Hermosa Beach About Town
Yellow Vase founder Morgan Sanjal outside the future Hermosa bakery. Photo
Yellow Vase coming to PCH
A bakery, cafe and flower shop are headed for one of the busiest intersections in Hermosa Beach — and they’ll all be under the same roof. The Yellow Vase, a South Bay-based restaurant group whose locations also serve as florists and offer goods baked in-house, plans to open in the storefront at the southeast corner of Aviation Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway that previously housed a Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt shop.
Morgan Sanjal, an electrical engineer by training, opened the first Yellow Vase in Redondo Beach in 2008. Although many people warned her against an opening in the midst of the recession, she decided to combine multiple concepts into one building to broaden her appeal.
“I thought, ‘In this economy, having just one thing won’t work,’” Sanjal said. In the intervening years, Sanjal opened three more locations, all on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
She’d long had her eye on the high-traffic Hermosa location, but faced stiff competition. Simon Mattox of CBRE, who orchestrated the deal for the property, said a national coffee chain was initially going to go in the location. But the deal fell apart, and he got a call from Sanjal that same day. He and the property’s owner decided to go with Sanjal.
“The owner didn’t want the hassle of dealing with national tenants. He wanted a local, but also experienced tenant,” Mattox said.
Sanjal said the Hermosa location will be the first Yellow Vase to offer dinner along with breakfast and lunch. She expects the store to open by mid-summer.
Pets in the Park
The Hermosa Beach Friends of the Parks will hold the annual Pets in the Park celebration this Saturday in Valley Park. The event will include a blessing of the animals, a pet costume parade, dog and cat adoptions, and booths sponsored by various pet-related businesses.
The event coincides with the rollout of the city’s Responsible Pet Owner Program, a response to growing complaints about the failure of owners to clean up pet waste. Community Services Manager Georgia Moe will discuss pet safety and the public health risk of not cleaning up after pets. Pet owners who take a pledge to dispose of waste will be entered in a raffle to win free pet registration.
Money raised at the event goes to support local parks and recreation activities, including the upcoming summer Movies on the Beach program.