San Diego, CA
Business Roundup: La Jolla gets a string of new arrivals, from mattresses to bagels
November was a busy month for new business arrivals in La Jolla, with a couple of long-anticipated restaurants opening along with other establishments. Here’s a look.
Vispring
This new luxury mattress showroom is at 7464 Girard Ave., replacing Faded Awning, which opened in 2010 and closed in January this year.
Vispring officially ushered in the new business with a grand opening Nov. 4.
The location marks “a strategic expansion into one of Southern California’s most affluent markets,” according to the business’s website. It’s one of its many expansions this year, starting with Orange County in January and New York City and Dallas in June. Additional locations are set to open soon in Washington, D.C.
The company, which sells handmade European mattresses, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. To commemorate the La Jolla opening, Vispring is offering a free Heaven mattress topper with the purchase of a mattress until Thursday, Jan. 1.
Vispring is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Learn more at vispring.com.
Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing
After a year of planning and building, La Plaza La Jolla’s newest addition is here.
Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing, a sister location to Enigma Professional Piercing Studios, offers gold and implant-grade titanium jewelry for ear and body piercings. Its focus, co-owner Evan Spencer told the La Jolla Light, is offering “a safe, comfortable and high-end experience” with high-quality jewelry and aseptic technique.
Spencer is the lead piercer and store director, joined by co-owner Didier Suarez and piercer Jenna Bee.
Hummingbird opened Nov. 14 at 7863 Girard Ave. and is slated to host a grand-opening celebration from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.
“We are extremely enthusiastic about the quality of our products, the level of our service and experience and the safety and care that goes into every service we offer,” Spencer said.
Hummingbird is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day but Wednesdays. Find out more at hummingbirdpiercing.com.
PopUp Bagels
Breakfast is back at 637 Pearl St., with New York chain PopUp Bagels making its local debut Nov. 21.
PopUp Bagels offers fresh-baked bagels and a rotating lineup of schmears ranging from plain cream cheese to spicy buffalo butter. Rather than offering traditional bagels cut in half with cream cheese in the middle, PopUp encourages customers to grip the bagel, rip off a piece and dip it in a cup of schmear.
PopUp Bagels replaces Breakfast Republic, which left the Pearl Street address in March as part of what a representative called a lease buyout from the property owner.
This is PopUp’s first brick-and-mortar location on the West Coast. Its expansion to San Diego was facilitated by San Diego State University graduates Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman, who secured a franchise deal with the corporate team in New York and are now planning 10 PopUp Bagels locations in San Diego County over the next five years.
PopUp Bagels is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Find out more at popupbagels.com.
Dora Ristorante
This new southern Italian coastal cuisine restaurant opened Nov. 20 at 9165 S. Scholars Drive in the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood at the southwest corner of UC San Diego’s campus, across the street from La Jolla Playhouse.
Dora Ristorante comes from chef Accursio Lota and his wife, Corinne Goria, of La Jolla, the owners of North Park’s popular Cori Trattoria Pastificio.
As part of the couple’s partnership with La Jolla Playhouse, the Dora team will design prix-fixe menus and cocktails themed to each playhouse production.
Hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Reservations are available at doralajolla.com.
— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Pam Kragen contributed to this report.
La Jolla Business Roundup is published monthly by the La Jolla Light. Send your business news to staff writer Noah Lyons at noah.lyons@lajollalight.com. ♦
San Diego taxpayers are subsidizing the short-term rental industry’s trash collection under the People’s Ordinance. The 2017 letter from the city attorney to Councilmember Zapf is crystal clear: transient occupancy (rentals under 30 days) generates “nonresidential refuse.”
The city is prohibited from providing free weekly collection to these units. Yet, thousands of whole-home STRs continue to receive curbside service at taxpayer expense. Measure B (2022) modernized funding but left the core definition intact — transient rentals remain ineligible for city residential service.
Requiring owners to arrange and pay for private hauling would shift the full cost off the general fund. With roughly 7,954 active licenses, and residential collection costing about $520 per unit annually, the city could save approximately $4.1 million a year. That money could repair streets, fund public safety or lower taxes for actual residents. Enforce the ordinance as written.
— Gary Wonacott, San Diego
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As the Muslim community prepares to celebrate Eid al-Adha next month, a San Diego teenager is working to bring comfort and joy to children impacted by the recent tragedy at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
Seventeen-year-old Sarah Abdin spent the past week fundraising, shopping and assembling nearly 100 Eid goodie bags for students at the mosque’s elementary school.
While many teenagers are focused on final exams, Abdin said she spent some nights working until 2 a.m. to make sure every bag was ready in time for the school’s upcoming graduation celebration.
The project was inspired by the recent shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, where children were present during the incident. Abdin, who attended the mosque as a child, said hearing about what students experienced motivated her to take action.
Each bag contains a variety of treats, activities and gifts intended to help children celebrate Eid, one of the most important holidays in Islam.
Abdin said community members quickly rallied behind the effort, helping raise funds and support the project. After days of shopping and preparation, she and her sister spent several hours assembling the bags ahead of delivery.
The goodie bags are expected to be distributed during the elementary school’s graduation festivities in early June.
Abdin said she hopes the gesture serves as a reminder that the children are surrounded by a community that cares about them and stands beside them during difficult times.
The fundraising effort received widespread support, helping cover the cost of the goodie bags and allowing organizers to expand their reach to more students.
How interesting that Donald Trump is deporting Brown people who pay taxes and contribute to our economy (though they will never reap any benefits from those taxes) and instead is using our tax money to import and set up South Africans (none of whom are anything but White) who have never contributed to our economy. Could skin color perhaps have something to do with this policy?
— Nita Herpolsheimer, San Diego
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