Several businesses are ringing in the new year by opening or settling into the La Jolla area.
Here’s a look at what’s new and coming up.
Vintage Ivy
Owner Jessica Torp describes her new store as “a destination where timeless beauty meets unique craftsmanship.” Her products are now available at 808 Girard Ave.
Vintage Ivy offers handcrafted gold jewelry, floral jewelry with handpicked flowers encased in gold, and permanent jewelry, meaning it can custom-fit and weld bracelets or necklaces in a seamless loop around the wearer’s wrist or neck so they stay on, “ensuring your jewelry stays with you forever.”
“With every item we create, we aim to provide a meaningful and lasting accessory that will hold a special place in your heart,” Torp said.
Vintage Ivy opened Nov. 26 and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. To learn more, call 858-203-3614 or visit vintageivy.com.
Full Moon Bridal
One new business in La Jolla is making a move from Mira Mesa Boulevard to Prospect Street, offering bridal and wedding planning services ranging from booth rentals to ceremony setup.
Full Moon Bridal’s custom gown orders feature three fitting appointments, including a designer appointment and a follow-up to confirm the final look. It also offers bridal designs from a sketch and “Out of Rack” sample gowns at a discount.
The business is set to hold a soft opening at 909 Prospect in early January. A grand opening is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Feb. 14. Hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
To learn more, visit fullmoonbridal.com.
Concetta Antico: The Salon of Art Gallery
After first opening Nov. 15, Concetta Antico: The Salon of Art Gallery will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.
The gallery offers a variety of art and services, from limited-edition merchandise and stationery to tarot readings and live painting sessions.
Owner Concetta Antico is a tetrachromat, meaning she can perceive 100 million colors, many times more than someone with regular vision.
Antico said she is excited to return to La Jolla, where she operated three Bird Rock locations of Art Tours, later rebranded as The Salon of Art, from 1995 to 2003. Afterward, she and her business moved to Mission Hills and briefly to her home country, Australia.
The new Salon of Art Gallery is in The Village at 7655 Fay Ave. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, or by appointment.
To learn more, visit concettaantico.com.
Roseacre
Roseacre, a restaurant scheduled to open in the spring in a two-level venue at 7766 Girard Ave., will be headed by Erik Anderson, a Michelin-starred chef with an extensive resumé.
Anderson previously worked at The French Laundry in the Napa Valley, Noma in Denmark and Coi in San Francisco and co-founded The Catbird Seat in Nashville, Tenn.
His cuisine at Roseacre will place an emphasis on ocean fare, wood-fired cooking and plant-based options.
Roseacre will feature a 5,000-square-foot first level with an open kitchen and a second-floor 30-seat Garden Bar with a reservation-only rooftop space with views, drinks, small bites and live music.
There also will be an alley bar and an “intimate and stylish backroom experience,” according to the business.
For more information, visit roseacrelj.com.
Lucien
Chef Elijah Arizmendi and his married business partners, Brian Hung and Melissa Lang, will open the 30-seat, third-floor fine-dining restaurant Lucien this spring at 7863 Girard Ave.
Arizmendi will serve a California cuisine tasting menu with European and Asian influences that spotlights seasonal local ingredients, including fresh-caught seafood. The restaurant will have an open kitchen and a separate bar area.
Arizmendi recently moved from New York City, where he was chef de cuisine at L’abeille and chef de partie at Michelin three-star restaurant Per Se.
For more information, visit instagram.com/lucienlajolla.
New to UTC
Westfield UTC mall on La Jolla Village Drive welcomed a trio of businesses in the past month, and another is on the way.
The first to open on Dec. 5 was Garage, a casual clothing brand spotlighting denim, “everyday classics” and trendier outfits with a mission to “empower each other to be confident, authentic and unapologetic in their own style.”
Melo Melo, a dessert shop, followed Dec. 16, offering coconut jellies and a “vibrant array of unique flavors,” including mango and matcha.
Another sweet treat destination arrived at UTC on Dec. 26 with Van Leeuwen, a New York City-based ice cream brand that first came to California in a food truck in 2014.
Van Leeuwen features specialty flavors and has celebrity sponsorships including basketball star Jimmy Butler and pop singer Sabrina Carpenter. The company says its success is partly due to its focus on “good ingredients and no unnecessary stuff.”
Later this year, UTC will welcome Los Angeles-based sushi restaurant Katsuya Ko.
Ko means “child” in Japanese, representing master chef Katsuya Uechi’s casual, family-friendly, experimental approach to dining. Offerings include sushi rolls, sashimi, specialty cocktails, Ko burgers and miso cod bites.
For additional information, visit sbe.com/restaurants/katsuyako/lajolla.
Biotech moving headquarters to North Carolina
Local biotech company Heron Therapeutics plans to move its headquarters to North Carolina from 4242 Campus Point Court, just north of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
The company says North Carolina’s burgeoning biotech scene “provides ample space for growth and expansion.”
Heron, which makes four commercial cancer and pain-management therapies, will be headquartered in Cary, N.C., not far from the Research Triangle, a growing hub for start-ups and scientific innovation. The company says a majority of the management team and corporate employees already work out of its Cary office.
It’s unclear whether Heron will maintain a presence in San Diego. The publicly traded company held a lease for about 52,000 square feet of local office and lab space as of Sept. 30, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. It also subleases about 5,800 square feet of office space in North Carolina.
Heron had 126 full-time employees at the end of 2023, according to its most recent filing. That year the company restructured and reduced its headcount by 25% to preserve cash as it worked toward profitability. — The San Diego Union-Tribune
La Jolla Business Roundup is published monthly by the La Jolla Light. Send your business news to staff writer Noah Lyons at noah.lyons@lajollalight.com. ♦
