IMPACT Magazine 2021: We Are Opening

PALOMAR COLLEGE

SUMMER/FALL 2021 NO. 12

IMPACT magazine

We are

OPENING

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Photo: Nick Ng IMPACT IS PRODUCED BY STUDENTS ENROLLED IN JOURNALISM 105-215, OFFERED AT PALOMAR COLLEGE IN SAN MARCOS, CALIFORNIA. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IMPACT OR THE JOURNALISM PROGRAM, CONTACT ERIN HIRO AT ehiro@palomar.edu IMPACT MAGAZINE 1140 W. MISSION ROAD, SAN MARCOS, CA 92069

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IMPACT Staff

Letter from the Editor

Summer Aguirre EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/NEWS EDITOR

Nick Ng COPY and OPINION EDITOR

Adam Correa ASSIST. SPORTS and BLOG EDITOR

Jackson Garrett ASSIST. NEWS and ARTS EDITOR

Max Cruz SPORTS EDITOR

Emmanuel Barrera, Morgan Davidson, Natalie Gutierrez, Jacob Koehler, Hayley Lawson, Jamie Martinez, Thalia Medina, Parker Meister, Emiliano Ramos, Riley Sullivan, Matthew Villapando, Giovanni Vallido, Lucas Vore STAFF WRITERS

Erin Hiro ADVISER

20/20 is perfect vision.

However, none of us could’ve foreseen the trials and obstacles the world would face in 2020 forward.

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic has headlined news around the globe and turned each and every one of our lives inside out. For IMPACT Magazine, it’s been a strange and challenging journey, having a staff that has only met through the harsh glare of a screen–and it’s even more unusual to think that some of us may never meet in person. Our lives have all been connected solely by technology, but we adapted and survived a full year of countless virtual calls, endless WiFi problems, and innumerable interruptions from family members and pets alike.

As a result, our staff is excited to introduce the 12th edition of IMPACT Magazine, featuring a collection of local small businesses in communities that many Palomar students call home. Every mom-and-pop donut shop, comic book store, and photography business from Temecula to Scripps Ranch is significant to the individuality and culture of our community.

Unfortunately, these businesses have encountered unthinkable conditions due to the shutdown like everyone else.

Despite the circumstances, many persisted in the face of adversity and declared business as usual, living to tell the tale. Their stories of dedication during this time of uncertainty are a reminder of our ability to persevere, and we hope they inspire you like they did to us.

Sincerely, Summer Aguirre IMPACT Editor-in-Chief IMPACT

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content 6 Riley Sullivan Farenheit 451

11 Summer Aguirre Notes of Toasted Oak

15 Jamie Martinez Spice & Tea Wonderland

19 Jacob Koehler Portrait in the Pandemic

22 Emmanuel Barrera Boxing Club Fighting Parkinson’s

25 Nick Ng The Cyderhouse Connection

30 Giovanni Vallido Collecting & Investing Sport Cards

34 Hayley Lawson Girl Power Coffee

38 Morgan Davidson Fandom Spirit Rescued

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42 Matthew Villapando Donuts in Danger

44 Parker Meister The Woodford Legacy

48 Max Cruz Throwback Is Not Game Over

50 Natalie Gutierrez Dress to Impress

54 Adam Correa Navigating Life’s Obstacles

56 Thalia Medina B&E Applications

58 Lucas Vore Extra Life for Calico Games

60 Emiliano Ramos R-Town Rocked Tough Times

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Farenheit A Bibliophile’s Bliss Story and photos by Riley Sullivan

Built from the ashes, “Farenheit 451 Books” is a bookstore with narrow hallways and tall bookshelves that transports guests into a world of imagination.

The “candy store for the mind” was founded by Philip 16 years ago in Carlsbad, Calif., just steps from Carlsbad State Beach. Inside, guests can find anything from novels and comic books to movies and art, but don’t expect to find a tablet or e-reader. Through fires and a global pandemic, Philip has continued to keep independent bookselling alive, making his shop a favorite of San Diego locals and tourists alike.

“Farenheit” With No ‘h’ Famous author Ray Bradbury created a dystopian world where censorship runs high in his book, “Fahrenheit 451.” The way Bradbury did it was by burning books that didn’t follow the government's agenda. Although Philip, who requested his last name not be used, has a blatant hate for censorship, choosing the name of his store runs deeper than that.

In 2003, the Cedar Fire was known as California’s largest wildfire in history. It began at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 in the Cleveland National Forest, east of Palomar College. Throughout San Diego County, the fire scorched more than 280,000 acres and destroyed almost 3,000 buildings. One of those affected by this tragedy was Philip.

“In fact, that’s how I named the store ‘Farenheit 451.’ I lost over 100,000 books in the fires,” he said.

At the time, Philip lived in Ramona and his home was lost in the destruction. Along with his house and books, he also lost his own personal collection of art.

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451 When Philip decided to head west and open up a store in Carlsbad, he ditched the “useless ‘h’” and “Farenheit 451 Books” found its name. Fortunately, the name itself helps to draw in customers. Chris Bonner, a local resident and Palomar College alumnus said he chose to check out “Farenheit 451 Books” because of his love for Ray Bradbury.

Seeing where Philip is today, most people wouldn’t imagine he was once living on the East Coast studying to become a doctor. He attended both Michigan State University and the University of Michigan for college.

Ultimately, Philip lost interest in pursuing pre-med and decided to change his major. He ended up graduating with a degree in psychology.

While attending college, Philip worked at a local, independent pizza shop, which became the empire known as Domino’s Pizza.

“Had I known what was going to happen, I could’ve been the West Coast pizza king,” Philip said, jokingly.

Philip was a woodworker with a second job, but his most important full-time job was being a single father.

Eventually, Philip fell into hard times and with a family to support, not having money wasn’t an option.

Before “Farenheit 451 Books,” Philip owned two local bookstores in Julian. With a few books and a garage, he opened up his first bookstore, “The Julian Bookstore,” in 1989.

He later opened his second bookstore, “The Old Julian Bookhouse.” After the dreadful Cedar Fire, he decided to move his business to the sunny, San Diego coast, opening “Farenheit 451 Books.”

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Maintaining a Bookstore “As Carlsbad has grown, it seems to be busy all the time. It used to be summer, spring break and holidays, but now it seems to be more regular,” Philip said.

His store catches the eyes of not just tourists walking down the heart of Carlsbad Village, but the local San Diego residents as well.

He said that the addition of timeshares and housing have helped to keep revenue coming in year-round.

About half of his sales are from regular customers.

he has built back a collection of around 100,000 books.

All that storage definitely comes at a price. Just to house his books, Philip pays about $8,000 a month.

“

Donald Snider, a long-time customer said, “When I’m in the neighborhood, I always walk by and see what I can find in here.”

One thing customers will notice when walking through the store is the overflow of books. Philip not only has part of his shop set up on the patio but he also has stacks of books set up throughout the shop. Those stacks of books have paper signs that read “not for sale,” meaning they haven’t yet been priced or are waiting for space to be displayed. For Snider, the best part of the store is the constant new stock.

Along with his store, Philip also owns another suite and has around 2,000 square feet off-site that houses more of his book collection. In total, he estimates that 8

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I named the store ‘Farenheit 451.’

I lost over 100,000 books in the fires.”

One thing to know about the store: the hours are never concrete. A small sign on the door includes Philip’s phone number and directs customers to call him for the store hours each day.

Although books are his largest seller at this time, Philip’s real love is art. He used to be an artist, but when his personal collection burned down, he stopped collecting as a whole. He has since begun collecting and selling it again, utilizing the spaces too high for books to display his art.

As the world shut down a little over a year ago, Philip realized it was time more than ever to reach out for help. Last March, he started a “GoFundMe” with a goal of $30,000. Philip only raised a sliver of that goal, but the pandemic didn’t bring him down.

Due to California’s shutdown of “non-essential businesses,” his shop was closed until mid-May of last year. Philip was allowed to reopen his shop on May 11, and since then business has been busy as ever. Although now the shop is back up and running, Philip wasn’t exactly happy with what businesses were considering “essential.”

“It's okay to shop there, but it wasn’t okay to shop here,” he said, referencing major chains such as Walmart, Costco and Target.

During the pandemic, Philip even had to remove the “used books” sign on his window. Customers were nervous about buying books that were advertised as used because of the fear of spreading or contracting COVID-19.

A Bookstore in the Digital Age U.S. independent bookstores are actually on the rise, according to a story by Ryan Raffaelli from Harvard Business School.

“By 2009, the ABA [American Booksellers Association] reported an all-time low in its membership and the number of independent bookstores operating in the U.S. Yet starting in 2010, ABA membership unexpectedly began to rise,” the article reported.

Raffaelli also said that the ABA reported around 1,700 “indie” bookstores in 2009 but saw an increase of almost 2,500 stores in 2018. In that nine year gap, the growth of independent bookstores was up 49 percent.

Philip believes he has kept his store in business because he sticks to the “bare bones:” selling books.

He stopped trading books about 10 years ago, doesn’t have a coffee stand, doesn’t have a children’s book club and doesn’t have a single employee besides himself. His prior bookstores included all of the above, but for this one, he decided to make it easy and it seems to be working just fine.

Before the pandemic, the bookstore was up for sale and even had a serious buyer lined up to purchase it.

The sale fell through, but Philip is always looking for a potential buyer.

There’s no telling the exact future of the store, but he does hope to increase the amount of art sales.

Currently, only about 10 percent of his sales are from art. At least for Philip, he has an idea for his future.

His next business adventure will be to open a smaller bookstore with art as the main focal point. He plans on naming the new store “Dangerous” because his customers often say coming into “Farenheit 451 Books” is dangerous for their wallets. ■

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Notes of

TO

oasted ak

Story by Summer Aguirre Photos courtesy of Toasted Oak

Tucked into a grassy hillside in northern Fallbrook, Calif., lies Toasted Oak Vineyards and Winery. A patio next to the winery shelters picnic tables from the sun with wooden barrels lined up nearby. A single oak tree stands tall beside the driveway, shading a seating area overlooking rows of lush grapevines in the late summer. From there, one can picnic with wine and enjoy the view of the valley, far from the hum of traffic on the freeway.

Toasted Oak Winery and Vineyards is owned and operated by Marcia and Roger, who declined to share their last name. They opened for business in 2017, and process their own grapes and produce, bottle and label their wines from Fallbrook-grown grapes. Despite the obstacles the COVID-19 pandemic has presented, their enjoyment of creating wine and meeting visitors from near and far has fueled them as they continue to put their hearts into their business.

“Planting vines, caring for them and using their grapes to make wine that I and others enjoy drinking is very rewarding,” Roger said. “I love the weekend conversations with fellow wine lovers.”

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How It Began Originally, Marcia and Roger’s wine venture was simply intended to be their retirement hobby because they found post-career life boring. Not content to merely make drinkable wines, they decided to create the best wine they possibly could.

Both natives of Orange, Calif., Marcia taught elementary and middle school for decades before retiring and “serving wine to her first grade graduates.” Roger, however, began making wine in college and has been doing so ever since.

In 2008, they purchased a two-acre plot of land in Fallbrook that had been decimated by the Rice Canyon Fire the year prior. The only thing that remained unscathed by flames was the one oak tree, which inspired the name “Toasted Oak.” “Anything that had been growing, except that tree, was charcoal,” Marcia said.

The following years consisted of cleaning up the parcel, planting the grapevines and building the winery structure.

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The toasted oak tree recovered and grew four times its original size, providing shade for picnics where people could enjoy the scenic view.

Eventually, Marcia said they made “too much wine” for themselves, and what began as a party room for entertaining friends morphed into what is now Toasted Oak’s tasting room. It officially opened to the public in 2017. Now, the winery hosts not only friends, but guests from all over the globe.

Marcia pointed out two maps on a wall of their rustic tasting room: one of the U.S. and one of the world. Pins are scattered across the maps, marking the hometowns of the visitors Toasted Oak has had the privilege of hosting over the past three years.

“So many of [our visitors] have turned out to be friends, it’s really wonderful,” Marcia said.

She illustrated some of the many diverse individuals that have stopped by Toasted Oak. They have hailed from destinations like Alaska, Israel, Australia and numerous countries in Europe.

David Garcia, a current Temecula resident, was new to Fallbrook when he first stumbled upon Toasted Oak. He and a local friend decided to explore the different wineries in town to better acquaint him with what was then his new home. Since then, he has visited the winery on multiple occasions.

“I felt right at home there from the first time I visited, and that’s because of how the owners treated me, which was how they treated everyone I saw come in,” Garcia said. “I took numerous friends with me at different times, and they all fell in love with the place, too, for the same reasons.”

He noted that Toasted Oak is a great change of pace and the place to go for those who don’t want to encounter larger winery crowds in the neighboring Temecula Valley Wine Country.

Adjusting to the Pandemic While the pandemic destroyed many small businesses, Marcia and Roger managed to navigate and adapt to the evolving business landscape and keep Toasted Oak afloat. Marcia said Toasted Oak experienced “at least a 30 percent drop overall for last year in revenue.”

“It’s frustrating because we were just beginning to get a core of people that are local enough to want to come back again and again,” Marcia added. “And then they shut us down, so five giant steps backwards. I think we’ll get there.”

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom locked down the state last March, the winery had to close alongside many other businesses. Its tasting room was forced to shut down and it was reduced to operating through contactless pickups.

Once during the peak of the pandemic, a couple of guests even dropped in to Toasted Oak to help out by purchasing a few cases of wine.

“We devised a system where people could call their order ahead,” Marcia said. “I charge the order up and pack it in and all they had to do was honk their horn outside or call and say ‘I’m here.’ So, completely contactless.”

They reverted back and forth a few times between contactless and regular pickups.

“I know that that is something very special, but I was just very touched by the concept that people would do that,” Marcia said, describing it as “heartwarming.”

Toasted Oak began hosting tastings outside on its patio again on Jan. 25, 2021. Marcia is hoping they will be able to serve customers inside come June 2021 when guidelines are relaxed. She believes if they could reach that point, then they could return to normal.

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During the pandemic, they remodeled the winery’s tasting room and added a back bar, but no guests have been able to visit inside yet.

“Business is reviving now, but it’s mostly because people have been locked up for so long,” Marcia said.

“And they want to come get away from everything.”

From its initial opening to the depths of the shutdown, Toasted Oak has contributed to the culture of Fallbrook, having been an active participant in the community.

The winery frequently works alongside the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, and the past several years has participated in its Wine & A Bite event. Four times a year, the Chamber would host an art walk in downtown Fallbrook featuring local artists performing their craft, and food and wine from restaurants and wineries in the community.

“It’s really adding to business and the arts at the same time,” Marcia said.

Before the holidays in 2020, the Chamber began a different event that Toasted Oak participated in called the Wine Trail. Those who purchased tickets were sent on scavenger hunts where they could earn reduced prices at local wineries. The Chamber is currently planning another Wine Trail for the upcoming summer.

Jackie Toppin, the Chamber’s membership director, has worked with the winery over the past few years.

“Marcia and Roger are very supportive of the Chamber,” she said. “They want to be involved, are generous and very welcoming, but just a salt-of-theearth type of people and I’ve enjoyed working with them and I hope to do so for a long time.”

As more businesses begin to open to the public, one lesson that the past year has taught Marcia is the fragility of life.

“My advice is to have a plan for tomorrow but enjoy today,” she said. “Each morning, be thankful for where you are and what you have and who you know.” ■

Photo: Giovanni Vallido

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Spice & Tea

Wonderland

For more than 13 years, Old Town Spice &

Story and photos

by Jamie Martinez

Merchants has been Temecula's favorite local spice and tea merchants shop. A “people person” is how owner Sue Kelly describes herself. Kelly has been in the grocery business ever since she was 16 years old, and slowly built herself up to management. She was feeling very comfortable working in the grocery side of work.

Watching cooking videos by Rachel Ray from the Food Network was “her sign” to start her own local spice and tea merchants shop.

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“I remember one time listening to Rachel Ray, she was doing a cooking show, and at the end she would always say, you can find this at your local spice merchants, and I thought Temecula is a very foodie place and we don’t have any spice merchants. Then I thought, I need to be the local spice merchant,” Kelly said.

people who do not know anything about spices and teas,” Post said.

Started in 2007, Old Town Spice & Tea Merchants is a small local business in Old Town Temecula that sells any spice and tea leaves you can think of. Small but “very inviting” is what Kelly called it.

“We have picked and chose through different vendors, so our quality is the best that we can get,” she said.

“When you open the door, you walk into a sensory overload because of all the spices and teas, it’s a pleasant welcome,” Kelly said.

Carol Post, who has been working with Kelly for 10 years, said that her workplace is like a second home. She called her manager a “clone” because she is “easygoing, open to ideas and fun.

“I love teas, I love spices, I love to cook. I also like the interaction with the customers. It’s fun to be able to help 16

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The teas and spices seen throughout the shop come from a variety of vendors that work with companies located in China, India and Japan, The largest vendor is in Germany.

Having over 300 spices and spice blends and over 140 leaf teas in store, some of the bestsellers in the store ever since the shop opened have been their famous “Raspberry Chipotle Blend” as well as “Coffee BBQ.” “We’ve really built a very good reputation with our products, we’re really proud of that,” Kelly added.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began and lockdowns were enforced in March 2020, Kelly's shop was forced to close until June 2020. She was then given permission by the City of Temecula to open her business again.

However, she decided to wait after a month of having permission to open back up just to be cautious and to follow safety guidelines.

“We wanted to provide a safe environment for our customers, as well as our staff. If one of us got COVID, we have to shut down for two weeks. We wanted to make sure we had everything in line,” Kelly said.

Sales were down in 2020 for about 10 to 15 percent, but she felt that they were “fortunate and lucky” because many places nearby closed.

“I’ll take that 10 percent down,” she said.

When the pandemic began, the sales of spices generally went up since more people were trying new recipes at home. This led to a shortage of 10 percent of the production, but sales went up by 35 percent.

However, a story in the Codex Alimentarius International Food Standards states that throughout the pandemic, the spice sectors have faced various challenges.

Raw material shortages, marketing issues and continuing operation on the industry floor are some of the challenges caused by the pandemic. Kelly’s safety net was running her business online.

“The thing that kept us in business was we had already developed our website, which had already been going on for about three or four years. We have really great customers, and the website was the only thing that kept us going. I really encourage anyone to get a website as a backup plan,” Kelly said.

She mentioned that curbside pick-up helps customers feel comfortable with shopping during the pandemic.

“The City of Temecula was very kind that when everyone shut down they gave us curbside parking, although Old Town is known for not having parking lots, and customers were really, really happy about it,” she said.

One of her biggest achievements has been collaborating with other local restaurants. TOAST and 1909 are some of their biggest local restaurant buyers that work with a lot of teas and spices from Old Town Spice and Merchants.

“They work their magic with our spices and teas, it’s amazing,” Kelly said. “I am thankful everyday I get to wake up and come into my shop and meet a lot of new people. I also work with a lot of amazing people, I think I am pretty, pretty lucky.” ■

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P

ortrait

in the

andemic

Story and photos by Jacob Koehler Studio 94 has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the owners have not let it break their spirits. The unorthodox ownership of the photo studio is what has kept the business afloat.

As a small business owner, Kyle Robinson of Studio 94 has dealt with the challenges the pandemic has brought, and he and his company have powered through. Things may not be the same, but the company has adapted to the new normal.

Robinson’s “people first” business strategy has played a big role in the continued success of Studio 94.

“The best advice I can give to anybody is care about people. Care about people no matter who they are. Whether they are the principal of the school or the janitor, you care about them the same,” Robinson said during an in-person interview.

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“His senior picture was all I had to remember him by,” Robinson said. He was drawn toward this line of work knowing the impact that he can make.

Impact of Photography To Robinson, photography is “a very emotional job.” He has countless trophies and awards in his office. He said that he won these national awards “not because I was striving for it, but because I treated people well.”

Robinson’s caring nature is credited to what sets his photography apart.

“When you care, people relax, they look better, they look more comfortable,” he said. “I constantly strive to make beautiful portraiture. We’re doing work that no one is doing.”

He understands the significance of his work. Robinson notes a huge motivator for him was the first time a customer passed away after graduating. Robinson knows that pictures are a way to remember people. Just last winter, they cleared out the studio for a 17-year-old with cancer to do her shoot. What normally would be an $800 to $900 shoot, he did it for free.

“I break a lot of marketing rules, but it works,” he said.

Kyle Robinson opened his photography studio in 1994 under the name “Classic Photography.” He changed the name because in Robinson’s words they are “very forward thinking, anything but classic.”

Robinson didn’t take a traditional route to starting a business. After dropping out of school to become a rock star, Robinson started taking pictures of bands on the side “’til people said I’ll pay you to do that.”

Robinson was doing independent work and working for a commercial photography company. He was also constantly upgrading and acquiring new equipment, doing all kinds of photography until he found portraiture.

“I just couldn’t find what I wanted to do, and I leaned toward portraiture, I really enjoyed the portrait work of it in people,” he said.

Robinson found his style, but his niche came to him.

Schools began reaching out to him to handle the senior portraits.

“I had this opinion that school photography wasn’t special or good even,” Robinson added, but his view on senior photos changed. When he was just 11, Robinson’s older brother passed away.

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Early COVID-19 Struggles While work has remained fairly steady for Studio 94, no small business has been without obstacles since the pandemic hit in March 2020. Studio 94 was among the 43 percent of small businesses that temporarily shut down.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen to be honest with you,” Robinson said. “But I believed everything was going to be okay.”

When the lockdown began, the company screeched to a dead stop for two weeks. They could only answer phones and push back dates with clients, some of which still haven’t been photographed.

“When the lockdown happened, we shut down, we scaled back to my wife and I,” Robinson said. “We weren’t letting people in, we sent them to work from home.”

Across the nation, small businesses had to reduce employment by an average of 39 percent, so Studio 94 was not alone. Some employees quit to take advantage of unemployment benefits rather than working from home.

With no students on campus, there were certain services the schools didn’t need. Yearbooks and other deadlinebased commodities were pushed back and discarded.

Graduates of the 2020 class kept calling to get their iconic cap and gown shots, but they were unable to fit them in.

Some clients canceled entirely due to concerns about contracting the virus. Studio 94 had to close two locations in California—Temecula and Vista. The studios in lower income areas simply didn’t have enough willing customers.

Families in these areas didn’t have the extra money to pay for photoshoots.

Photo courtesy of Studio 94

The business had previously worked with low-income schools for practically free, but during tough economic times this became less of an option. While Robinson isn’t a money-driven person, he said, “I’ve always been aware that more has to come in than go out.”

“We are taking a hit,” he said, referencing his business.

After constantly lobbying the office of Governor of California Gavin Newsom, Robinson got the go-ahead to reopen in April of last year after a month of being shut down. Newsom doesn’t have the final say, however, Robinson knew he was risking arrest if the Riverside County authorities enforced the lockdown laws.

Adaptations & Adjustments As the demand for senior photos remained high, Studio 94 3had no shortage of customers when they reopened. The issue quickly became fitting in all of the clients with the new restrictions. They went from photographing three clients per hour to two hours.

“We see less people per day, but the amount of clientele has remained consistent,” said photographer Christian Magday.

“This is mainly due to COVID restrictions. The work environment is pretty much the same other than having to remain cognizant of COVID restrictions and disinfecting.”

“I pray over this place every day,” Robinson said. “That’s the real answer, I’m living by faith.”

The pandemic has been brutal on business owners everywhere, but for Robinson, living by faith relieves him of financial stress.

“I could live without money; I’m not interested in it at all.

I’m interested in satisfaction, in accomplishing things, and enjoying your life. You got to enjoy your life,” he said. For him, part of enjoying life is reading scripture. “The time I don’t spend on a motorcycle or with my family is spent in that book. It’s the most amazing book [the Bible] in the world.”

Studio 94 and its employees have put extensive precautions in place to keep everyone safe. Clients aren’t allowed in the waiting room, and there are designated entry and exit doors.

Group sizes have been limited as well. Some clients even request the studio is cleared so that they are the only people in the building. Social distancing is enforced at all times.

As an experienced photographer, Magday said social distancing doesn’t impact his work.

Studio 94 is only behind God and family in Robinson’s life.

Keeping the place running means everything to him, but he couldn’t do it alone. Robinson credits his wife, Courtney, of 24 years in keeping the business alive through the pandemic, as she handles all of the company’s finances.

“I don’t think social distancing has gotten in the way of producing great shots as the photos and poses I take don’t require me to be close to the subject,” he said.

So far everyone has been staying healthy at Studio 94.

Aside from COVID-19, the future of the business may look different. With fewer people buying pictures due to a changing industry, Studio 94 will have to adapt.

Plexiglass barriers and constant cleaning have also been essential. “We followed all the guidelines and no one from here has gotten sick,” Robinson said. While these precautions are vital to keeping the workplace safe, Robinson said that faith has a lot to do with it.

“The future is definitely different,” Robinson said. “But for us to be here we’ve had to reinvent ourselves over and over, and we’ll just do that again.” ■

“She has been the most important part in making this thing work, she’s been amazing,” he said.

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Boxing Club Helps Fight

Parkinson’s

Story by Emmanuel Barrera

Victor Rosas is looking to find the balance to help more people with Parkinson’s Disease attend his in-person boxing classes.

Rosas, who owns Rock Steady Boxing San Diego, is an Escondido native who has been boxing since he was 15-years-old. The boxing program is for people who live with Parkinson’s Disease by providing boxing workouts and support by connecting with other people who live in the same shoes. The majority of the fighters build bonds with each other throughout the program.

Photo: Parker Meister

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Parkinson’s Disease is a brain disorder that can cause a patient to have trouble with walking, balance and coordination. It can also cause behavioral problems like stress, anxiety and depression. The company works with people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and are looking for a place to stay physically active. Members are called “fighters” and are local residents.

Photo: Parker Meister

The gym’s focus is to help fighters empower people with Parkinson’s to fight back, which focuses on rigorous exercise, emphasizing gross motor movement, balance and activities of daily living. The classes start at 9 a.m. twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and begin with a little jog down the curb outside of the gym. Each week is a different lesson: one week fighters learn the fundamentals of boxing, like punching the boxing bags, and another week attempting basketball workouts. At the end of class, fighters gather up on the big mat, and gym doors close for a small meditation session.

“We always want to mix it up just for them, but also for their bodies to create different exchanges within the movement,” said Ray Warren, the RSBSD assistant coach.

During Rosas’ volunteer days, he noticed that the previous owner did not teach any boxing skills to his fighters, and the fighters at the time wanted to learn more.

Rosas took the appropriate steps to become a certified trainer and go to Indianapolis to get certified by the Rock Steady program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he took over ownership in the Escondido location.

“I was a first-time business owner.

It was very challenging but I wanted to keep everything together and didn’t want everyone to lose their home,” Rosas said.

COVID’s Impact When the pandemic started, businesses and activities were limited for people with Parkinson’s because they were unable to attend physical therapy and any fitness class they may have been attending. RSBSD had to close its doors for a couple of months. They started to offer virtual classes through Zoom in order to not lose their clients who have been attending the program for a while.

memberships that we had,” Rosas said. “People are starting to slowly come back now because the vaccine is out. We’re nowhere near where we used to be and definitely want to get back to that point.”

Ray Warren is a retiree since 2012 and discovered RSBSD through an article that same year he retired.

Warren decided to help out people with Parkinson’s because of his passion for fitness and wellness. He eventually met Rosas in 2016, and they have both been working together at RSBSD. “I got to spend a lot of time around these people and realize what a fascinating individual they are,” said Warren.

“The [Parkinson’] disease is maledominated, [but] if you look at this class, it’s female-dominated because they were the first to feel comfortable to come in person,” said Warren on how the in-person class looks.

“A lot of people did not want to come in because of what was going on. We lost 60 percent of our IMPACT

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Photo: Parker Meister

Some of the challenges fighters may have in a virtual class is that there is not enough space in their house and they may not even have the proper equipment like punching bags.

RSBSD is about being physically active and staying emotionally connected but due to COVID-19 the business lacks sustaining both emotions and physicality.

Exercising and maintaining a stable emotion improves Parkinson’s symptoms and mental health. When they are busy exercising or interacting with other patients, they are too busy not worrying if they have Parkinson’s.

The majority of the fighters like to share and overcome the same challenges together and a virtual class does not provide the same experience. Steve Frisina and Josephine Stanlon, who have been going to RSBSD for five years, prefer to workout in person as a group, and there is more space at the gym than at home.

“I’m less motivated, I don’t have a big space. It’s difficult to move in my room, I enjoy being with other people,” said Stalon.

“I much preferred being with others and sharing the activity and challenge,” said Frinsa. “I met my future spouse here at Rock Steady. We are going to get married in June.”

As things creep back to normal, RSBSD has been taking steps to reopen. Temperature checks are continued and face coverings are required for everyone. Keeping the gym clean is important before and after a class, which is why they have an electrostatic sprayer that cleans out bacteria. For the fighters, the majority of the time spent at RSBSD is exercising and creating a family.

Photo courtesy of Rock Steady Boxing

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“Anybody that needs help that’s just been diagnosed [with Parkinson’s] and you know, they’re alone, maybe they’re depressed, they don’t think that there’s anything else they can do right now,” said Rosas. “We’d love to have them in here.” ■

The Cyderhouse Connection Story and photos: Nick Ng

How relationships & creativity helped Newtopia Cyder thrive While sipping a glass of apple cider and listening to an old Dr. Dre song thumping from the speakers overhead, I looked around the patio of Newtopia Cyder in Scripps Ranch, and saw a few patrons sitting on the lawn chatting and enjoying the afternoon sun and company. It was starting to feel “normal” like before the COVID-19 pandemic as breweries and restaurants allowed indoor dining again in San Diego.

Many such places closed forever throughout the County, but Newtopia Cyder survived the craziness of 2020 by implementing several strategies to stay afloat and thrive in the first quarter of 2021.

Newtopia Cyder’s founders, Rick and Jennifer Hays Moreno, created the craft cider concept in 2015 when they were living in Seattle. The idea sprouted from Jennifer's love of wine and Rick’s fascination with distillation, brandy and craft beer. Despite Rick’s love of brandy, the process of making it takes about a year, and he didn’t want to wait that long for the end product. Apple cider, however, takes a fraction of that time to make. Instead of creating a wine or craft beer business, apple cider was a “compromise” for the couple.

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“I wanted to start something that was ahead of its time and really beneficial to my body. I don’t digest beer very well,” Rick said. “Living

by Lake Washington, I had access to a variety of apples and understood how much of craft cider is so close to craft beer.”

When the Morenos were living in Seattle, Rick owned a restaurant and bar where he served craft beer and whiskey in the University of Washington district. He also did a ton of marketing research on college students in the Pacific Northwest to find out what they like and don’t

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like. One trend in the craft beverage business is that whatever is popular on the West Coast typically comes from New York City to Seattle.

Then the trend trickles down to San Francisco, L.A. and San Diego.

chose to build Newtopia Cyder there because of the strong small business support in the community, like the Chamber of Commerce, that helped them expedite the legal hurdles of opening a brewery.

“We’re the last city that usually gets trends in that particular market,” Rick said. “And San Diego is the mecca for craft beer.”

Since then, there were some competitors the following year, but the couple had already established a strong business relationship with many apple orchards throughout the Pacific coast, which gives Newtopia Cyder a competitive edge in gathering resources.

The Morenos built the business foundation in 2016 in Scripps Ranch near Interstate 15 and opened its doors in January 2017. They

“The timing was everything,” Rick said, who also had established connections with many craft beer breweries and restaurants in San Diego. “It was very easy for us to educate beer connoisseurs on craft cider because they already have a bigger depth and palate. They appreciated the art of concocting beer and how that is in direct translation of craft cider. Consumers were very welcoming to us and the craft beer industry pole vaulted our success into where it is now.”

think educating consumers at an early age gives them more insight to what quality products are out there and which to stay away.

Another advantage Newtopia Cyder has is that it already established good business relationships with some restaurants and breweries in the Northwest, which made connections in San Diego easier.

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a Stay-At-Home order in mid-March 2020 to fight the coronavirus spread, Rick had just bought a $175,000 canning machine two days before the shutdown. He and his staff churned out massive orders of their flagship ciders, including Chai Me a River and Apple Soiree, that were ready for distribution. But with the shutdown, there was a ton of inventory that sat around and had no distribution channels.

“We did a lot of collaborations, and we crafted ciders that people have never seen or tasted before,” Rick said.

“We’re making new categories within cider.”

The Morenos opened a second location near Cal State University San Marcos in March 2018. They wanted to open one close to colleges because they

Most business developers say that it takes about five years for a new business to “break even.” It took Newtopia three years.

“That happened in March 2020—right before COVID hit us,” Rick said.

March 2020

big of a run because that run sustained our tasting room,” Rick said. “People were able to purchase with the drivethru or online in 42 different states. We had to pivot quickly.”

On the first day of the shutdown, Newtopia launched a virtual campaign that shipped customers’ orders to their doorsteps. Before the week was over, the brewery saw “astronomical” purchases online.

The Newtopia team created a drivethru in the back of the cider house to allow no-contact pick-ups.

Even with Newtopia still running its gears, the Morenos had to lay off their entire team “Within 48 hours after the shutdown, we did a virtual food drive for our staff with a BBQ company where all the proceeds went to our staff,” Rick said.

“We had to lay off our entire team. We wanted to pay homage to them. That puts us in a good position for postCOVID.”

“I was in a really tough pickle to get our product out. In hindsight, it was a blessing that we were able to do that IMPACT

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Bartenders’ Stories Bianca Potratz, who has been bartending at Newtopia Cyder for nearly three years, said that it was “very weird” to not be able to come to work.

“Coming back after eight months and seeing people again, it’s kinda weird, but I’m glad to see customers again,” she said.

One of her favorite parts of the job that she missed was crafting cider and learning about the fermentation process.

“It’s a small family business and I help out whenever we can,” Potratz said.

Eric Gerber, who bartends with Potratz, started to work with Newtopia in the very beginning.

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He pooh-poohed Rick for opening Newtopia, but after Rick gave him a private tour of the cider-making process, Gerber changed his mind.

“It’s his personality, how he presents himself and his damngood product,” Gerber said.

On the shutdown’s first day, many businesses were still doing business as usual. When Gerber heard about the shutdown, he said everybody at work was “nervously joking about it” since the tasting room was packed. But Jennifer told the staff that everyone had to file for unemployment because they were closing the physical tasting room.

Afterward, Gerber moved from Pacific Beach to San Clemente to live with his mom. It was a “sigh of relief” for him because he

hasn’t stopped working since he was 16 and is now in his midthirties. The regular work routine got “old.” He got called back to Newtopia in August and moved back to San Diego to work with the team again.

Gerber said the best part of his job is “showcasing a really good product to doubter and first-timers, and changing people’s minds about cider, particularly beer drinkers.”

Cyderhouse Reopens To Rick, any crisis creates an opportunity, who had to scale down Newtopia Cyder’s production and distribution processes. When the state opens back up, the brewery is ready to receive orders from several states.

Photo: courtesy of Newtopia Cyder

Within a week, Rick and his team told their patrons, distributors, wholesalers and retailers about the changes. “We scaled things down, so these are the steps you need to get our cider: drive thru, delivery, online. Everything is touchless. It’s socially accepted, they brag about it. Customers say they feel safe,” Rick said.

The best part of a cider house is its beverages. Rick said that a typical

cider house would use fresh-pressed ingredients, specifically five apples: Fuji, gala, honey crisp, red delicious and Granny Smith.

apples and volume. We crush 30 tons of apples a month. They’re all West Coast apples so it’s nice to have that representation.”

“Those are our house blends. I was able to source them from different orchards in Washington, Oregon, and NorCal,” he said. “I developed relationships with the orchardists so I could source a particular lot in an orchard for a long period of time to get that consistency of a variety of

One unique feature that both Newtopia Cyder locations have is that the bar counter is made from wood that was burned during the 2007 Cedar Fire in San Diego.

Perhaps this is a symbol of resilience and adaptation of the brewery and the staff.

“It’s brilliant to see how society accepted and evolved with us,” Rick said. “We were definitely the lucky ones.” ■

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Start Collecting and Investing Local card shop for a booming sports market

Story and photos by Giovanni Vallido Walking into a card store is like walking into a time machine.

From piles of vintage wax boxes stacked up, to glass cases with valuable and rare cards to look at and walls covered with signed jerseys and pictures, a sense of nostalgia fills the mind.

The doors open right at 10:30 a.m. and the store gets packed like Costco. Fathers come in with their sons, a baseball game plays quietly on the TV in the back corner, and the soft glow of fluorescent lights 30

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wash over everything. This is what you’ll see, and this is what you will feel, when you walk into Next Level Sports Cards in Temecula.

Owner Chad Thyzel opened the store in December of 2018. The place offers collectors to grab the newest card releases, find rare or vintage cards to add to their collection, find memorabilia to celebrate their favorite team or player or even just pick up supplies to protect your collection.

“Two and a half years ago, I just remember sitting here at home with my wife and we were like ‘You know what, there [are] no shops anywhere around,’” said Thyzel.

If you live in Temecula or Murrieta and look for stores that specialize in sports cards, you will not likely come across many between Riverside and San Diego besides Next Level Sports Cards.

Thyzel and his assistant, Rick McGehee, are always there to help.

They take the time to answer questions, help people find what exactly they are looking for and provide services for a longstanding hobby that is still growing.

Record Sales Collecting cards has been a pastime for many people across generations. From the 1950s through the 1980s of collecting baseball and football cards, to the 1990s and early 2000s of collecting Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, there has always been something for everyone. Both children and adults can find the thrill of opening packs looking for that rare hit or finding that last card needed to complete their set.

Within the last year, there has been a boom in the card market, recordbreaking sales and people gaining an interest in collecting. ESPN highlighted the growth and recordbreaking sales in the last year.

For basketball fans, last year a rookie card of LeBron James with his autograph and a patch from one of his game-worn jerseys was sold for a record $1.8 million. Soon after, a record was set again for a Giannis Antekounmpo rookie card that was also sold for $1.8 million.

The most expensive card sold to date is a Mike Trout prospect card with a $3.9 million price tag. The card features the Angel’s outfielder with his one-of-a-kind autograph.

The best analogy to card-collecting for value is that of stocks. With stocks, you can buy a stock, watch

it climb or fall and decide when to sell for a profit or a loss. With cards, you can buy packs and boxes of cards and hunt out rookies for any sport. As the season goes on, you can track the player and their performance. They could have a breakout game that puts them on the map, and you would immediately see their prices jump up in value. You can also see that players get hurt or just not produce that season and their card prices will drop as well. Of course, seeing all those numbers has brought more attention to card collecting. This has brought in more people interested into card shops like Next Level Sports Cards.

McGehee has been collecting cards for six years and has been working for Thyzel for about eight months.

“It’s really cool seeing all the new people in the industry and how it’s like mainstream,” McGehee said about the card market’s recent rise.

More eyes are drawn to the card collecting hobby now, and as interest grows, so does the understanding of collecting.

“Before it’d be like, ‘Oh I collect cards’ and they’re like, ‘Oh that’s a little kid thing.’ But now it’s like they see the value in it, they see how cool it is, all the worth in it,” McGehee said.

The pandemic caused Next Level Sports Cards to close for about three months. A few private appointments for long-time customers were done with strict protocols, and eventually the store was able to open again with new safety guidelines.

Sales boomed after the store opened. With the card market booming during the pandemic, people were itching to go to a card store and purchase products in person. Thyzel recalled how when the shop reopened, sales skyrocketed and people stood in long lines to shop.

Customer Anthony Celio has been collecting since he was a kid and has frequented the shop for the last couple years. The variety is what he enjoys the most.

“There’s always new stuff,” he said. With his children, Celio enjoys being able to have access to old stuff for his kids to open.

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“

The best analogy to card-collecting for value is that of stocks. With stocks, you can buy one, watch it climb or fall and decide when to sell for a profit or a loss.

Finding the Card, Making the Guide “I mean we do everything. We do custom framing, buying or selling, appraisals, I don’t know, a little bit of everything,” Thyzel said with a chuckle. “Whatever is related to cards and memorabilia, I can get that done.”

Next Level Sports Cards also has sports memorabilia for sale. You can find signed jerseys, pictures, baseballs, basketballs and bats from almost any team or player.

Near the front door is where you will find boxes and binders full of vintage wax packs and cards.

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Behind the counter are wall shelves full of new products, such as packs and boxes of all sports plus Pokémon cards. Three glass cases in an L-shape are full of the more valuable individual cards. There are old cards from players of the past and modern cards of players of the present and future. Many of these cards are high value because they are rookie cards, autographed, contain a piece of memorabilia from a jersey or accessories or sometimes all three.

What can also make cards go up in value is having them graded. There are many grading companies, but Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) is considered the best and most reputable grading company among the card collecting community. PSA is based in Santa Ana, and once a week Thyzel drives there to drop off and pick up cards so customers can go through the shop to have theirs graded, which simplifies the process for collectors.

Thyzel said the process is as simple as: bringing in the cards you want graded, select the service level and leave the rest to Thyzel. He marks down the name and value of the cards, delivers them to PSA, picks them up when

they are done and has them ready for the customer to pick up and pay their bill.

Another service offered that is growing in popularity among the card collecting community is card breaks.

A break is when someone opens card packs or boxes on camera and people can buy into the break and get cards from it.

People who buy into breaks can be assigned a random team or serial number depending on what kind of break it is. When a card is pulled from a pack or box, whoever has that team or number on the card gets that card.

high-value cards without having to pay the high prices. It’s a gamble, as there is always the chance that the team or number you have randomly assigned to you does not get any cards. Though somewhat rare depending on the product, just because someone pays, it doesn’t guarantee they will get any cards.

Next Level does card breaks on its YouTube channel on Fridays and customers can buy a spot into their breaks. Whatever sport you are into, you can come here to start your own collection. With plenty of cards, from new to old, single, packs or boxes and even supplies to protect your collection, Next Level Card Shop has you covered. ■

Breaks are a way for people who want to try to get

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Girl Power Coffee

Story and photos by Hayley Lawson

A slight March breeze passes through the outdoor mall and creates a perfect 75-degree California day in the city of Del Mar. It is a Monday at 11 a.m. and life is quiet.

A mother and her son sit and color together, others are exercising and some just sit and appreciate the serenity.

The calm sounds of the ocean can be heard across the street, and is just visible enough to create a perfect backdrop for Kini Koffee, a walk-up coffee shop in the Del Mar Plaza. The plaza is equipped with several spots to sit and enjoy lunch, coffee or shopping and offers board games and activities for all who visit.

In December of 2020, amidst a pandemic that changed our lives forever, Kini Koffee owner Jewell Dyer set out to open the coffee shop she had always dreamed of and has managed to create a business that has received viral attention on social media. She achieved this all while promoting the development of female entrepreneurship in today’s workplace.

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At the young age of 12, Dyer had a dream of owning her own female-operated coffee shop one day. Her endeavors began during her high school years at Starbucks, and from there she was taught the discipline and drive required to own and operate her business.

“I was made to be a coffee girl,” she said with a grin stretching from ear to ear.

Dyer is the middle child of sisters Jade and Jem, and was raised by her parents on a farm in Washington state. She recalled her parents teaching them the importance of hard work and leadership, and attributes a portion of her success to constant support from friends and family.

Her dream brought her to San Diego at age 20. From there she attended school and would later become a dental hygienist.

“I did that for four years,” she laughed. “I cleaned teeth and now I stain teeth.”

Only three short months ago, Dyer secured a spot in the Del Mar Plaza and was able to fully operate doing takeout and to-go style service. Before the initial shutdown in March of 2020, Dyer and her team had been working events since May of 2019. Then she found herself left without any work once those events had to be canceled.

Her quaint coffee shop sits in the upper half of the outdoor mall and might be big enough to fit three people. Despite its miniature size, the shop is full of life and is decorated with a theme of black, white and pink. It screams female-owned small business in the best possible way. Dyer explains that her business’ aesthetics have evolved since moving into its new location.

“The pink stays true because it aligns with the femaleowned, female-operated aspect,” said Dyer. “Pink is our girl power color.”

Dyer feels strongly about instilling in her employees the importance of equal rights in the work environment, and she recalled a time she even experienced gender inequality in the dental field.

“We still have gender roles and I think it’s really important that women feel empowered to start their own businesses at a young age,” she said.

She aims to create an environment that her six employees feel involved in and in charge of. Many of

the women bring skills to the business that have maximized the exposure of Kini Koffee, such as designing new logos and menus and even creating new and exciting drinks.

“The way the world’s changed, like not everyone is going to college anymore, not everyone’s doing school the same way,” she said. “I think if you can learn the trade of something you love and open a business you’ll have so much freedom.”

“We need more girl bosses,” Dyer added with confidence.

It is clear that Dyer is right where she’s meant to be, and her staff enjoys exercising their creativity alongside her and working as a team. Dyer told a story of a time she was working at the shop and a young woman approached her.

“She’s like, ‘I don’t know how to be a barista but hire me, I’m gonna put you on TikTok and teach you how to do this,’” she added. “She blew us up, overnight we had like 600,000 views.”

The coffee shop first went viral at the end December 2020, only a few short weeks after the shop officially opened in Del Mar. Their profile is full of creative videos of the girls trying new recipes, customer shoutouts and even a day-inthe-life of a barista at Kini Koffee.

The next day Dyer found herself working alone with a line of 30 people from TikTok dying to try Kini Koffee. The amount of support was so great that she had to hire a girl in line to help her make coffee.

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“

We still have gender roles and I think it’s really important that women feel empowered to start their own businesses at a young age.”

“So it is amazing and there’s so much much support from it [social media] that I never would have expected,” Dyer said.

Naomi explained her admiration for her workplace and described why working for a female-owned small business is so important to her.

Using social media to its advantage has given Kini Koffee the exposure it needs to thrive despite a global pandemic. Because the shop runs as a graband-go business, they have been lucky enough to be allowed to remain open.

“I would say I’m a feminist,” Naomi added, “it’s a man’s world, so for us to be all women run and owned just makes me very happy.”

“We’re safe, we’re clean, we’re always wearing masks. Even though we’re outdoors we’re still COVID cautious,” said Kini Koffee employee Naomi. Naomi’s last name has been left out for privacy purposes.

Naomi’s radiant energy fills up every inch of the coffee shop. After being greeted with a warm welcome, Naomi offered to make me a coffee and chat until Dyer was ready to be interviewed. Naomi was running the shop herself meanwhile using her graphic design skills to create Kini Koffee’s newest menu and lit up when I asked about her experience working at Kini Koffee.

“My experience has been lovely, Dyer is a beautiful human being and a wonderful boss,” she said.

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Dyer and her team of girl bosses look forward to opening their second storefront in Encinitas very soon, and hopes to spread the same message wherever coffee takes her.

The Kini Koffee staff is more than grateful for the unmatched support they have received from their community and will continue to not only make coffee, but put a smile on their customers’ faces for a long time.

“When there’s things that scare you I think learning to lean into that is important because that fear is speaking to you, right?” said Dyer. “You just have to dive in to open those doors that you never knew existed. It’s crazy.”

You can find Kini Koffee on Instagram and TikTok @kinikoffee. Be sure to stop in if you are in the area and are in the mood for some kindness. ■

Want to join us in the newsroom?

Contact Erin Hiro at ehiro@palomar.edu IMPACT

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Fandom

Spirit

Story and photos

by Morgan Davidson

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Rescued

2020 began as a year of excitement for the fandom community. Many new events and major reveals were lined up for 2020 and everyone wanted to be the first to be there. These events weren’t only so fans could get the first look at what's new. It was also a way for them to join other fans and make connections.

They shared their love for all things fandom with like-minded people.

Yet, the biggest fandom event, the San Diego Comic-Con, was canceled in 2020—down to the smallest of events in small shops across the country. These meetups and events are integral not only to comic book fans, but the entirety of fan culture. This includes games, television, movies and more.

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Without these events, fans don’t have much of a chance to meet each other in person. Despite all of the challenges, SoCal Games and Comics has managed to keep the fandom community alive and well in Temecula. Fans can still enjoy the company of likeminded hobbyists and even play a game or two.

Owner Daniel Wagner opened SoCal Games and Comics with two of his friends in October 2014 after splitting off from Sky High Comics in San Marcos, Calif. Wagner is the primary owner as the other two co-owners have full-time jobs elsewhere.

“We had owned another smaller comic shop in San Marcos for about a year before that,” Wagner said.

“The other three of us came to this one.”

Wagner said that a lot of people didn’t have a place to play before they opened.

“I was going to say that their friends and stuff here, like we have these [game] tables, which they’re actually for 4DK, but we use them for D&D as well,” he said.

SoCal Games and Comics has also created a place for friendships to grow. They used to have 60 people play Dungeons & Dragons every Tuesday and about 100 on Thursdays.

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“A lot of those people just became friends,” said Wagner.

“They still keep in contact, even if they don’t necessarily make it to games. I believe that’s their family balance, essentially.”

The friendships that people make in this store are not exclusive to adults coming in to play games together.

Even local kids come in and create bonds that extend outside the store and playing games.

“We’ve seen a lot of—especially with Pokémon—kids come in, they meet like they’re lifelong friends here or whatever. They start playing baseball together. Like we’ve seen some kids grow up from when they were six and seven until they’re probably 12, 13, 14 now. And they’ll come back,” Wagner said. “My son’s like, yeah, we were all like, when we weren’t playing Pokémon or whatever, we all played baseball together and stuff like that. They all met here.”

During the peak of the pandemic they unfortunately had to cancel events where people could come together. The business has not held one event since March 2020. This was a major hit to the people who have made SoCal Games and Comics their second home and to the business itself. The events at SoCal Games and Comics were one of the biggest draws and moneymakers it had.

One team member, Travis, who did not share his last name, explained that the events brought people in not just to participate in games, but to also get the chance to see what products were new. Many people tended to grab items while at the events because they sometimes forget what they needed at home. Not only did the business have to stop hosting its own events, but it also had no events that it could attend to advertise its business. Wagner

explained that outside of online advertising, getting out and showing up at community events was a big way of showing off his business.

“We also [attended] events at the Storm Stadium, they [host] a comic book weekend. We usually had a booth there,” he said. “We pass up free comics there. It’s cool.

We’ve done the balloon and wine festival, like any small events around there.”

Wagner shared a slight bit of worry about the volume of businesses like his that have closed their doors this past year. Based on data from ComicHub POS, the sales from comic shops plunged 29 percent over the summer, with sales of comic books down 37 percent. That was enough to drive at least 93 out of 100 retailers who use the system into closure.

Wagner and his staff still felt that they were wellanchored in their community in Temecula and are confident they would make it through the pandemic.

Wagner and his team are still doing everything they can to keep people coming through their doors. The team at SoCal Games and Comics has tried to keep up with its social media and website in order to keep people who can’t come in informed on what’s new.

Recently, SoCal Games and Comics announced on its Facebook page that it will be having events once again starting in early April. Wagner shared that he was excited to hold these events and start getting people coming through the doors again. ■able to be as big as

they were before,” Wagner said. “But it’ll start getting people used to going back in and being able to come and see the people that [they] maybe haven’t seen in IMPACT 41 a year.”

D

onuts in anger

Story and photos by Matthew Villapando

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down many businesses throughout Riverside County, one little donut shop in Temecula is surviving. With the closure of non-essential businesses, many early birds’ favorite breakfast sweets are threatened with potential closure.

Rancho Donuts serves its donuts, breakfast sandwiches and warm cups of coffee to its morning regulars.

Every morning, the sweet smell of fresh donuts wafts in the shop, layered with a thick glaze or their variety of maple to blueberry donuts. Rancho Donuts also offers more than 21 filling options in their breakfast and lunch sandwiches selections. The drinks they offer are rich and sweet, from caramel lattes to iced Thai teas with boba.

Owner Socheata Chea has created an environment for early birds to start their day. However, she was struggling during the pandemic after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shutdown that enforced COVID-19 restrictions. Chea was scared and worried at first about how she was going to pay for her bills, rent and wages.

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With the way the pandemic has affected the food industry, many restaurants have dipped into a red zone of potential closure. However, the donut shop wasn’t forced to close down as Chea had thought.

“We actually only closed for one day, which was when they announced the lockdown around March of 2020, but that’s pretty much it,” she said. “We [have been] open since cause there were people who were telling me I was allowed to open, so I stayed open, and plus I never received an email or letter from my landlord and the governor that I had to close.”

In Riverside, COVID-19 restrictions did not allow restaurants to host dine-in, forcing restaurants to convert to outdoor dine-in or just pick-up orders. With the new restrictions, Chea had to adapt and change to stay afloat.

“I had to raise my prices, and I knew it wasn’t the best idea to do at the moment, but I needed to because of the lack of income I was getting and I needed a way to make up for it,” said Chea. “I also didn’t allow dining anymore due to safety reasons, a glass window between the register area so there could be distance between the customer and my cashier. Same with wearing a mask at all times.”

Since the drastic change of consumer behaviors, it’s no surprise that it has changed the donut shop’s pace of customers, including the early birds and regular customers. Chea lost many regular customers once COVID-19 hit—about 70 percent of her regulars and about half her income. She said she had to rely on the weekends because that’s when she makes the most money. Chea also had to cut back her employees’ hours early in the lockdown.

“I also had a lot of food waste due to the fact we barely had any customers coming in and buying our donuts,” she said. “But we seem to be doing fine at the moment ’cause business seems to be picking up right now since December of 2020 to the present day.”

During the pandemic Chea hopes that her regular customers come by to see that they’re open for business.

As of right now, her and her employees have been staying busy during March and April, finding themselves slowly getting back to normal.

As for her plans for the future of Rancho Donuts, Chea wants to continue providing her tasty donuts and coffee to those early birds as long as she can without the pandemic causing any more difficulty in the future. ■

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The

Woodford Legacy Story by Parker Meister

Photo: Pakorn Sungkapukdee, 123rf.com

The average car enthusiast and “DIY” (do it yourself) person will spend hours on forums, searching for their specific make and model in attempts to troubleshoot problems their car may be experiencing or simply to just chat with their community.

And when you think of a car racing parts business, you might think of large corporations with multiple numbers, sponsors and partnerships with other companies to sell their products to consumers.

Most auto part companies make specific products for specific vehicles that are far more advanced and researched than your average car parts company. These aftermarket products potentially help your car be a better version of itself. This is the case for Anthony Woodford Racing, a small mom-and-pop shop in Vista, Calif. where Tony and Sheree Woodford, along with their daughter Ali and their son Colin, work together to produce fabricated aftermarket parts for specific Ford and Mazda makes and models.

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Photos: AWR

These include the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8 that uses a rotary style engine, Ford Focus ST and Ford Fiesta ST. Who could forget the almighty Mazda Miata MX-5, being one of the most popular cars for aftermarket modifications because they are very forgiving.

Tony learned his craft from an old-world master, from restoring vintage sports cars to building one of the prototypes that formed compound curves, molded fiberglass, carbon and redesigned vintage racers to compete against technologically advanced models.

He developed technical expertise and meticulous fabrication skills that would be sought after by Premier Auto Racing operations and enthusiasts.

“I grew up around cars because my father restored cars so I helped him with his business, eventually, I decided to make my own business and would fabricate parts,” Tony said. “Eventually, we both got to the point that we were exchanging business with each other to stay busy.”

AWR offers custom prototyping and race car engineering and restoration services to automotive manufacturers, racers and collectors alike. It’s hard to believe that all of this is possible and managed with just four people. A small office gives the illusion of being a huge car company because their brand is so widely known throughout the country and the world.

suspension design and exhaust system technology.

“It was a good run, and most importantly it was fun!” said Tony.

Tony founded AWR in 1995 because he “didn’t want to work for my dad forever. He moved to the U.S. to be with Sheree since she was already living down here with her family.”

Tony is a driven mechanic and quickly developed a relationship with Mazda competition parts, a division of Mazda USA developing various parts for the Grassroots Racing Industry, event design and prototype: a rotarypowered Formula Atlantic race car. This type of car breeds a powerful and efficient rotary solution to compete with Toyota power plants.

Under Tony’s watchful eye and uncompromising standards, the Formula Atlantic Project would be pushed to the next level. Meanwhile, grassroots development continues to evolve with products for touring and GT race teams, and Formula One projects are expanding, too.

In 1986, before AWR came to be Tony focus on the auto-racing field, he joined various Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing teams, including Overton Autosport, an International Motorsports Association Grand Touring team from 1989 to 1993. He worked with Nissan performance technology, which dealt a successful Certified Training Personnel Team with drivers like Chip Robinson. This was followed by heavy involvement with Formula Atlantic Professional Teams.

To date, nine rotary-powered Atlantic cars are campaigning in the Sports Car Club of America. AWR is currently concentrating its growth on advanced IMPACT Photo: Parker Meister

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Photo: AWR

Marlon Sumlin, who is a part of a small racing team in Parma, Ohio, known as Force Racing, had nothing but great insight on AWR. “First and foremost, price does not matter to us. You can have a lower price, but if your customer service is not up to par, you have lost a customer,” Sumlin said.

“You order a product, you get great follow-up service.

AWR is a part of each of the cars and we are proud to be part of team AWR.” Eventually, Tony and AWR met with Mazda to discuss retrofitting a new Mazda Miata MX-5 with a roll cage and race-trim. This MX-5 was introduced to the world and promoted to the new MX-5 Cup Series. They were designated to participate as an active vendor and supplier in the series for several years.

On the business side, AWR always has a new project to start on even when facing a potential shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While other businesses were forced to close, AWR had a different outcome.

They received more business rather than having it slow down.

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“With most people forced to stay at home, this gave a lot of people some time to catch up on personal endeavors, including car repairs,” Sheree said. “AWR orders got a boost in business with people having all this free time due to the stay-at-home order issued by the government.”

AWR does not pay for advertising and instead relies on word of mouth and the racing community. This is due to Tony’s many years of mechanic and fabrication work with race teams.

Greg Mishimoto, a San Diego resident, and a DIYer said “AWR is well-stocked with whatever I needed.

Regardless of the project at hand.”

Mishimoto had no idea that everything was created inhouse when he spoke with Ali. “After installing the parts I had purchased I was amused by how awesome my car felt on the initial start-up. It handled incredibly well, I had a few technical issues when installing but, Ali was there to help answer any questions.”

Tony has built quite a reputation for his work from one man. In 1998, he was granted the SCCA Mechanic Of The Year Award, which is a prestigious award.

Eventually, Tony and Sheree hope to hand the business off to their kids in good standing to continue the AWR legacy, but for now Tony is still behind the wheel of the operation. ■

Tony Woodford earned the SCCA Mechanic of the Year Award in 1998. (right) Tony Woodford was featured in a Canadian newspaper in 1986. (bottom)

Photo: Parker Meister

Photo: Parker Meister

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The

Gamez

Not Over Story and photos by Max Cruz

If you’re a student who lives on the coast and likes retro video games and collectables, Throwback Gamez is the place for you. Located in Oceanside, it’s a small hole-in-the-wall store so keep your eyes peeled when you look for it.

Owner Manny Mimoso, who grew up in Neward, N.J., wanted to leave the corporate scene and job behind him and follow what he had a passion for: video games. He always loved them and hated how big franchises did business and felt he could do it better.

“I’ve always wanted to have my own business, I love video games, and I hate how GameStop does business,” said Mimoso at his store. “So it started six years ago in Baltimore, I fixed my Nintendo and realized I liked fixing 48

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stuff so I started selling stuff out of my garage and garage sales,” Mimoso said.

“Then I moved to California and things didn’t go very well for me in the beginning. I really enjoyed taking shit that was dead and bringing it to life.”

and restaurants in Portugal. And with a total of five employees, Mimoso doesn’t like to say they work for him.

“My friends didn’t think I should open up the store, they said I was crazy,” he said. “One of my buddies said that it’s the worst idea because everything is going digital. It’s all about the atmosphere. You treat me right, I’ll sit here and talk to you for hours. If you act like a douche, I’ll treat you like a douche. I don’t believe that the customer is always right. I protect my business and I protect my coworkers.”

For employee Josh Godinez, working for Throwback Gamez was a “breath of fresh air” for him. “I mean I’m working at a game store, I can’t ask for anything else,” he said.

Mimoso’s inspiration for starting and owning his own business was his grandfather, who owned seven cafes

“The lack of retro video game stores in the area and our pricing for both tradeins and sale are very fair,” he said.

“People don’t work for me; they work with me,” he said.

Mimoso attributes the success of his store to the lack of retro video game stores on the coast. He also thinks his pricing,and the environment he created has helped the success of the business.

that never called me back,” said Mimoso.

“This was the only place that called me back.”

“I don’t need to make $100 on every transaction, I really don’t. Some things I grossly overpay for them because I want them in my store,” he added. “I got SoulSilver two days ago and I paid $150 for it, then sold it for $79.99, but it gets asses in here. The guy who bought it brought a friend, who ended up buying a Funko Pop.” Sala Lologo, a Throwback Gamez customer, said on Instagram that he loves the store and how it allows him to reminisce on childhood memories.

He likes how welcoming Mimoso is and how it’s a place you can shop at, but also hang out.

“I found out about Throwback through you [Max] actually. Seeing it on your story so I’d figure I’d give it a look around,” he said. “Manny is super chill and creates a vibe that is super unmatched for real. I’d totally recommend Throwback to anyone local or afar!”

Before Throwback Gamez, the location used to be a video game store.

“This location chose me. When I was looking around at places, as soon as people heard I was opening up a video game store, I got the old ‘hey, we’ll get back to you at the end of the day.’ We probably got 40 to 50 places

When Throwback Gamez first opened, Mimoso paid thousands in advertising, but the dollar didn’t stretch as far as word of mouth has.

“My favorite words are ‘I love this place’ and ‘I’m going to tell my friends about it,’ you know, that’s the best form of advertising,” he said. “If you would have told me a year ago that by this time I’d have over 2,300 followers on Instagram, I would’ve told you, you’re nuts.”

The store gets a lot of its inventory through trade-ins and will get some items off of sellers on Instagram.

“I usually wait until the end and go through the leftovers so everyone else can get a fair shot and pick what they want,” Mimoso said, adding that he also has a distributor from which he gets newer games in bulk. Mimoso’s best-selling items at the store are anything Pokémon.

“If I had only Pokémon items in this store, I wouldn’t have to sell anything else,” he said.

COVID-19 struck at what many would think to be an inconvenient time, but in the end it seemed to be partly beneficial for the business.

“I signed the lease on March 10, 2020 and on March 11, 2020 [when Gov. Gavin] Newsom decided to shut us down,” he said. “I had a lot of repairs in here that needed to be done, so I thought, okay we’ll have two weeks to a month to get those under control.

Then look at where we are a year later.”

The shutdown made Mimoso find ways to grow his business and get some sales.

“For the first couple weeks we offered delivery, but it’s kind of hard to do that when you’re the only person here. So I was closing and making the delivery, and yeah that wasn’t very fun,” Mimoso said. The delivery idea didn’t do as well as he thought it would, but conveniently customers didn’t mind doing curbside pick-ups instead.

“I want to be a nationally recognized brand, that’s what the end goal is,” he said.

Mimoso wants to build out in California and move east. He would love to have a location back home in Baltimore.

“I’m not really good about talking about myself, like I’m really not. You know humility goes a long way, so how about you think about something to say about my store,” he said. If there was one thing to say about Throwback Gamez, it would be it’s a great store with great prices and even better people. ■

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Dress to impress from different eras

Story and photos

by Natalie Gutierrez

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Gioia’s Room Boutique offers a variety of stylish clothing, such as dresses, tops, jeans, pants and many more outfits from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.

Gioia Ileana Marino is the owner of the boutique. She is jovial toward her customers and enjoys selling stylish clothing. She started her small clothing business in April of 2012, where she celebrated the ninth anniversary this year. The boutique was located on 6th Avenue in Downtown San Diego before moving to Hillcrest last year.

Before starting her boutique, Marino had worked as a salesperson at clothing stores.

During this time, she also guided a friend to start her own small clothing business.

“I did a lot of things that sort of brought me to the place I’m at now,” she said.

“So I worked at Nordstrom for seven-and-a-half years and women’s shoes in different departments, and I helped a friend run her boutique after I left Nordstrom.”

Marino talked about how she has been interested in fashionable clothing and wearing stylish outfits since her childhood, as well as always wanting to create certain outfits for friends, family and acquaintances.

Photo: Gioia Marino

“Ever since I was really little, I played dress-up like crazy,” Marino said. “I would dress-up all of my friends and neighbors in cute little outfits. I always had a really funky personal style ever since I was very little, like three years old and up.”

Marino was skeptical and doubtful about starting her own clothing shop. After her father died, she started to gain more confidence where she was able to do what she wanted and started her small business.

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“I was like, ‘I could maybe do this,’ and that was the first moment where I was like, ‘maybe I could,’ but of course, there’s always the fear of starting your own business,” Marino said.

“The fear of failure, the fear of like, am I going to know what I’m doing? How is this going to go? And it wasn’t until, unfortunately, I lost my father from cancer nineand-a-half years ago that I stopped being so afraid of doing all the things that I had wanted to do and never really completely tried,” she added.

After the COVID-19 pandemic happened, Marino had just moved to the current location right before the shutdown in early March.

“I had no idea what was going to happen and it’s like self-consciously, maybe I knew because this decision saved my entire business,” she added. “The reasons that I was so affected by the pandemic obviously was because I was shut down for several months starting like mid-March of 2020, but moving to this location, it’s a smaller space, I pay less in rent and it’s the busiest street in this community in Hillcrest so all those things saved my business.”

Finance writer Adam McCann of WalletHub said that “55 percent of small businesses expect long-term challenges caused by the pandemic,” as well as how 100,000 small businesses had shut down this past year.

Statistics from the article show how small businesses from different states have been closed due to the pandemic.

A few states that were listed as a high number of small businesses shutting down include Rhode Island with a total score of 49.68, Vermont with a total score of 56.72, New Hampshire with a total score of 56,62, Montana showing a total score of 48.15 and Hawaii showing a total score of 36.31.

The states with a low number of small businesses shutting down include District of Columbia with a total score of 66.44, Missouri showing as a total score of 70.43, Oklahoma has a total score of 62.56, Louisiana showing a total score of 66.01 and Ohio showing a total score of 68.18.

Throughout the pandemic, Marino said her outfits have changed in style.

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“The style that I buy for my shop has drastically changed post and during the pandemic,” she said.

“There’s a staple pair of paper bag high-waisted pants that I just keep re-ordering, because I keep selling out of them because they look very professional and put together and tailored.”

She introduced her purple outfits that she has hung on her wall and mentioned how she decided to go with that “color palette.” She then introduces some of her trendy outfits, such as tie-dye T-shirts and stretchy material outfits.

“I have definitely gotten on the loungewear, soft, stretchy material band wagon,” Marino said. “Tons of tie-dye and a lot of fun rainbow right prints ’cause we’re going into spring and the weather is getting prettier.”

Her highest price items are in the 40s, but she also sells racks.

“One item is $15.00, $2.25, $3.30, and I always do first-time customer discounts for 10 percent off and everybody who comes in, and if you’re a first timer, you get a business card,” she explained.

One current customer from the boutique, Elizabeth Strout, has been shopping at Gioia’s for about nine years. She described how she enjoyed the customer service Marino provided when she first shopped there.

“The first time I interacted with her, she pulled outfits for me almost immediately that were my exact style, just based off of a quick conversation,” Strout said.

“I love the personalized service that Gioia gives, she always remembers what pieces you have, what you need and things about you. Gioia still offers the same kind of personalized styling she always has, the items still change weekly and the prices remain the same.”

If anyone is interested in checking out Gioia’s Room Boutique, feel free to check out the website at gioiasroom.wordpress.com where you can view all the newest outfits and upcoming events to shop for your favorite outfits. ■

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Obstacles

How coaching helps people �nd their inner strength Story by Adam Correa Photo courtesy of Greg Clowminzer Life coach Greg Clowminzer, 60, was born in Memphis, Tenn. and moved to San Diego when he was 18 months old. He attended Mesa College then National University but never finished. He spoke about how he worked up to running a business and life coaching business. He has had many clients throughout his career as a business and life coach, some of which shared their lifechanging experiences under his guidance.

“I actually got licensed to do tax work,” Clowminzer said over a Zoom call, when explaining how he started working with his mother when he was younger. Learning how to do taxes helped introduce him to learning about finances and looking at numbers.

“Then I got into commercial real estate and had a successful run at that,” Clowminzer said. Getting into commercial real estate helped him realize how to become an entrepreneur, a businessman and how to hire people.

Clowminzer has been a life coach for more than 28 years.

In 1993, he started his life coaching business on his own.

“Coaching wasn't even a profession back then,” he said.

“Back then we just called ourselves coaches.” Since the coaching business was so open-ended, they could help a lot of people in different areas. “We can help people with health concerns, stress and anxiety but not like we were therapists.”

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The International Coach Federation announced in Bloomberg Pursuits that the life coaching body has soared from almost 4,700 worldwide in 2001 to more than 41,000 today during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clowminzer wants his clients to set-up strategic goals so they can maintain a healthy life and business.

He said coaches started to become more like “generalists,” someone who has a wide array of knowledge in many subjects. After learning to become more like a generalist, he said you need to develop a “niche,” which is a suitable or comfortable position in life or employment. So he found his niche in coaching people in business.

“Coaches would work with people going through a divorce, or coaches would be people working with firsttime parents or coaches would be people with kids trying to get into an Ivy League college,” he said.

“I coach people who are business owners or professionals and help them do better at what they’re doing,” he said.

A Successful Case Chuck Helsel, who is a mortgage loan officer for US Bank, was one of Clowminzer’s first clients and has been seeing him weekly ever since. Helsel grew up in Long Island, N.Y. and moved to La Jolla during the second half of his senior year of high school.

“We went to some seminar over 25 years ago before he started coaching and it was a seminar about how to improve yourself and how to improve your business,” Helsel said. From that seminar, he and Clowminzer connected and “the rest is history.”

“People have fancy cars and you see them driving and one wheel is flat or it’s low or there is a big dent on the side, and I think Greg keeps my tires inflated,” Helsel said. “I’m proud that I’ve maintained a 32-year marriage, I’m proud that I’ve been in one industry in banking since 1981, that I’ve been in the mortgage business since 1989.”

disorder. Then three years ago I felt I was on a brink of a huge breakthrough.”

When she took Clowminzer’s three-day life coaching experience, she came out of it with a sense of love and peace within herself.

“It changed the trajectory of my life that weekend and knew I had to teach it [life coaching],” she said.

He feels that if he did not get the type of coaching from Clowminzer, he would be divorced and unemployed because of the way he is “wired.”

“Greg has been a part of my growth, my getting older, my experience, my balance and to maintain a level of life,” Helsel said.

“My wife is one of my most wonderful critics,” Helsel said.

Clowminzer has helped Helsel with different ways of dealing with his learning disabilities. Sometimes his disabilities allow him to think about something that is worrying him. He describes it as going down a “rabbit hole.” Helsel is glad that Clowminzer has coached him in the business area and his life.

On Business Coaching In her book, “Why Leaders Need To Bring Mindfulness Into Their Coaching Practice,” Dr. Deb Hedderly wrote that “studies show that mindful leaders bring greater understanding for change, are resilient and bring wisdom into their work. When leaders are not on ‘autopilot,’ they can reduce stress, unlock creativity, and boost performance.”

When clients see him, Clowminzer notices that there are more personal matters to work on than businessrelated issues. He said that he considered or “entertained” the idea of hiring business coaches or life coaches

Coogan has had clients that came to her for advice on how to be a coach. She calls it her “Wellness Program,” which looks at her clients’ wealth, health and relationships.

once or twice but decided to keep his business the way it is.

He loves the clients he has right now and doesn’t feel that it is necessary to hire any other coaches.

“There is no such thing as a business; there are just people in the business,” Clowminzer said.

An Inspired Life Coach Cuyla Coogan, 31, was born in Santa Monica and moved to Huntington Beach when she was in kindergarten.

Coogan has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at San Diego State University and a master’s degree in sports management at the University of San Francisco.

Coogan is a life coach and met Clowminzer about three years ago through a friend at a speaking event.

She launched her life coaching business right after going through Clowminzer’s program.

“He changed my life,” she said. “Three years ago I had severe anxiety. I was still going through severe anxiety, I was experiencing it for most of my life and I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety

“I've helped people transition into living out their life purpose and becoming a coach,” she said. When working with her clients, Coogan said it is important to focus on personal growth first.

“We teach an understanding of their mind,” she said, explaining that when you focus on your self growth, everything starts unfolding from there.

Coogan wants to make sure people come home with a fresher mind and an understanding of how to find inner love and peace with themselves. She would not have begun learning this if it wasn’t for meeting Clowminzer.

Clowminzer has been using Zoom to meet with his clients. He did meet with some clients at his office in Carlsbad before the pandemic, but now those clients have had to switch to virtual. He was hosting live events every 30 to 45 days before the COVID-19 pandemic.

These live events were three-day experimental self-discovery events that helped people learn about their minds and the mindset for success and wellbeing. It was one of the events that helped Coogan launch her transformational life coaching career. ■ IMPACT

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B&E Building effect & brand excellence Story by Thalia Medina Photos courtesy of Eric Prais Owner Eric Prais founded B & E Applications in 1993. Prais’ business was about making the customer happy with what they wanted their house or business to look like. Prais knows that with his business it’s the perfect solution. The company offers a variety of interior and exterior services for residential or commercial properties, such as painting, concrete finishes, water blasting and more.

Prais went to Palomar College to get his business license so that his company could be legit. He wanted to start his own business because he wanted to make money for himself as well as pursue his own dream, not somebody else’s.

“I was tired of making money for other people,” Prais said. “I’ve always pictured myself owning my own business.”

The initials B and E originally stood for Billy and Eric. Billy was Prais’ business partner, but they had a 56

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fallout, and Billy left the company.

Now “B & E” stands for Brett and Emma, after his two children.

Although business was not booming the first year, the client list kept getting longer in the second year.

Many of his clients want their crown molding to match their baseboards, just to give the room a more cohesive and sophisticated appearance. Most of the homeowners want more baseboards than crown molding, because it serves both aesthetic and functional purposes.

“Baseboards give your home a tighter joint between the floor and wall, since no wall is entirely straight,” Prais said.

When some of his clients ask to have their garage floors done, they want them to shine.

“They always ask to have their boring or ugly cement floor transformed into a floor of beauty,” Prais said. “The garage has now become more than just a place where you park your car.

Epoxy coating is the holy grail to making your garage floor look shiny.

It all depends on which application you choose. You can select from custom colors and blends of color flakes that match your style.”

The Pandemic B & E Applications has five employees but Prais tries to take in as many workers as he can. When the pandemic began, his business struggled a little, but after three months the company started to pick up. The employees had to wear masks and have their temperatures checked whenever they worked on a project.

Despite the pandemic, the business still had to keep pushing forward.

Many of his long-term customers were eager to work with him again, and the company was ready to start upcoming projects.

Their largest project was Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego.

They started this project from 2000 to 2001, and it took them nearly two years to finish.

“This project was very grueling for us,” Prais said. “I honestly didn’t think that we were going to finish on time, because there were so many mistakes that we did.”

B & E Applications also worked with Skinit, a San Diego ski company that designs phone cases, laptops, audio or gaming devices with skins. Prais enjoys doing projects in San Diego because he enjoys the breeze of the ocean.

“Whenever I’m in San Diego the energy just feels different,” Prais said.

His clientele are mostly in Rancho Santa Fe and Del Mar. He has also done homes for celebrities like Bill and Melinda Gates and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk.

“I’m a huge fan of his, he’s such a great guy,” Prais said, referring to Hawk. “My son grew up watching him. He also wanted to become a professional skateboarder.”

Family Matters Brett, Eric Prais’ son who is also one of his employees, enjoys working with his father. He started working with his father in his early twenties because he didn’t want to go to college.

“My father is a very strict man,” Brett said. “You either go to school or get a job.”

Brett decided to join the family business, but his father told him that he wasn’t going to be getting any special treatment just because he’s his son. He would be treated exactly like his father’s other employees.

Brett never planned to go into the family business, but now he hopes one day he’ll take over his father’s business.

painting her hallway walls, the dining room and two of her bedrooms.

“Growing up I’ve always wanted to be a professional skateboarder,” Brett said. “In the end it didn’t follow through.”

“My husband and I choose B & E Applications because of their great reviews on Better Business Bureau,” Grant said. “I would definitely recommend his services to other people.”

During the time that he has worked with his father, he has learned to appreciate how much his father puts into the company.

Melissa Grant, who is one of Prais’ newest customers, lives in Carlsbad. She said that Prais’ company did a very good job

Prais has always wanted to own his own business and he most certainly has achieved that. His main goal is to always make customers happy. He hopes that the family business will continue when he retires one day. ■

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Extra Life for

Story and photos

by Lucas Vore

CALICO GAMES With many people stuck inside due to COVID-19, a new (and old) love of video games have been revived for many. With many stores struggling to find their footing during the pandemic, Eric Velasco, owner of Calico Games has been finding success with retro games from the old 8-bit era to new games that have just come out this year.

Despite its small size, the store is jam-packed with video games. From shelves, cases, behind the workers, everywhere you looked you could find something that would catch your eye. As I walked in, owner Eric Velasco greeted me and we spoke in the back room.

What’s incredible is that he is quite young to be managing multiple stores.

“It was always kinda a side thing, you know, mostly to fund my hobby of buying more games,” he said. His first taste of making money was when friends would pay Velasco to sell their games.

Velasco went to college and ended up dropping out. “I didn’t go to college where I was just going from class to class with no real direction,” said Velasco. After dropping out he became a dishwasher at La Costa Resort. He decided to open up his first store with his family in Escondido. The second store opened in Vista 58

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and later expanded to San Diego for his third location.

Besides selling and trading games, Calico Games also helps customers replace missing parts of a console.

“When people trade in consoles there are always missing bits and pieces,” Velasco said. The issue is the production of replacement parts has been slowed down since COVID-19, limiting the amount of parts the store has been able to receive.

However, that was only one of a few problems Calico Games faced during this pandemic. In March 2020, the store had to close for almost three months. “The problem is even when you’re closed, you still need to pay your permits fees, rent, all that stuff needs to be paid in three locations. So things got a little close during that time period,” Velasco said.

But as the store was able to open up, many found an escape through playing games and wound up straight to Velasco. An increase in prices for games and consoles and a demand was on the rise. Games like Pokémon have been constantly sold out due to the demand.

Velasco also mentioned that big gaming events, like E3 or Comic Con, have been closed down, but some of these events are happening online, like Nintendo Direct

where it showcases all the upcoming games that will be on their consoles. Velasco sees an “uptick” of sales every time one of the events takes place.

The Internet helps niche stores like Calico Games.

YouTubers, like The Angry Video Game Nerd, reviews and makes fun of old retro games and accumulates millions of views per video. While YouTubers and gaming events can help bring an audience to the gaming scene, Velasco believes that the desire for a physical copy can also help.

“Digital releases, emulators ROMS, all that stuff was widely available and more accessible, [but] it is a bit different actually having the physical thing to play on your shelf to be part of your collection.”

It seems that the future of a game store is in the retro field. Buying new games is risky. “You make on average around $5 per game. It’s crappy, terrible margins,” he said.

CyberPunk 2077 is an example of a risk of buying new games. It was supposed to be the biggest game of the year, with a starting price of $60, dropped in price to $40 within a few weeks. According to CNBC, Sony has removed Cyberpunk 2077 from its PlayStation Store due to the backlash it received from its lackluster release. New games are a risk and events like these can hinder sales. Pre-owned games are the way to go because you get a much higher profit margin.

Veteran or new gamers will feel welcomed in the store.

Velasco has ensured to make sure customer service is their top priority, and he plans on expanding a fourth store in Temecula.

“We want to make sure we’re welcoming to new customers—people who are not familiar with the scene, people that are collectors themselves. They know what they want to see when it comes from the team store and all that.” ■

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R-Town Rocked

Through Tough Times Story and photos

by Emiliano Ramos

R-Town Strength & Wellness in Ramona came from the ashes of a dying business. Started in late 2018, Dan Edelman, a former employee at the Brand X gym, saw that as an opportunity to provide the demand that people needed a place to continue working out and fed into the growing need for a gym.

He and a coworker, Dan Strametz, decided to ask around the clients to see if they would be interested in joining their new gym. The clients responded positively and Edelman and Strametz decided to go through with it and open their own gym.

They found a space in an old brewery and started to renovate it to fill their space and basic gym needs, such as a bathroom, cardio area and weight station. Their original goal was to provide themselves and clients from the previous gym a space to continue working out.

“It became clear that it was time to see how we could provide the clients with a new gym,” said Edelman.

Edelman and Strametz didn’t open the gym for money.

Instead they did it because of their history and love for 60

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the art of fitness. Edelman became a Brand X Certified Coach, which is a program committed to developing young athletes to be the best they can be. With about 10 years of experience training kids and adults, he is also the current USA Powerlifting state record holder.

Strametz, who is a former attendant at the previous gym, joined him in starting R-Town. He is also a Brand X Certified Coach and has been training adults and kids in strength and conditioning for more than 10 years. To further prove his credibility and experience in the world of fitness, Strametz is also a fifth-degree Kenpo karate black belt and has earned the title of “sifu,” which is a title given to those who attain a mastery in the mixed style of Japanese and Chinese martial arts.

Edelman’s said that R-Town started up pretty smoothly.

“It honestly hasn’t been that bad other than the fact that the client base was small and stagnant initially, but since we have consistent clients who come here because they truly want to work out it’s been good,” he said.

Like many businesses since March 2020, everything came to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This caused the gym to shut down for a few months

while the lockdown was installed, and during that time they were figuring things out and deciding what their next step would be.

The staff did what many gyms had done and gave their clients a break on their payments since they weren’t using their facility. The R-Town staff followed state protocols and shutdown, even when their competition didn’t.

Luckily, R-Town had savings to fall back on. What made it a little easier was the drop in expenses that came with keeping the gym open. Eventually, when everyone was cleared to return, the R-Town staff decided to take multiple new measures.

“We tried to uphold high standards of cleanliness by wiping down equipment every once in a while and making sure that the clients followed our regulations of not sharing equipment and keeping the mandated distance between each other,” Edelman said. “Hand sanitizers and gym wipes are located throughout the gym as well as face masks if you happen to forget your own.”

Edelman and Strametz are very clear that regular exercise staves off depression, improves sleep and staying fit. It’s also a very helpful way to strengthen your immune system and prevent diseases, such as a serious case of COVID-19. But there are clear risks to attending a public gym, such as there are a lot of people moving around within a confined space while sharing the same air and equipment.

“R-Town is a badass gym with all the equipment you could ever want for all levels of training,” said Ben Morrison, a student athlete who attends the facility. “The aesthetic inside is spacious, clean, and makes you want to come back to the gym as often as possible. The staff are very experienced and are always willing to help you if you need it. The stereo system is great, too.”

Breathing heavily could lead to a disaster in an easy viral spread. Edelman’s son, Ezekiel, quoted from philosopher Socrates that resonates with his family to keep him working out and staying fit: “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”

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R-Town specializes in training teens, preteens and kids.

Whether they are heavily involved in sports or just need somewhere to work out, their goal is to make kids stronger, faster, more durable and better prepared for all of life’s challenges.

“We’ll help you discover your existing fitness level and then guide you beyond that – as far as you want to go.

We want to make your gym experience a rewarding challenge and a whole lot of laughs at the same time,” said Edelman. “We want you to realize that exercising, working out, training, whatever you want to call it, doesn’t need to be an unenjoyable beatdown for you to see results.”

At R-Town Edelman and Strametz think the best way to get in shape is to know how to have fun and stay in shape. They’ll take the time to show you how you should work out and how you can keep your positivity with fun workouts.

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The staff would walk you through workouts and give you plans so that you can reach your goal efficiently, even going as far as supervising you to make sure you’re doing the right movements so you don’t hurt yourself. If you know what you want to do and have your own plan, you’re free to have fun and work hard.

“The Dan’s are the best! They have taught me so much, and have been encouraging and patient with me. I am excited to continue working with these two and be a part of this awesome gym,” said Danielle Jarrett, who is a gym member.

So if you ever find yourself in Ramona and you strive for a better you, give R-Town Wellness and Fitness Center a chance and the staff will shower you with their hospitality and encouraging environment. They plan to continue to help guide others to do their best. ■

Aug. 19, 2019. Photo: Nick Ng

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IMPACT magazine

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Nick Ng