Bringing together the design motifs of two cultures, Little Italy’s Modmatter, curated by Louise Girling (pictured), will host its first exhibition, Span: From Mexico to Portland, featuring architectural firm Manada and ceramist Lilith Rockett. The show incorporates innovative home décor and furniture pieces from Manada, led by Katerina Alatzia and Alejandro Tapia, including the Wirt, a multi-purpose carry-all, and the award-winning 42 Bed, a solid wood daybed that doubles as a desk. Also on display are Rockett’s minimalist and utilitarian-style porcelain bowls, cups, and plates. The pieces—all of which are for sale—will be on view through the end of May, by appointment. 2064 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
Whether you’ll be hanging out in Hall H all weekend or joining the crowds outside the convention center for all the free activations during Comic-Con, once the sun goes down, it’s all about the after-parties. Going on from July 24-28, here are the 11 can’t-miss after-parties for those aged 18 and up during Comic-Con 2024 to attend, no badge required.
Courtesy of Eventbrite
Ready Party One: Legends of Fantasy
July 24 | Parq Nightclub
Don’t worry, your 80’s film-inspired cosplay outfit begging to be worn just found its ticket to a fantasy dreamland. Ready Party One: Legends of Fantasy, XLE’s signature SDCC kick-off after party, returns on July 24 at Parq Nightclub. With tickets beginning at $52, journey through classics like Labyrinth, Princess Bride, and Lord of the Rings. This is your portal to mythical adventures, dancing in enchanted forests and castle ruins, with live performances by The Flux Capacitors and DJ Elliot. VIPs get extra perks with the Villains VIP Lair. Seriously, don’t miss out on a chance to see Frodo Baggins in a nightclub. Must be 21+.
615 Broadway St, GaslampQuarter
Courtesy of SDCC Unofficial Blog
Paramount+’s The Lodge
July 24 | Happy Does Bar
Ever dreamed of exploring SpongeBob Squarepants’ Bikini Bottom while sipping a drink from a Tulsa King–themed saloon? Paramount+’s The Lodge is making its comeback to the Gaslamp District for its 2024 tour stop. From July 24 to 28 at Happy Does, immerse yourself in everything unique to the world of Paramount+. Step onto a Star Trek starship, fuel up for the night at the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts energon station, and hit the Paramount+ pub. While admission is free with a reservation, a standby line is also available daily. All ages welcome; guests 18 and under must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian.
340 Fifth Ave, GaslampQuarter
Courtesy of SDCC Unofficial Blog
Fandom Party Presented by Dragon Age: The Veilguard
July 25 | Hard Rock Hotel’s Float
Fandom is back in San Diego for its seventh annual fan-first immersive party. From 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel’s Float rooftop bar, this event, sponsored by gaming publisher EA, features previews of BioWare and EA’s upcoming role-playing game andDragon Age: The Veilguard, along with activations from Z2 Comics and Pinfinity. Enjoy food, drinks, and endless entertainment, including a themed scavenger hunt, custom photo booths, giveaways, and a Z2 graphic novel exhibition. Being a part of a fandom is not for the weak …you deserve to feel like your favorite character on a 360-degree red carpet. Must be 21+.
207 5th Ave, GaslampQuarter
Courtesy of Eventbrite
Hosnian Prom: The Bash
July 25 | Wicked West
In a galaxy far, far away (also known as Wicked West in San Diego), Hosnian Prom promises a night of ultra-galactic prom looks and otherworldly dance moves. Enjoy guests like Mesmerizing Cantina Hour Crooning by Jeremy Russell, Interstellar Beats and Cosmic Melodies by DJ RUE and more. Tickets start at $103 with proceeds benefiting the Starlight Children’s Foundation and include an open bar, gourmet bites, and swag. May the force be with you (and your galactic drinks). Must be 18+.
1735 National Ave, Barrio Logan
Courtesy of Eventbrite
Anti-Hero After Party
July 25 | Parq Nightclub
If you’re looking to find the Joker to your Harley Quinn, or vice versa, the Anti-Hero After Party at Parq Nightclub might just be what you need. Inspired by Deadpool, Harley Quinn, and The Boys, the evening celebrates the unconventional with gritty music, dynamic performances, and epic cosplay. The night includes sets by For the Girls, DJ Elliot’s beats, and the exclusive Villains VIP Lair with burlesque shows. GA tickets start at $40, VIP tickets are priced at $162 and include separate entry, a Hallmark gift, a commemorative acrylic VIP badge, and access to the Villains VIP Lair. Get your face paint ready and embrace the chaos. Must be 21+.
615 Broadway St, Gaslamp Quarter
Courtesy of Eventbrite
Geeki Tiki at False Idol
July 26 | False Idol
Enjoy Geeki Tiki’s annual False Idol event on Friday, July 26 this year. Channel your inner god-like spirit and sip on special WhistlePig Whiskey and Planetary Rum cocktails with three seating options: 4:30-6:30 p.m., 7-9 p.m., and 9:30-11:30 p.m. For $65, you get two drinks that double as raffle tickets, plus a swag bag worth over $50. Tickets are available via Instagram and Open Table. Must be 21+.
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
On July 20, San Diego Bayfest will return to the Waterfront Park with SoCal’s own Sublime headlining the event. The Bayfest lineup also includes Atmosphere, Goldfinger, Barrington Levy, Makua Rothman and Kyle Smith. Throughout the day, local food vendors will be serving up some of the city’s best fare while local bartenders will be offering craft cocktails and beers.
Tickets are currently on sale with both GA and VIP options available. Here’s your quick guide to San Diego Bayfest 2024:
When and where is San Diego Bayfest 2024?
San Diego Bayfest takes place on Saturday July 20, 2024 at the Waterfront Park.
Are there still tickets available?
General admission tickets are still available online for $85, VIP tickets are $340, and Platinum VIPs can purchase a pass for $3,400.
What do VIP tickets offer?
There are two levels of VIP tickets on offer. VIP passes include extra seating, quick festival entry, and discounted tacos, among several other perks. Platinum VIP tickets are topped off with premier viewing locations, behind-the-scenes access, and exclusive dining and drinking experiences.
How can I get to San Diego Bayfest?
Waterfront Park is located at 1600 Pacific Hwy which is accessible via, car, trolley or bus. Public parking is available along Pacific Highway, though it is limited. Ride share or public transportation is suggested, with both the Blue Line and 8 bus routes servicing stops near the park.
Is there food at San Diego Bayfest?
Food and drinks from local vendors will be available inside the festival for purchase. Because of the sale of craft beers and cocktails at this event, San Diego Bayfest will be a 21+ event. No outside food or beverages are allowed.
Who’s playing?
Sublime featuring Jakob Nowell will headline the fest. Atmosphere, Goldfinger, Barrington Levy, Makua Rothman, and Kyle Smith round-out the lineup.
Courtesy of San Diego Bayfest
San Diego Bayfest Tips and Tricks
Stay Updated
San Diego Bayfest will be posting their set times, as well as other upcoming information, on their social media pages. Give them a follow for more news on Instagram, Facebook, and X at @bayfestsd.
Explore the Grounds
Waterfront Park is a space large enough to house plenty of sick local vendors for food and drinks, so take the time to see what’s popping at each booth. Utilize that space between sets to grab some grub and merch.
Stay Off the Road
With a less-than-savory combo of large crowds and complicated parking situations, getting to San Diego Bayfest by car is probably not your best choice. Consider public transportation for ease of travel and avoidance of the inevitable mood killing traffic. Factor in time for parking and/or walking from the trolley to the event.
Get Comfy
Festivals last a while, so get ready to be on your feet and outside for most of the day. Show up in something comfortable and don’t forget sunscreen!
In Little Italy, the city’s primo restaurants are packed tighter and more intimately than Pringles in that proprietary joy silo. In the crowded scene, restaurants must peacock for survival. It is a street of photo finishes, each Italian trattoria or ersatz brunch cabaret trying to stretch its neck a tad further than its neighbor. Competition’s fierce, so channel your Streisand and be the inescapable show, the hitheriest come-hither.
That’s what makes Lala’s setup so strange or appealing or both. You hear the buzz about this pretty new thing and set out to find it. You pass the al fresco dining Guernica that is Piazza della Famiglia. Pass the stately brass-and-walnut, building-as-Ayn Rand-book cover, Born and Raised. You nearly get pulled into the influencer-swan dining orgy of Barbusa. And then you run smack-dab into the rarest of ugly-beautiful gems, a parking lot on India Street that somehow hasn’t yet been turned into a negroni farm.
Photo Credit: James Tran Get pumped.
You nearly stop, feeling catfished by your GPS. But in the way-back of this lot, you spot a woman standing in the dark portal of a tiny structure. She is wearing business-martini attire, holding a clipboard. There is a velvet rope. This is Lala, which appears to be a speakeasy for ACE Parking.
First, the power of the clipboard must be acknowledged, a small but essential detail. No matter how ornate or neon-bedazzled, a hostess stand doesn’t convey the gatekeeper lure of a good old-fashioned clippy. The clipboard suggests the night’s list of invited people has been made, the list is small enough to fit on a single sheet, and this woman controls it and the fate of all who approach.
Photo Credit: James Tran The amaro-based bar is the focus of Lala, with tassels and brass and various patterns quarreling nicely.
As she takes your name and scans for its presence, you will feel that same nervous pre-shame from your days of trying to get into the nightclub of the moment, where a serious person in a fitted suit performed once-overs of every person in line, making snap judgments of your social merit and value to humanity. You wonder if your jeans are casting the right cachet to make it into the club, or if you should have pleathered.
Plus, that velvet rope. At 5pm when we arrive, it seems a tad ridiculous, a cheeky throwback to the highly selective era of “bespoke” debauch. But then you consider Lala was built as an ornate spillover space for the always-bustling Barbusa (both are from the next-gen of San Diego’s first family of Italian, the Busalacchis). And you get a peek inside Lala, and realize this place is an architectural hiccup, barely enough space to park a couple Rivians. So there will be a line at Lala, and the Busalacchis are not the kind of people to deprive their line-people that Mann’s-Chinese-Theater magic of a velvet rope.
Photo Credit: James Tran One of Lala’s best bites—chargrilled oysters with Parm, pecorino, and Sriracha caviar
The Busalacchis brought unselfconscious and unrepentant sexy back to Little Italy. Their social media is a sultry parade of pasta, Aperol, and pheromones. Their clientele is not short on eyelashes or watches. Everything they do is glammed and sensualized. And though my heart is made of black t-shirts, Chuck Taylors, and wardrobe apathy… though I usually eye a dolled-up social scene as espresso-martini cosplay that lacks the casualness of a life lived in the real… I admit to being seduced by it.
Because after the last few years I’m running overstock on verité, and craving escapes that Apple or Meta have no say in. Also because in chronically casual San Diego, where our fashion shrugs can vacuum the flirtatiousness from any space, a roomful of urban pageantry feels like a true night out.
Photo Credit: James Tran Comfy oil paintings are given uniquely San Diego iconography.
To create the cozy magic of Lala, the outside world has been smartly shut out (it is, after all, a parking lot). It is secrets-dark. A small lounge to the left is adorned with plant life and wicker chairs. On the right, an ornate bar with stool and bench seating below a curved wall-to-ceiling situation. The drinks are all libido- and scandal-named (Stiletto, Mistress, Sidepiece, Forbidden Fruit, etc.). There is marble and tassels and more velvet and Venetian plaster and Renaissance nudes.
On one wall, an art installation of stilettos, all of which seem to have lost their counterparts. They’ve replaced the standard kitchen-door window with stained glass, so God is here somewhere. In the restroom, there are various countryside oil paintings that folk music–loving parents from the 1970s adored; except, look closer, and you’ll see the sign for iconic San Diego strip club Les Girls near a bucolic barn. In another, a peaceful snowy river is populated by a bikini model in a party innertube.
Photo Credit: James Tran Snoop Dogg’s hippo comes bearing ye old fashioned.
Lala’s food was designed to be Italian snacks-plus. A spicy Caesar salad with Calabrian chiles plays to San Diego’s desire for capsaicin on everything, and it’s good. Instead of a seafood tower, they have an antipasto tower with prosciutto, salamini, mortadella, cheeses, marinated artichokes, olives, eggplant Parmigiano. A high-rise of gourmet Italian deli snacks.
Their bacon-and-date skewers are something straight out of the 1980s playbook, the leg warmers of appetizers. But they’re almost impossible to dislike in a gorgonzola sauce whose funk keeps the dates’ sweetness from over-acting. The best bite we have are the chargrilled oysters—butter, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, pecorino, and Sriracha caviar.
Photo Credit: James Tran
At Busalacchi restaurants, espresso martinis are realm coin.
Start every night here with the oat milk espresso martini, which has become the official hydration of the Busalacchi world (so popular they launched their own bottled version of it, called Busa). The bar is the major focus at Lala. A heavy but not overwhelming array of amaros add bitter charms to drinks, rather than being the entire idea. The delicious Sidepiece has no Italian at all (reposado tequila, lime, grapefruit, ginger root, mint).
They also barrel-age a couple of cocktails: a house-made negroni tweaked with peach bitters, and an Italian old fashioned that swaps the traditional bourbon for red wine from the mother country (Montepulciano). The drinks shine, but it’s the food here that puts that velvet rope to work.
The “loaded” potato gnocchi is a swooner. Chef Nino Zizzo (also a Busalacchi) could make killer fresh pasta while operating a motor vehicle or binge-watching Montalbano, and gnocchi is always a good test. Should always be like potato clouds, not potato density, and his are puffy white cumulus. It’s a riff on the baked potato, and his cream sauce shames traditional sour cream into hiding.
However, if you’re gonna call it “loaded” (a fun idea), I want to see a very American amount of surplus. A rock quarry of crispy-tender pancetta, a lawn-clippings pile of chives, cheddar cheese just wildly loitering on the plate. And ours is mostly just the cream sauce. Tastes just about perfect, misses the creative brief.
Photo Credit: James Tran Draw me like one of your Italian girls.
We try the cioppino, and it’s a bit of a miss, the broth so deeply stewed that it overwhelms the dainty charms of the seafood. So, sure, Lala joins the long line of us failing to swish every shot we take. But they make up for it with enough hits, a killer bar, and a parking lot speakeasy that, in the loud-voices party that is Little Italy, chose to be the one who just did something quietly interesting off in the corner until we all couldn’t help but gather ’round.
The Perfect Order from Lala
Chargrilled Oysters | Loaded Gnocchi | Espresso Martini
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.
Entrepreneurs typically launch businesses because they’re passionate about a product or service, not because they want to manage its finances. While working to carve out a niche in their respective industries and drive their companies forward, many business owners find themselves bogged down by day-to-day accounting. Their existing accounting tools don’t provide the necessary visibility or insight, and they don’t have the time or resources to hire additional staff or a chief financial officer. That’s where NOW CFO comes in.
For more than 20 years, NOW CFO has been pairing businesses across the country with experienced accounting and finance professionals. Its outsourced model allows clients to customize solutions that match their individual needs, size, and financial challenges, whether that’s fractional or interim support, project-based services, or full-time placement.
NOW CFO’s clients range from startups preparing for rapid growth to established companies that need additional financial leadership without the commitment or expense of building an in-house team. However, many of these companies don’t fully understand their needs until they experience a “trigger” event: preparing for an acquisition or capital raise, navigating a first-time audit, or another period of transition. With a team of over 300 consultants nationwide, NOW CFO can start quickly and match the right expert to the right business.
“It’s important for companies to have financial visibility, and we can help them avoid a lot of the potholes that companies often run into,” says Mariah Block, a partner at NOW CFO’s San Diego branch. “Roughly half of our clients have an in-house finance person or department, and we’re resourced for more bandwidth when they need an extra set of hands at the staff or senior accountant level, or the controller or CFO level. Some clients use this a few hours a month and others use multiple people close to full-time. Our model is solution-based and customizable. We’re like a faucet you can turn on and off.”
With NOW CFO, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Solutions are based on the client’s individual goals, challenges, needs, and budget, meaning a client never pays for more than they need. Whether it’s a few hours of executive-level guidance or a full accounting team to support daily operations, NOW CFO meets businesses where they are and grows alongside them.
“We pride ourselves on providing our clients with the right resources at the right rate and being able to evolve as their needs evolve,” says Block.
And clients appreciate on-demand access to cost-effective support designed to improve performance and profitability.
Luxury car storage service Auto Concierge has partnered with NOW CFO to support growth over the past year. The arrangement began with a staff accountant who covered a leave of absence, but as the client’s needs changed, they also added a controller role. This allowed Auto Concierge to put effective processes in place and navigate operational challenges. Lori Church, Auto Concierge’s chief operating officer, says NOW CFO has been an “outstanding resource” and a “true strategic partner.”
“From the controller to the bookkeeper, every professional they’ve placed has brought a high level of expertise, responsiveness, and professionalism to our organization. Their team took the time to understand our business of high-profile clients and needs, adapted quickly to our fast-paced environment, and became a trusted extension of our team,” she says. “As Auto Concierge continues to grow, having a reliable financial partner like NOW CFO has allowed us to strengthen our financial and business operations while remaining focused on delivering exceptional service to our clients.”
Chic and cozy: that’s the name of the game at Little Italy’s brand new Lala.
“We opened up Barbusa almost seven years ago,” says PJ Buslacchi, a managing partner of the Busalacchi restaurant empire which includes Barbusa, Nonna, and Zucchero, will soon welcome Lala to the family. “We realized that its kitchen couldn’t handle another 60 seats, and that’s what we needed [to keep up with demand]. So, Lala was born.”
Lala used to be a pet supply and grooming shop, now a 1,000-square-foot restaurant and cocktail bar designed by Taylor Shaffer, formerly a principal partner at Open Gym, which also designed the forthcoming Wildflour Delicatessen and White Rice.
Busalacchi explains that though it was born from its predecessor, Barbusa, Lala’s focus will be much different. “Barbusa is a more Sicilian-focused restaurant, so when we were thinking of what this could be, we wanted to make sure it was a concept we knew. We don’t want to do anything that we don’t know well.”
Culinarily, focus will be on Italian-style cocktails (think amari and other aperitivi) and small, shareable, almost home-cooked style plates, like a hunk of baked ziti and other pastas. There are bigger plates, too, like a steak that’s sliced in the kitchen.
Design-wise, it’s “vibey, sexy, and intimate.” There’s a brand-new kitchen and a covered patio. Custom light fixtures accent gold-leaf painted Venetian-style plaster; “lots of marble,” Busalacchi says; floor lamps on the patio; hardwood floors; walnut paneling; leather and velvet-everything; sepia, coral, sage, and olive tones throughout; and modern re-interpretations of Renaissance-era art by painter William Etty. Like hanging in your rich friend’s living room.
The cocktail list is of special note. Created by barkeep Antonio Gonzales, who comes to Lala from behind the stick at Barbusa, it’s intended to show San Diegans the versatility and range of Italian spirits in an approachable way.
“Since we’re such a small place, I had to make sure that instead of just having every amari that I love to drink back there to sip on, that I included some of my favorites and also ones that were easily introduced to customers that may not know what they prefer when it comes to sweet versus bitter effects,” Gonzales says.
So, instead of just having a straight amaro section, he says that he created a cocktail list with various amari in them to give their bitterness more complexity. For example, he’s got a drink with bourbon, passionfruit, and Amaro Montenegro, the latter of which has a drying effect and also notes of cucumber, mint, and fennel that balance the sweetness of the former two.
Also of note is its barrel-aged program. Unlike others that are more bourbon-based, Gonzales’ is solera-style, which means he sourced used sherry barrels from Spain. A variety of drinks have already been aged for a year in this style.
All-in-all, it’s intended to be a casual, good time, but with style. “Someone said Lala’s maximalist, and, yeah, sure…” Busalacchi said before trailing off. “But, really, it’s just elegant and cohesive. You’re not going to feel overstimulated. It’s more intimate and homey.” Sounds like just the place to sit back, relax, and dig into a chunk of carbs while clinking glasses.
Lala will open its doors to the public on Monday, February 5, 2024.
Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.
Bringing together the design motifs of two cultures, Little Italy’s Modmatter, curated by Louise Girling (pictured), will host its first exhibition, Span: From Mexico to Portland, featuring architectural firm Manada and ceramist Lilith Rockett. The show incorporates innovative home décor and furniture pieces from Manada, led by Katerina Alatzia and Alejandro Tapia, including the Wirt, a multi-purpose carry-all, and the award-winning 42 Bed, a solid wood daybed that doubles as a desk. Also on display are Rockett’s minimalist and utilitarian-style porcelain bowls, cups, and plates. The pieces—all of which are for sale—will be on view through the end of May, by appointment. 2064 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
If you’re anything like us, it can be easy to get so caught up in taking care of everyone else, that your own needs get lost in the ether. But while this may be a cliché, that doesn’t make it any less true: You can’t give your best self to other people unless you’re taking care of yourself.
Sometimes, that looks like stopping in for your regular acupuncture or chiropractic appointment. Other days, it means giving your body the fresh, organic fuel it needs to truly feel and function at its best. And some other times still, it involves leaving your responsibilities behind for a weekend to pamper yourself at an incredible resort and spa.
Only you can decide what your truly need. We’re just here to help you find the best ways to get it.
Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa
Island living meets desert luxury at the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. When you step onto the 11-acre property, you’ll be surrounded by sweeping view of the Santa Rosa Mountains with olive trees and fragrant citrus groves decorating the grounds. In other words, everything about this relaxed but refined resort is primed to help you let go of the stress from home and enjoy easy sun-soaked days and gorgeous starry nights.
The rooms blend calming, woven textures with Tommy Bahama’s signature tropical prints and feature private lanais, making it easy unwind the moment you walk in the door. If you book one of the four Villa Suites, you’ll be treated to exclusive Tommy Bahama furniture and unique personal touches to further that feeling of instant ease.
At the award-winning Spa Rosa, the expert team will help reset and recharge your body and mind using methods and rituals inspired by the desert. The 12,000-square-foot retreat includes outdoor soaking pools, eucalyptus steam rooms, and outdoor cabanas, as well as massages, facials, and body masks—all aimed at creating a day dedicated to you. We’re particularly partial to the Day Long Escape, an indulgent all-day affair of CDBs soaks, renewing scrubs, life changing massages, and transformative facials.
Following your treatment, continue the experience with a meal on the patio at Grapefruit Basil. We love the Hamachi Crudo, a light, citrus-forward dish featuring premium yellowtail, house-made ponzu, creamy avocado, and fresh seasonal garnishes.
Whether you’re strolling the gardens, relaxing beside its saltwater pools, or indulging in a restorative treatment, you’ll be able to escape in style and relax in luxury at the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa.
Healcove Chiropractic
There’s no shortage of ways to stay active in San Diego—but if you really want to enjoy everything the city has to offer, you’ve got to make sure you’re giving your body its tune-ups. Enter: Healcove Chiropractic. The board-certified chiropractors and wellness professionals at Healcove are experts at addressing that stage where you’re not injured, exactly, but you’re not at 100%, either. Maybe you’re feeling a bit tense or stressed out. Or it could be that you’re not quite moving the way you want to. Sometimes, it’s just that the accumulation of days, weeks, or even years of daily strain is starting to take a toll. No matter what stage you find yourself at, the Healcove Chiropractic team can provide integrated, preventative care centered on long-term, science-backed approaches that ensure you can always stay active and live the life you want to live pain-free.
This starts by providing truly individualized care. Every patient can expect a thorough 60-minute consultation session that includes a posture and movement screening. This allows the team to develop a completely personalized plan. That plan might include chiropractic care, acupuncture, or massage therapy, as well as functional fitness training, vibration and sound therapy, and Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, a clinical rehabilitation method that retrains the body’s stabilization systems. Whatever the team recommends, you can be sure that it’s tailored to meeting your body’s needs today and the future.
There’s a reason that San Diego Magazine named Healcove the “Best Chiropractor in San Diego”—don’t wait until you’re struggling with an injury to find out why. Book an appointment today for holistic, integrated care that helps ground and heal your body before it reaches a crisis point.
Juice Holler
West Coast wellness culture meets the community feel of Southern Appalachia at Juice Holler. Juice Holler’s menu consists of made-to-order smoothies and smoothie bowls, as well as grab-and-go cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, salads, and more. It operates from the blissfully simple premise that fueling up with food and drink that’s guilt-free and good your body should be simple, accessible, and, above all else, delicious. And if you haven’t yet made it out to the Encinitas café, which opened just this year, let us be the first to tell you: Juice Holler delivers on each and every of these fronts.
We love the Supercharger smoothie, a mood-lifting and body-fueling option made with banana, almond butter, blue spirulina, maca, grass-fed whey protein, raw cacao nibs, medjool dates, and coconut milk. We’re also partial to the Thrive Alive smoothie bowl, where avocado, mango, sea moss, spirulina, mint, coconut milk, and agave are mixed and topped with coconut, chia seeds, strawberry, mango, and chocolate drizzle. The wellness shots include the Detoxifier, a cleansing blend of kale, cucumber, lemon and spirulina, plus a shot specially designed to fight inflammation (named, fittingly, Anti-Inflammation). Probiotic overnight oats, lemon turmeric bars, and strawberry shortcake chia pudding are other standouts on the grab-and-go menu.
Much of the vibe feels beachy North County chic—think green tile with orange and pink accents, grounded with greenery and natural wood—but Juice Holler founder Kelly Sergott, a longtime Encinitas local, has also enfused the space with her Kentucky roots. In Appalachia, a holler is small valley between hills and mountains, where nature reigns, community is king, and nourishment comes right from the land. At Juice Holler, Sergott has created a holler for the busy modern times, using local ingredients to create a spot for people to come together and enjoy fresh, fast, feel-good fuel for their day.
Everwell Acupuncture
We’ve all had that experience with a medical professional where we’ve felt rushed, ignored, or misunderstood—and ultimately, like we didn’t get the answers that we needed. But at Everwell, the holistic acupuncture practice located in Solana Beach, the care team wants to transform your understanding of what healthcare can look like.
Patients at Everwell experience care rooted in intentional listening and radical empathy—and trust us, those aren’t just corporate buzzwords. This place actually puts those ideas into practice. You will always be given the time you need to tell your story— initial in-take appointments are two hours long—and you can rest assured that your story will be believed. Every single question and concern will be addressed by a dedicated practitioner who wants to find the specific solutions that work best for you, and you’ll receive care that’s aimed at healing the body, mind, and spirit.
Everwell’s highly trained, doctorate-level practitioners blend evidence-based acupuncture with the practice of classical Chinese medicine. (If you’ve never tried acupuncture before or aren’t sure if the team will be a fit, we’d highly recommended Everwell’s complimentary 20-minute consultations.) Research shows that by stimulating specific points on the body, acupuncture activates a natural healing response in the body, helping to restore balance, regulate the nervous system, and improve overall wellbeing. This allows the practice to address an incredibly wide range of conditions from chronic pain and autoimmune disorders to digestive issues, from stress and burnout to headaches migraines, fertility and postpartum struggles, hormonal imbalances, sleep concerns and more.
At Everwell, you can expect to feel heard, trusted, respected, and cared for. This is a space that doesn’t want to be just another healthcare provider you visit; it wants to provide patients with dedicated partner who will be there for their entire health journey.
