Ballast Point brought a whole new meaning to the term “the morning after” when they announced their decision to sell. Timing is everything and my, did our friends plan their exit stage right beautifully—they posted in the wee hours Monday morning just after SD Beer Week. Announcing on Facebook their decision not to “zig” toward the expected IPO. but rather to “zag” and “join the team at Constellation Brands” has re-ignited the debate among the craft beer community. The major concern among the fans is that the quality will go down the tubes. More importantly, the concern among the industry is that these recent breweries that are “selling out” are leaving their former craft brew colleagues to have to operate on neither a fair nor level playing field. The craft beer industry’s ability to form a coalition and work together for the greater good of their community has served as a beacon and it is something we San Diegans are proud of. These big buy-outs seem to go against the very thing our industry was rallying against.
While many are upset about Ballast Point’s decision to sell, it begs the question, “why?” What motivated them? Andy Altman of GigTown jokes: “A billion dollars.” Good point. I think what people don’t realize is that the masses jumped on the craft beer band wagon (self included) a mere 5 years ago, but these bigger brewers have been at it for almost two decades. Ballast Point started brewing in 1996. Twenty years as a small business owner… surviving the long hours, pressure, never ending responsibilities and let’s not forget early years with zero guarantee pay is deserving of a killer exit. And founder Jack White was very successful at growing the brand and operations to merit this payoff. Although his decision to go with Constellation rather than an IPO may not be respected by others, what we must respect is his and his partners earned right to be rewarded for all their years of hard work. So what is the best exit strategy for future San Diego craft breweries? Would we all feel better if Ballast Point had stuck to their guns and went with the IPO? Was the IPO even real or just a ploy to draw out a buyer? I have heard snarky comments all week from customers urging us to take Sculpin and Calico off our beer menu. We’ve always been about supporting our friends in the industry who helped us grow. It will be interesting to continue the debate at tonight’s happy hour. In the meantime, my friend Brandon Sieminski, founder of Iron Fist, said it best: “There are more than enough companies still competing on a level playing field, making damn good beer, that I can vote for with my dollar.”
We loved growing with the craft beer scene during the good old Swieners years. Luckily my husband saw the writing on the wall with food trucks at local tasting rooms. We heard of Ballast’s plans to open their own brewpub. Any good business owner would have recognized that food trucks were killin’ it at the tasting rooms and wanted that slice of the pie for themselves. Green Flash now has their own in-house food truck by the beer garden. What was hard for us to swallow was that small business owners like ourselves had built a following and depended on this symbiotic relationship to make a living. Scheduling and dealing with um-teen number of food truck owners must have been a nightmare. And I am confident there are several other reasons besides money that made more sense for the larger breweries to make that move. We had to make our own moves to adapt to the ever changing business world and had hopes of a brick-and-mortar Swieners beer garden. We had actually approached Jack White about the opportunity to run his kitchen down in Little Italy. White had already shook hands with another. But like the old saying goes… when one door closes, another one opens. Bella Vista came at the perfect time and we found it because of Swieners. We saw the opening and we jumped. We are here to build community and that takes long-term commitment and we have no plans to leave. But I have to say… only three years into a seven-day a week brick-and-mortar business, we are exhausted. So for the record, if I am still here pouring you a nice glass of Brunello in 2033, don’t even think of giving me shit for exiting stage left with my billion-dollar check. Just make sure that I always fought for the little guys.
Come sit by me…
“A billion dollars” jokes GigTown’s Andy Altman Tuesday morning at the Bella V. If you read my first section you’ll know we were yappin’ about the sale of a local craft brewery. So we got to talkin’ about his own creation GigTown. Don’t know about GigTown? Well, you should! Andy has taken his passion for music and launched an amazing online app that helps local artists book gigs around town. As a venue, GigTown has been awesome in helping us connect with local talent while driving business to our fine establishment. It’s been a hoot hosting such talented local musicians and their fans. As Andy and his team put it, it’s a win-win-win for musicians, fans, and venues.
So I asked him what has been working and what changes his team has made along the way with this new start-up. GigTown realized that its artists would sign up, but that was it. They didn’t really use the tool to push their performances. We are all familiar with the classic example of the artist that does not know how to sell himself. That’s what agents are for. But GigTown has found a way to take out that middleman by connecting the musicians, fans, and venues directly. And they have found a way for the musician to take a more active role in building their fan base. Here’s what they came up with. For every check-in during their performance, GigTown tips the artist $5 bucks. The record to date is 23 check-ins, which translates to $115 bucks. This is a super sweet incentive for the artists. Who doesn’t like a little instant ROI? Me thinks they have come up with the master plan. This promo goes till the end of the month and there were hints that another rad promo is teed up for next month to keep the artists vested. I can’t wait till Andy’s next visit. Wonder what other cool tricks he’s got up his orange sleeves.
Pretty quiet on the home front in terms of science, engineering, and business talks. But the glass is always half full so let’s focus on all the great art events going on along the Mesa and in downtown LJ. On Thursday, November 19, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego hooks it up with their “Free Third Thursdays.” FREE admission, and free themed Galley Guide-led tours. What a deal!
The Athenaeum in La Jolla will feature Carl Nielson and Jean Sibelius in their Northern Lights Anniversary Series Friday. Brilliant musical and theatrical performances are such works of beauty they bring me to tears. These two are both violinists and expert composers who are sure to strike a chord. My advice, bring tissues.
Friday, November 20, 7:30 p.m., Athenaeum La Jolla
A show titled Indecent… I’m definitely intrigued. Head on over to the Mesa’s pride and joy, the La Jolla Playhouse, for their latest triumph. This work is a World Premier play inspired by the 1922 Broadway debut God of Vengeance. I made it for last night’s opening. What? You think I’m going to miss a show called Indecent? The performance was stunning and the final scene leaves the most beautiful impression. It is an absolute beautiful love story. There are special matinee performances during the holiday week. Be sure to indulge in this masterpiece.
Thursday-Saturday, Tuesday-Wednesday, La Jolla Playhouse
Always,
Amanda
That’s What SHE Said: One Billion Dollars
The Swieners years
Archive
OCTOBER 23, 2023
The Problem With Bright Red Tuna
Many Americans still think bright red tuna means it's fresher (it's not)
You know the tuna I’m talking about. It’s easy to mistake for a cube of watermelon. It’s the color of a Lyft logo. Appears to be glowing a vibrant, tantalizing purity. Tuna that bright red or pink means it’s… what, extremely fresh? Bursting with nutrients?
I thought this was widely known, but a chef recently told me very few of his staff members were aware of this, and almost none of his customers. So, especially with the recent proliferation of poke joints, I thought I’d be helpful with this PSA of sorts.
Bright red or pink tuna means it has been gassed. In its natural state, fresh tuna is dark red, almost maroon, sometimes even chocolatey-looking.
But here’s why I personally tend to back away when I see bright red or pink tuna:
1. IT’S MUCH HARDER TO TELL IF IT’S FRESH OR NOT.
It can be left out for days and it will not turn brown. In one study, the University of Florida found that carbon monoxided tuna kept its bright red color for 11 days in the fridge. “The carbon monoxide actually hides the quality of a fish,” says Tommy Gomes, fifth-generation San Diego fisherman, host of The Fishmonger on Outdoor Channel, and owner of seafood shop Tunaville in Point Loma. “It’ll make a poor-quality fish pretty like a rose. I’ve seen them take an old piece of brown tuna [and] put the gas on it, and it comes out looking like cherry lemonade.” The gas also masks the smell of old tuna (which is one way you can tell if tuna’s getting past its eat-by stage). “Since there’s no smell, it falsifies the freshness,” Gomes explains.
2. I TRUST GOVERNMENT HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZE THEY’RE NOT PERFECT.
The 1992 USDA food pyramid suggested carbs should be the bulk of our diet (they corrected that in 2005 and 2011). The government approved the fat substitute Olestra, which gave people all sorts of tummy issues. Margarine and other trans fats were also approved, then banned in May 2019. There are some smart humans in the government, but even geniuses make mistakes. So I tend to go with my gut: tuna in its natural state, or tuna treated with carbon monoxide? Easy choice.
So why gas tuna at all? Because of us. Consumers don’t like brownish fish. Tuna oxidizes quickly. It’s difficult for tuna fishermen and women to get it to market quick enough before it turns that brownish or chocolatey color. Customers erroneously think all brownish-looking fish is old or bad and will pay more for “fresher-looking” fish. So in the 1990s, the FDA allowed companies to gas the tuna and keep it artificially bright red for long stretches at a time.
“There’s nothing wrong with a hot chocolate–looking tuna loin,” says Gomes. “But, here in America, we want [it] seared on the outside, rosy pink on the inside.”
What fresh tuna should look like
Gassed tuna is also often imported and less inexpensive than fresh, un-gassed tuna, says Gomes. “So, to be fair and honest,” Gomes acknowledges, “for families on a budget, gassed tuna is one of the best alternatives out there for frozen seafood.”
In theNew York Times article cited above, a sushi restaurant owner reported his sales of tuna tripled when he started using gassed tuna. So that’s obviously good for the small business owner, as well as grocery stores. Food waste is a massive epidemic—the US throws out about half of edible seafood. If gassed tuna gets Americans to eat perfectly edible tuna they otherwise might throw out, that’s a step in a good direction.
But it’d be better if we as consumers knew that fresh, non-gassed tuna is supposed to be dark red or maroon—not bright red or watermelon pink, like a majority of the tuna I’ve seen at local poke shops. Ideally, we would look at a piece of bright red/pink tuna and think “Oh, hey there, carbon monoxide.”
The most important things about buying tuna is to trust the source (whether grocery store, fishmonger, or sushi joint). It also should be shiny and somewhat translucent, and not have slime or an off-smell.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
A perfectly designed home rarely happens by accident. Those kitchens that feel effortless and rooms that seem to tell a story the second you walk in? They’re usually the work of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
It’s knowing which ideas will actually work, which materials will hold up over time, and how to turn a collection of choices into a space that feels intentional. That’s where a professional interior designer comes in.
For the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California San Diego Chapter, the goal is to help people see interior design as more than just the finished look. Behind every well-designed space is a process built on technical expertise. Designers are educated in everything from professional software and construction details to building codes, space planning, materials, and functionality.
Courtesy of ASID
“People don’t always realize how much goes on behind the scenes,” Kirsten Recce , current president of the ASID California San Diego Chapter, says. “Our designers are not just doing furniture placement and color selection and picking out new fluffy pillows. That’s not what they’re trained for.”
ASID members bring formal education, continued learning, and industry knowledge to their projects, helping create spaces that are not only beautiful, but designed to work. A paint color that changes completely depending on the lighting. A material that looks beautiful in a showroom but doesn’t make sense for everyday life. A layout that photographs well but doesn’t function for the people living there. These are the details where professional guidance can make all the difference.
Still, one of the biggest misconceptions about hiring an interior designer is that it’s reserved for massive renovations, luxury homes, or people who already know exactly what they want. The process can feel intimidating. Where do you begin? Is a designer worth the investment? What if you only need help with one room?
ASID’s answer: start with one hour.
ASID’s Spruce Up events break down one of the biggest barriers between homeowners and professional design: knowing where to begin. Held twice a year, the community program gives homeowners the chance to work directly with an ASID designer through a one-hour, $125 consultation in their own home. Whether you’re looking for advice on furniture placement, window treatments, kitchen and bath updates, remodeling ideas, vacation rentals, color selections or something else entirely, the upcoming September 2026 event offers an approachable way to get expert guidance before committing to a full project. Signups are open through Sept. 7, with consultations taking place Sept. 21 through Oct. 31. Proceeds benefit ASID San Diego’s educational and community programs. Register here!
Courtesy of ASID
“It’s a great opportunity for people who are in that exploratory phase,” Recce says. “Maybe they’re not sure they want to hire an interior designer yet, or they think it sounds daunting or expensive. This gives them a chance to discover what working with a designer is actually like.”
Design is personal. A good designer isn’t just creating a beautiful room; they’re helping create a space that fits the way someone lives.
“We’re a resource to all of San Diego County,” Recce says. “It doesn’t cost anything to pick up the phone and call and ask. We’ll answer.”
Growing up, Laika Nur, MD, Scripps Clinic sports medicine specialist, loved watching beach volleyball when the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour came to her hometown of Chicago. A talented volleyball player herself, she remembers sitting in the stands all day, and once, even got a couple autographs. Years later, Dr. Nur was attending a professional event focused on women’s sports, and the discussion turned to a new professional women’s volleyball league. The general manager and coaching staff for San Diego’s team, the Mojo, happened to be in attendance, and Dr. Nur took the opportunity to ask them if they needed a team doctor. Flash forward to the Mojo’s inaugural 2024 season, when Dr. Nur officially became the team physician. Click here to read more about Dr. Nur and how she incorporates lessons she learned on the court into her practice.
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