Zinc Cafe serves as hangout and lifesaver
Since it opened in 1988, Zinc Cafe & Market in Laguna Beach has been a hangout for locals and visitors who want to munch on a colorful salad or flaky croissant while sitting on an outdoor patio.
But the restaurant has also given people like Andrew Modugno a serving of hope.
At a gala this month, the Friendship Shelter, a Laguna shelter and rehabilitation facility for the homeless, recognized Zinc founder and owner John Secretan, along with others in town, for their contributions to battling homelessness in the community.
In the last five years, Zinc has hired three people who have stayed at the shelter, at 1335 S. Coast Hwy., including Modugno, 26, according to shelter marketing director Kristin Points.
As a manager, Modugno handles hiring and scheduling and oversees daily operations at the cafe located at 350 Ocean Ave.
He was hired in January 2013 as a barista and worked his way up to supervisor and to his current role as manager. The job provided staying power for Modugno, who had succumbed to drug use and spent time in jail.
After graduating from Saddleback Valley Christian High School in San Juan Capistrano in 2008, Modugno enrolled in Santa Ana College’s fire technology program, intent on becoming a firefighter. He completed the one-year program but his life began to unravel.
Modugno said he fell in with the wrong crowd and began experimenting with drugs.
Modugno was arrested for possession of a controlled substance in summer of 2009, and later that year he was caught trying to steal a DVD from a store, he said.
His family suggested that Modugno get help, and he spent 11/2 years enrolled in a recovery program out of state. Modugno said he became sober and returned to Southern California in August 2011.
But he returned to the same group of people and to drugs.
“Whatever I could get my hands on,” Modugno said.
It all came to a head in the spring of 2012, when Modugno was arrested twice in one week on suspicion of drug possession.
Modugno avoided prison through provisions of Proposition 36, an initiative passed by 60% of California voters in 2000 that requires people convicted of nonviolent drug possession to complete a licensed or certified drug treatment program instead of going to prison. A judge expunged the charges against Modugno after he finished the program, Modugno said.
Modugno said he satisfied Proposition 36 requirements by participating in a Tustin drug and alcohol residential program. But after 45 days, Modugno needed another place to live when his insurance ran out. He moved to a sober living house in Midway City, but money problems continued to dog him and he knew he would need to find a job within two weeks.
Reeling from the effects of drug use, Modugno called the city of Mission Viejo’s resource center.
“The only reason that popped into my head was because I used to work there,” said Modugno, who was a community services specialist at the center.
Modugno said a woman answered his call and in the room with her was Mark Miller, the Friendship Shelter’s current associate executive director.
“Based on questions I asked her, [Miller] thought the shelter would be a good spot for me,” Modugno said.
Miller put him on the waiting list for a place in the 32-bed facility. Modugno moved in on May 31, 2012.
“I was lost; I had no idea what the next step was,” Modugno said. “My perception of reality was not solid.”
He said that three months after moving into the Friendship Shelter, the Orange County district attorney’s office charged him with two felony crimes stemming from the theft of $10,000 worth of gold coins from his aunt and uncle. Modugno was arrested and spent a week in jail.
A turning point soon came.
His aunt and uncle wrote a letter to the D.A., asking that the charges to be dropped, Modugno said. The D.A. dropped the felony burglary charge, and Modugno said he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor grand theft.
“It showed me the power of forgiveness,” Modugno said. “I would have been in jail for at least a year.
“It was right then when I turned the corner and started figuring out the road to recovery.”
Friendship Shelter staff and volunteers provide meals, case management and an array of support services aimed to overcome the causes of homelessness, according to the shelter’s website.
Residents are expected to earn an income and save money in order to leave the program with housing awaiting them.
Modugno applied for jobs all over town but got only one interview — at Zinc.
Modugno said potential employers might have been reluctant to take on a shelter resident.
Jane Manolakas, Modugno’s case manager at the Friendship Shelter and a Laguna Beach resident, knew of Zinc’s reputation and drove him to the cafe to apply for a position.
“He stood out as someone who wanted to better himself,” said Alyssa Mendez, Zinc’s training manager at the time. “I wanted him to feel like I could help him, like Zinc could help him.”
Mendez took him under her wing, showing Modugno the intricacies of Zinc, priming him for greater responsibilities. Modugno eventually filled Mendez’s role when she moved to Zinc’s Los Angeles location and became assistant general manager of that store. Zinc also has a location in Corona del Mar.
“He likes to prove himself and never stops giving up,” Mendez said.
“This is a type of business where we’re much more interested in personality and whether they can do the job; skills can be taught,” Secretan said. “All we look for is productive people willing to do the job.”
Manolakas said the shelter provided fellowship Modugno needed.
“He had a nice group of friends, and staff, who played board games late into the night,” Manolakas said. “There was a sense of community and belonging.
“He’s a success story, a beautiful story.”
Modugno now lives with two roommates in a house in Laguna Niguel. He is taking classes at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and hopes to transfer to a four-year college and possibly major in business.
“Without this program and John taking a chance on hiring me, I do not know where I would be,” Modugno said.
Modugno said he is not ashamed of his past since it “has made me who I am.”
“I had every chance to succeed in life,” Modugno said. “My life path was created by my poor decisions. I was lucky to have support of certain people helping me be where I am today.”
In the last five years, 67% of the approximately 600 shelter residents have gained employment and secured long-term housing, Points said.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
