to do five days a week.
After attending several community colleges, Amber worked and continued her education (that energy thing) online at Union Institute and University, where she could work with the faculty to design an independent studies program and achieve her Bachelors of Arts degree. “During my time there, I did a comprehensive study of the Beat Generation, Children’s Literature and Women and Food,” she says. Her career goal was to become a high school English teacher. “But, after graduation in 2008, the economy was tanking and the thought of taking on my debt for a job that pays so little didn’t make sense to me.”
While growing up in Northern California, Amber spent a great deal of time in Ojai visiting her Aunt Lori and Uncle Cam Schryver, who ran the horse department at Thacher School. She fell in love with the Valley and, at age 22, moved to Ojai to live with her aunt, uncle and cousins. “Aunt Lori can throw together a meal for twenty people at the drop of a hat and I always wanted to be able to do that. Through high school I would ‘entertain’ by throwing sitdown dinner parties for my friends,” she remembers
AMBER & SAM BEHIND THE BAR AT THE VINE
(a skill that would be needed when she became a saloon/ restaurant co-owner). It wasn’t long before she was out on her own. Through a “temp” employment agency, she got a job at City Hall, starting as the office specialist in the City Manager’s Office, then moved on to run the yearly Ojai Day event, manage the Libbey Bowl and act as the Deputy City Clerk. She was eventually wooed by the Ojai Music Festival to be the operations and events manager. That golden energy thing was fully radiating.
At the popular Village Jester pub, owned by Nigel Chisholm, Amber first met Sam Gay. Though both were in other relationships, they’d see each other around town from time-to-time, and when they became single again, they reconnected and began dating. After the Jester closed, Nigel bought The Vine and turned it into another popular tavern/saloon with good drinks and great music. One Sunday night during a date at The Vine, Sam proposed to Amber “with Danny McGaw and the 33 playing our song with Nigel singing.” They married “on a budget” in 2019 in Twain Harte, California where Sam’s parents have a cabin. That Vine-woven kismet continued when Nigel put the tavern/saloon on the market and Sam and Amber decided to buy it.
A native Ojaian, Sam graduated from Nordhoff high school, but left Ojai to attend Penn State. During his college years, he worked as a line-cook in a go-to breakfast restaurant for college kids, often serving more than 200 breakfasts over a weekend to “hung over” students. He learned to prep and cook at a fast pace — a skill that became an asset a few years later when he and Amber opened The Vine. Moving back to California, he spent three months in LA working as a film editor, but soon decided that Hollywood wasn’t for him. He returned to Ojai and began his bartending career, first at the Blue Orchid in Ventura and eventually becoming the bartender at Jimmy’s Pub at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. When the Wallace Neff Heritage lounge opened at the Inn, Sam was “kicked” upstairs to help open it and became its bartender/mixologist. He’s now been at the Inn for over a decade.
Not long after Amber and Sam took possession of The Vine, the pandemic shuttered its doors. Not wanting to close completely, they joined California’s Great Plates program which provided three meals a day to Ojai shut-ins in need, coordinating their deliveries to those folks with Help of Ojai. Call it a gourmet “meals on wheels.” They also provided takeout meals, cocktails and wine and continued serving food and drink on its extended “European-style” patio when outdoor dining was allowed. Music soon returned outside as well.
As the pandemic seems to be entering an endemic stage, music has also now returned inside at The Vine with the doors reopened for indoor dining, complementing the dining on the outdoor patio. The miniscule kitchen is a real culinary challenge since it contains just an oven and a hot plate in lieu of a stove top. But together, Amber and Sam continue to invent and revise what they call “American Classics with a twist.”
As Amber continues her work at the Ojai Music Festival and her volunteer involvement which has included serving on the Boards of the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation and the Ojai Youth Entertainers Studio, she and Sam are building on their dream of turning The Vine into a “don’t miss” destination for food, drink and music. Join her as she greets her customers, newbies and regulars, and moves around the tavern beaming with pride and joy, her megawatt smile helping to light up the room with an amber glow.
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Welcome Home to this wonderful Ranch style-VIEW home. Located behind the gates of Rancho Matilija, this home has some of the most magnificent views. Enter into the home and you enjoy the light-filled living room showcasing the mountains. The great room opens to the kitchen and leads out to the backyard. The views are breathtaking with pink sunsets and early morning sunrises. You won’t want to miss this home. Bring your creative touches and make this charmer your home for life. With the trail right outside your door, you can walk your dogs, take a hike or ride your horses. Horses are welcome on this equestrian property. Private and gated.
Donna Sallen
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Donna Sallen
Gated and private, this beautiful Mediterranean-style estate is sitting perfectly on 2 acres in Rancho Matilija. Designed by local renowned architect, Marc Whitman, the special attention to detail can’t be overlooked. With a dramatic entry which leads you to the open spacious great room you notice the perfect mix of indoor/outdoor living where light-filled rooms blend with the lush landscaping. Perfect for entertaining with two outdoor kitchens, saltwater pool and spa and a private pool house or art studio. Back inside you will love the gourmet kitchen with commercial grade appliances. Vaulted ceilings, three fireplaces, a media room. You will love the sweeping staircase leading you to an exquisite room which can be used as an office or family room. There is a gentlemen’s orchard, an oversized three-car garage along with lovely mountain views. This home is one-of-a-kind and a must see.
