"Best Restaurants" of Hermosa Beach
"Best Retailers" of Hermosa Beach
"Best Sports" and "Best Kids" of Hermosa Beach
"Best Bar & Entertainment" and "Writers Best Of" Hermosa Beach
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"Best Restaurants" of Hermosa Beach
"Best Retailers" of Hermosa Beach
"Best Sports" and "Best Kids" of Hermosa Beach
"Best Bar & Entertainment" and "Writers Best Of" Hermosa Beach
"Best Sports" and "Best Kids"
The Easy Reader – March 3, 2005
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Best Sports
Best
Health Club
Spectrum -
The fact that the Spectrum Club is hidden within an
office complex is one reason its high profile members like it. Its location off
Rosecrans Avenue in the Continental Park development isn’t a secret at all for
many in the South Bay who find the Spectrum club a premiere health club. Pickup
basketball games in the club’s gymnasium often draw professional past and
present profesinal athletes. Watch members of the Clippers and the Lakers take
advantage of the competition during the off-season. The mortals who prefer the
treadmills rather than the court can watch the game through a wall of glass. --
DR
Spectrum, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, 727-9322
Runner up: Golds Gym, 200 S. Harbor Dr., Redondo Beach, 374-8923
Best
Neighborhood Gym
The Yard -
The Yard’s Troll Subin has long
enjoyed a reputation for training medal-winning Olympians and top paid
professional athletes. But recently Subin found a new market for his core-based
training. “The real gold is in kids,” Subin said. And he wasn’t talking about
gold medals or gold coin. He was talking about the reward he gets when a kid who
couldn’t walk the block from The Yard to the beach without getting winded,
learns to sprint around cones that Subin sets in the sand. During the
eight-week, 90-minute clinics, kids six to 16 are given drills that develop
strength, coordination and balance.
Back at The Yard, Subin keeps his core clients happy by constantly upgrading the
equipment. A new jump machine allows sport-specific training for basketball,
volleyball and football players. Another new machine, a vibrating platform,
increases neuromuscular activity. –KC
The
Yard, 1106 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach 376-4675
Runner-up: SportCenter, 819 N. Harbor Dr., Redondo Beach 376-9443
Best
Martial Arts
Chambliss Taekwondo -
Master Randy Chambliss’
education in martial arts started 42 years ago. “My older brother used to put a
whooping on me,” Chambliss recalls, “and when I was 10-years-old I got tired of
it.” So began a journey into the art of self-defense that led to the obtainment
of the coveted 7th degree Black Belt, numerous competitive victories, and stints
coaching at the University of Colorado and UCLA. These days, however, Chambliss
is best known for his Taekwondo school, the largest and most successful school
of its kind in Southern California. This is the third year in a row Chambliss
Taekwondo has been voted best by our readers, and it’s little wonder why: the
7,300 sq. ft. school features former Olympians as instructors, a stadium-style
competition viewing area, and programs for everyone from black belts to 3 to 5
year old “Little Ninjas.” Team Chambliss has won the last 16 tournaments it has
entered. --MM
Chambliss Taekwondo, 23377 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance 791-2970
Runner-up: Impact Gym, 1400 Aviation Blvd., Redondo Beach 937-2321
Best Yoga
Yoga Fit Training Systems -
The cat-cow, the eagle pose,
the downward facing dog —- these seemingly nonsensical terms are part of the
everyday language of yoga. From Madonna to the neighbors, people are stretching
their bodies and their checkbooks for leaner, more tranquil selves. However, it
is sometimes hard to distinguish the best in an industry where studios seem to
pop up like Starbucks.
Yoga Fit Training Systems rises above the rest by offering what most do not —- a
wide variety of classes at fair prices. Owner Beth Shaw has tried to make the
studios accessible to everyone. Yoga Fit is open seven days a week and offers
‘donation only’ classes. “People can pay what they can afford,” said Shaw. In
addition, they contribute to the community through fundraisers like the K9
crusaders and breast cancer walks. In the future Yoga Fit will also offer Yoga
Plus for plus-size people. “It’s a place to get fit physically and mentally in
a non-competitive atmosphere,” Shaw said. -- CD
1332 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach 798-8773
Runner-up: Harmony Yoga, 901A N. Pac. Cst. Hwy., Redondo Beach 379-6905
Best Ski
Shop
Ski Surf Shop -
The end is coming to Richard
and Vicki Mobley’s lock on the Best Ski shop title. After 40 years, the Mobley’s
are selling the local institution, where generations of skiers have rented and
purchased their first skis, and landed their first jobs. Ski and Surf’s new
owners will have some big snowshoes to fill when they take over this summer.
Over the decades, the modest appearing shop on the way out of town has offered
local skiers equipment and service equal to the best ski shops in the best ski
resorts in the country.
Downstairs, the retail shop offers top of the line Fisher, Head and Volkl skis,
and Rossignol flex boots designed for the quick, turning shaped skis. Upstairs
are clothes that promise credibility in the lodge and protection on the slopes.
The back shop offers the same top of the line equipment for rent. Or, for $30 to
$40, the repair shop will make your old skis look new by tuning them on the big
Wintersteiger, which sharpens and bevels the edges, and restores the base
pattern for maximum speed and control. --KC
1765 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach. 310-379-2312
Runner-up: Sport Chalet, 21305 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance 316-6634
The Easy Reader – March 3, 2005
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Best
local Sports Retailer
Olympus Boards -
From snow to waves to the
pavement, if a human being can ride a board on it, Olympus has it covered. Not
only do they sell snowboards, skateboards, surfboards, wakeboards, and sea
kayaks, but they are also the largest snowboard rental in the South Bay. At $20
a day Olympus’s rentals are half the price of big chain stores, said Jeremy
Godokiss.
They offer Nitro, Nidecker, and Automatic snowboards, Cobra Kayaks, and Hyper
Lite wakeboards. Aside from the equipment, Olympus’s focus is on great customer
service. “We treat everyone on a personal level,” said Godokiss. “By setting
them up the right way they tend to have a better time on their equipment.” A
local store with a homey feel, surf and snowboard videos are always running. If
you stop by you’ll find ample parking and, more importantly, an attentive staff
who knows what they are selling. -- CD
Olympus Boards, 1117 Aviation Blvd., Hermosa Beach 372-5507
Runner-up: Super Sport, 2930 Sepulveda Blvd. Manhattan Village, 545-5272
Best
chain Sports Retailer
Sport Chalet -
Sport Chalet began as a small
ski shop in La Canada in 1959. Today, it is a publicly traded company with 36
stores in California and Nevada. It offers not only skis, but also gear for
diving, biking, skating, baseball, mountaineering and kayaking.
The store’s motto is, “To be the image of a sportsman.” Happily for his
employees, founder Norbert Olberz made that his personal motto as well. A few
years ago he gave 300,000 of his company shares to his longtime employees. It’s
that kind of sportsmanship that prompted our readers to vote Sport Chalet the
best chain sports store in the South Bay. –KC
Sport Chalet, 21305 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance 316-6634
Runner-up: SportMart, 3610 Torrance Blvd., Torrance 316-1500
Best Surf
Shop
Becker Surf -
The history of surfing is littered with shops that
enjoyed meteoric success followed by meteoric failure. Surfing’s lifestyle and
sound business practices aren’t easily reconciled. Becker Surf had all the
elements for the meteoric success-part when shaper Phil Becker, glasser Steve
Mangiagli and air-brusher Dave Hollander quit Rick Surfboards to open their own
shop on Pier Ave. in 1980. But the prospect of the three partners surviving not
only surfing’s unpredictable economic cycles, but also one another when all
three would rather surf than work, makes Becker Surf’s simple survival worthy of
an award. The fact that they’ve expanded to five locations and launched a
successful Internet site may qualify them as not only the best surf company in
the South Bay, but the best anywhere.
Becker’s success is attributable in part, to resisting success. Becker and
Mangiagli continue to hand-shape and hand-glass each board while other top board
makers have lent their names to mass produced, pop-out boards. Hollander, who
manages the retail end, has similarly resisted cheapening the Becker name by
spurning shopping center developers who want to franchise it. “I realized long
ago,” Hollander said, “that if Becker got too big, we’d lose what we’re all
about, which is a family of employees and customers with a little factory that
makes surfboards. People want that sort of authenticity, and it’s harder and
harder to find anymore.” Happily for Becker’s employees, the talk about family
and authenticity isn’t a Walmart-style marketing slogan. A substantial percent
of the company’s profits are distributed to employees, for whom work is as much
about lifestyle as livelihood. –- KC
Becker Surf, 301 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach 372-6554
Runner-up: ET, 904 Aviation Blvd., Hermosa Beach 379-7660
Best
(unknown) Surfboard Shaper
Phil Becker -
In a field crowded with egos, Phil Becker prefers
anonymity. He has shaped over 100,000 surfboards, more than anyone else in the
history of the sport. But few surfers would recognize him, even if he dropped in
on them on a wave (which he wouldn’t do). Just about the only way to meet
Becker is to make an appointment to have him shape you a board. And appointments
aren’t easy to get, especially as word spreads about his impending retirement,
if you can call cutting back from shaping 44 boards a week to 20 a week
retiring.
Becker has a home with a shaping bay on the north shore of Hawaii. He’s moving
there next year when he turns 66. “I want more time to surf before I become too
dilapidated,” he said. His shaping career began in his teens when he cut down
an old balsa board to a length more appropriate for his modest size. “When foam
boards came out, we didn’t like them -- until we saw how they surfed,” Becker
recalled.
The John Henry of surfing expressed a similarly practical view about molded, or
pop-out boards, which many shapers view as an assault not only on their
profession, but on the soul of surfing. “Molded boards are great. They fill a
niche for the guy who wants a high tech, epoxy board,” Becker said. “I don’t
have a molded board, myself, but we sell them in the shop. And we still sell all
the custom boards we can produce,” he added.
Becker confessed to experimenting with a computerized shaping machine, which is
also viewed with suspicion by surfing purists, but said he didn’t like it.
“They’re great for doing 300 or 400 identical boards. But they stifle creativity
and I don’t like to compromise. We do custom work,” he explained.
Becker’s indifference to machine-made surfboards can be traced to his confidence
that because every surfer and every break is different, every surfer needs a
custom shaped board. “This is my third time around with fishes,” he said as he
sanded the rails of a short, skatey twin fin. Fishes, which were popular in the
early ‘70s, and again in the early ‘90s are making a resurgence among young
surfers. “I don’t like them. But maybe that’s because I’m not quick enough
anymore,” he said with characteristic modesty. - –KC
Phil Becker, 301 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach 372-6554
Runner-up: Pat Ryan, ET Surf, 904 Aviation Blvd., Hermosa Beach 379-7660
Best
Tennis Club
West End -
The West End Health Club’s 20
tennis courts under lights sit tucked away in a Torrance neighborhood, near
where Hawthorne Boulevard and Anza Avenue meet. But it’s more than a place to
play tennis. “It’s kind of like a hidden jewel,” said club manager Beverly
Johnson.
After a workout, the sports bar is the perfect place to unwind. The club has
full men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers, a lap pool, weight room and
eight racket ball courts. It offers mixers and tournaments throughout the year
as well as yoga and aerobics classes. A host of talented trainers and tennis
coaches help members with their form. Dan Johnston, the head tennis coach taught
Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport when they were young juniors training at the
club. “We're the best around because of all the activities and how we get
people involved in the club,” the manager said. “Everything we offer for a
tennis club is very affordable.” -- DR
West End Health Club, 4343 Spencer St., Torrance, 542-7373
Runner up: LA Tennis Academy, 1600 Rosecrans #210, Manhattan Beach, 725-0060
www.latennisacademy.com
The Easy Reader – March 3, 2005
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Best toy
store
Toy Jungle -
Toy Jungle’s Manhattan Beach
and Hermosa stores create the feel of an old fashion toy store. They carry less
plastic, and fewer mainstream brands and the products have altogether more
quality. A corner of the Hermosa store filled with books offers tribute to
Either/Or, the legendary bookstore that previously occupied the space.
Storeowner Meredith Zelwegger said she reads each and every book before putting
it on the shelf. The store provides a warm and comfortable space where parents
and kids can feel free to hang out. “We want it to be a hands-on experience,”
Zelwegger said. “At a big store you hardly ever meet the people who purchase the
toys.”
Zelwegger left her job as the vice president of marketing for Turner
Broadcasting to spend more time with her two kids, now a 10-year-old son and
7-year-old daughter. She sold advertising for Turner’s cartoon network. About
three and a half years ago she parlayed her knowledge of the toy industry and
purchased the Toy Jungle in Manhattan. Last year she opened the Hermosa store,
which has been well received. Toy Jungle carries specialty products, laid out in
a neat and organized manner. Clerks are friendly and knowledgeable to recommend
toys for kids with different disabilities. --DR
Toy Jungle, 1104 Manhattan Ave., MB 798-7744; 124 Pier Ave., HB 374-6727
Runner up: Small Wonders, 550 Deep Valley Dr. #317, Rolling Hills Estates,
541-5510
Best
kid’s menu
Ruby’s -
Even if Ruby’s didn’t have an official kid’s menu, it’s
dinner menu, featuring a dozen burgers, and its dessert menu, featuring hot
apple pie, banana spits and double hot fudge brownie sundaes, would make Ruby’s
a top vote getter in the best kids’ menu category. But add to all that corn
dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese and any restaurant this
side of 1950 would have a tough time competing for the appetite of the 12 and
under set. --KC
245 N. Harbor Dr., Redondo Beach 798-3111; 550 Deep Valley Dr., Avenue of the
Peninsula 544-7829
Runner-up: (Romano’s) Macaroni Grill, 25352 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, 534-1001
Best
kid’s store
Bright Beginnings -
You can buy practically
anything for the newborn or soon-to-be-born at this Riviera Village shop, from
baby shoes to baby clothes to a baby carrier, and even a breast pump or comfort
wear for baby’s mama. The store is a one-stop baby shop, but that isn’t really
the reason Bright Beginnings was chosen as the best kid’s store in the South
Bay. The real reason is Lynette Mlya, a nurse practitioner who co-owns the store
with OB/GYN Dr. James Sharffenberger. “You can buy clothes at a baby store, and
you can buy toys at Toys R Us,” said customer Gulay Goddard, a young mother.
“But when you come here, you get help.” The store is aimed at helping fill a
void: once upon a time, generations lived closely together and motherhood skills
were naturally taught from one generation to the next; nowadays, however, new
mothers often have to learn as they go, and they often have to do so alone. “The
majority of the women who come here are educated, successful people,” she said.
“All of a sudden, they are no longer in their workplace, where they have shined.
They are becoming mothers, but there is no place to learn some of the practical
things they need to know. There is nothing really to prepare them for it. We try
our best.” The store organizes support groups and offers numerous classes,
including a general primer called “The Scoop on Babies” as well as more specific
topics such as breast-feeding, baby CPR, pre- and post-natal health. Mlya is
always around to provide advice and comfort. “It’s a lifesaver,” said Tracy
Matsmoto, a customer who is new mother. “She is a godsend.” -- MM
Bright Beginnings & Beyond, 229 Avenue I, Redondo Beach 316-1528
Runner-up: Little Moon, 1813 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach 373-3766
Best
preschool
Montessori Preschool -
Erna Moore has been at the
Montessori Preschool for exactly one half of the school’s 36-year existence. For
the last decade, she has served as the director.“The finest thing about our
schools is the staff,” Erna said. “They’re great. I just can’t say enough.”
They educate more than 300 children from the age of two to nine, from preschool
to the third grade. They also offer summer school classes. The school has an
excellent playground in the back and a swimming pool. – DR
Montessori Preschool, 315 S. Peck Ave., Manhattan Beach, 379-9462
Runner up: La Marina, 115 S. Sepulveda, 372-2974; 2617 Bell Ave., Manhattan
Beach 546-6233
Best
kid’s party
My Gym, Redondo Beach -
“Every day is a party here,”
says Tyler Masse, the co-owner and lead party instigator at My Gym in Redondo
Beach. This children’s fitness center – one of 175 in a fast-growing national
chain – has become particularly popular for birthday parties, which are thrown
every weekend and include birthday cake, activities in which the birthday kid is
at the center, and gift bags for all attendees.
“It’s just great,” says Roseanne Cerofeci, a young mother who recently threw a
party for her one-year-old at My Gym. “They take care of everything, all the
little details. And my home doesn’t become a mess.” During the rest of the week,
My Gym offers a wide array of children’s classes and games aimed at helping
children learn socialization and cooperation while improving physical fitness
and boosting self-esteem.
But
the most important thing, Masse says, is that the kids and parents alike have
fun. “We have a lot of fun music,” says Masse. “It’s not just kid’s music, but
songs that parents all know.” Masse, who along with Scott Meyers owns the local
franchise, arrived from Boston four years ago with a degree in journalism. Now,
every day he can be found dancing, playing, singing, and helping wee ones
traverse the popular “Space Flight,” an air-born slide across the length of the
gym. “I never imagined I’d be doing this,” he says, “but it’s so much fun. I
love coming to work every day.” --MM
My Gym, 1216 Beryl St., Redondo Beach 318-2288
Runner-up: AdventurePlex, 1701 Marine Blvd., Manhattan Beach 546-7708
Best Play
Facility
AdventurePlex -
The AdventurePlex on Marine
Avenue in Manhattan Beach puts kids into another dimension. They can climb walls
or cross the high-wire ropes course. But more bizarre than anyplace these kids
might visit is the cafeteria. It serves only healthy food. “We don’t have a
soda machine or any fried foods,” said operations coordinator Carlos Solorio.
“We’re probably one of the only places around that focuses on the healthy
lifestyle of kids.” The Adventure Room, housed within the AdventurePlex, keeps
to a longstanding tradition of playground equipment. Foam padding makes this
indoor gym of ladders, slides and suspension bridges totally superior to
anything else around. Outside on the ropes course, a girl three stories up gets
goose bumps as she crosses a divide. But don’t be alarmed. She’s strapped in
with a harness.
The AdventurePlex offers an assortment of seasonal sports and aerobics classes.
Groups can rent the ropes course for birthday parties or other special
occasions. For single-family use the Adventure Room and the rock wall are open
daily, and the ropes course on the first Saturday of each month. – DR
AdventurePlex, 1701 Marine Ave., Manhattan Beach, 546-7708
Runner up: Kids Concepts: 22844 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, 465-0075
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