Biz News: Habit executives ring the bell at Nasdaq
In honor of National Cheeseburger Day, executives from Irvine-based Habit Restaurants Inc. rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq stock exchange Friday in New York.
They were accompanied by Share Our Strength, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that works to end child hunger.
Habit Restaurants executives said they were donating at least $200,000 to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. The money was collected at The Habit Burger Grill restaurants nationwide.
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Pet cleanup brand launched in Newport
Orange County entrepreneurs Macon Brock and Pete Stirling recently launched Skout’s Honor, a brand of household pet cleanup products, in Newport Beach.
The products provide environmentally and socially conscious solutions to everyday pet messes, according to a news release.
Skout’s Honor also has pledged to donate a day’s worth of food for a shelter animal for each product sold.
“We call it the Skout’s Paw Pledge,” Brock said in a statement. “It was important to us to create a company that makes superior and safe products to improve the lives of pet owners, but we also wanted to make each purchase count in an individual and meaningful way. Skout’s Honor combines the next generation of ‘green’ cleaning technology with the individual act of giving, making the world a better place one mess at a time.”
Brock and Stirling also established Watermans Sunscreen in 2008.
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Newport Wine Co. release
Newport Wine Co. will release its 2013 Napa Valley Block 88 red blend during a party Sept. 26 at the Harbor View clubhouse, 1854 Port Westbourne Place, Newport Beach.
It is the second vintage of the Block 88 blend.
“The 2009 vintage was well-received and we only have 10 cases left,” said proprietor Brian Garbutt. “The 2013 is a fantastic wine from one of the best vintages in Napa Valley in the last decade. We feel we accomplished our goal of making a world-class Napa Valley blend that competes with wines selling for well over $100 a bottle, for a fraction of the price.”
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Volcom releases surf film
Costa Mesa-based clothing brand Volcom has released a new surf film titled “Psychic Migrations.”
Ryan Thomas is the director. Footage was shot in the West and East Indies, Australia, Polynesia and the Americas.
According to a news release, “Psychic Migrations” “weaves the physical expression of riding a rousing score of waves with a cerebral odyssey through the scapes and textures traveled to find them.”
The film premiered Thursday at Edwards Big Newport 6 at Fashion Island.
The movie is scheduled for further release on iTunes and DVD on Nov. 3. An online premiere is scheduled for Dec. 2.
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Test subjects sought for Alzheimer’s drug study
ATP Clinical Research in Costa Mesa is looking for test subjects as part of a nationwide Alzheimer’s disease drug study.
For more information, including eligibility requirements, visit ad-trial.com or call (714) 277-4472.
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Restaurant making anniversary donations to charity
Social Costa Mesa, a restaurant at 512 W. 19th St., is celebrating its first anniversary by donating some of its proceeds to the Newport chapter of the National Charity League.
Through October, it will donate $1 from every order of Chicken & Waffles, Wagyu Tri Tip, Brussels Sprouts, Drive Thru Burger and the cocktails Gunslinger and Dementa.
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Juice bar opens in Newport Beach
Juice Served Here, which offers cold-pressed juices, nut milks, coffee and other items, has opened a location at 3418 Via Lido in Newport Beach.
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Vegan restaurant coming to Castaway Commons
Cafe Gratitude, a gourmet restaurant known for organic plant-based cuisine, reportedly plans to open a location soon in Castaway Commons at 1617 Westcliff Drive in Newport Beach.
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New sales manager for Westin hotel
Karen Reis recently joined the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel staff as a sales manager.
Reis, an Orange Coast College graduate, previously was executive meetings sales manager at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.
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Newport financial firm expands to Boston area
Newport Beach-based financial firm Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors announced the acquisition of Boston-area firm TPW Financial, marking Beacon’s expansion to the East Coast.
TPW Financial, located in Newton, Mass., manages about $300 million in client assets.
The acquisition will bring Beacon’s assets to about $1.4 billion and the combined assets of its firm family, including parent Beacon Pointe Advisors, to about $8.5 billion.
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New leaders at Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage recently added Debbie Lewandowski to manage the company’s Newport Beach, Lido Isle and Balboa Island offices.
Mark Gold, Lewandowski’s assistant manager at First Team Estate, also in Newport Beach, is making the move with her, as are about 45 sales associates from First Team and five others from another brokerage.
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Commercial real estate consulting firm opens Irvine office
Waterstone Defeasance, an independent consulting firm that specializes in assisting commercial real estate borrowers, recently opened an office at 1920 Main St. in Irvine.
Company director Addison McMillan moved from the firm’s Charlotte, N.C., office to Irvine to focus on business development activities in the region.