Biz News: Pie-Not bids ‘good-pie’ as Huntington and Costa Mesa locations close

Pie-Not, an Australian-style pie shop, recently closed its Huntington Beach location and plans to shutter its Costa Mesa flagship June 30.

The Huntington Beach restaurant was in Pacific City. The Eastside Costa Mesa location, at 270 E. 17th St., opened about six years ago. It is having “good-pie” specials through the end of the month.

“Pie-Not has been a labor of love from the start,” company co-founder Ryan Lopiccolo said in a statement. “We can’t thank our community enough for their support and enthusiasm for Pie-Not over the past six years. We will miss our days in the shop baking and interacting with our customers.”

According to a news release, Lopiccolo cited his need to run other family business interests as the main reason for the closures. Both locations may reopen with another pie shop concept, he said.

Huntington Beach’s HQ Gastropub seeks to expand

The Huntington Beach Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider a request to expand HQ Gastropub to 6,453 square feet from 5,431 to accommodate more dining space.

The restaurant, at 155 Fifth St., would connect with the neighboring suite, which previously served as a clothing store.

The additional space would give the establishment a capacity of 241 occupants.

Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2000 Main St.

OC Executive Forum coming to Newport Beach

The USC Lusk Center for Real Estate will hold its Orange County Executive Forum on Wednesday in Newport Beach.

The event — which includes a program focusing on the state of the real estate industry and the future of housing and urban development in the county — will run from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fashion Island Hotel, 690 Newport Center Drive.

Tickets start at $115 and are $150 at the door. Discounts are available for students and USC alumni.

For more information or to register to attend, visit bit.ly/31H7TiX.

Moorlach names Newport Beach CPA as district Small Business of the Year

State Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) recently presented Newport Beach-based Mark F. Wille, CPA, with the Small Business of the Year award for the 37th Senate District.

Along with its professional services, the firm has helped several charitable, philanthropic and nonprofit causes, according to a news release.

“Mark has been a pioneer in performing peer reviews for certified public accounting firms and has been a respected continuing professional education presenter and author,” Moorlach said in a statement.

Diep chooses H.B.-based agency as district Small Business of the Year

State Assemblyman Tyler Diep (R-Westminster) announced this week that his pick for Small Business of the Year” for the 72nd Assembly District is Code Four, a Huntington Beach-based creative agency.

The event producer’s accomplishments include rebranding and reinvigorating the Great Pacific Airshow and Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival, according to a news release.

In a statement, Diep praised the agency as “an innovative and flourishing small business” and said Chief Executive Kevin Elliott and his team are “world-class professionals who work every day to help other businesses grow and, in doing so, they have built a healthy business with a reputation for quality.”

Guitar retailer strikes a chord in Costa Mesa

A new guitar retailer has opened in Costa Mesa.

Cottonwood Music Emporium at 2967 Randolph Ave. sells guitars, effects, accessories and more. The store, which calls itself “equal parts retail and experiential,” specializes in a customized selection of hard-to-find products.

For more information, visit cottonwoodmusicemporium.com or instagram.com/CottonwoodMusicEmporium.

New Surf City restaurant opens

Fatburger and Buffalo’s Express have opened a new co-branded location in Huntington Beach.

The restaurant at 21020 Beach Blvd. sells burgers and chicken wings.

Retired NBA player to advise Newport company

Former NBA player Keith Erickson has been named to the advisory board of Newport Beach-based Vivera Pharmaceuticals Inc., which focuses on nonaddictive pain management.

The company said in a news release that Erickson will help spread the company’s mission.

“I know firsthand the toll professional sports can take on one’s body,” Erickson said in a statement. “I’ve sustained many injuries myself and I’ve seen countless teammates and players suffer very serious injuries. By trying to manage the pain, some of these players have become addicted to opioids and experienced consequences far greater than their initial injury.”

Erickson, who played 12 years in the NBA, including five with the Los Angeles Lakers, said he wants to promote Vivera’s mission to “positively alter the opioid crisis.”

Laguna man named football director at sports agency

Laguna Beach resident Kyle McCarthy has been promoted to director of football for Athletes First, a sports agency based in Laguna Hills.

McCarthy, who joined Athletes First in 2015, is experienced in representing NFL players and coaches.

PIMCO names new director and announces donations

Jamie Weinstein has been named managing director, portfolio manager and head of corporate special situations at Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., or PIMCO.

Weinstein, an alumnus of Princeton and Stanford universities, starts Sept. 1. He last served as portfolio manager for KKR, which is based in San Francisco.

In other PIMCO news, its charitable foundation recently awarded $2 million to the Global FoodBanking Network. The funds will help vulnerable populations in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and India, as well as support the network’s expansion in Southeast Asia.

PIMCO’s foundation also gave $350,000 to the Community Action Partnership of Orange County and the Orange County Food Bank, helping in the purchase of a mobile food trolley called Clementine.

Newport’s Realm Real Estate part of plan for L.A. high-rise

Realm Group LLC — a joint venture between Newport Beach-based Realm Real Estate LLC and Irvine-based Bascom Group — has closed on a 1.5-acre site in downtown Los Angeles and plans to build a 36-story, 422-unit building, according to a news release.

The company described the project at 675 S. Bixel St. as an “international modern, concrete, steel and glass tower” with various onsite amenities.

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UPDATES:

This article was originally published at 7:50 a.m. and was later updated with the HQ Gastropub item.