7-11 Franchisee Transitions to Inventor
Plus, Indoor Batting Cages in LV, Community Events, and a Mission Valley Mystery
You could say that March 31 marked the passing of an era in Linda Vista. Unbeknownst to many local residents, ownership in one of Linda Vista’s most familiar businesses changed hands effective that date. You could also definitely say the same date marks the beginning of a new era for Sabina Sood. After all, March 31 was the first day in 15 years that Ms. Sood has not had to wake up and worry about the daily operations of the 7-11 convenience store at 6615 Linda Vista Road, located right next door to the Francis Parker School.
During the past 15 years, Sood has served as the franchisee of the local 7-11 convenience store, ensuring the Linda Vista community had round-the-clock access to those staple and satisfy-my- craving products we’ve all grown accustomed to purchasing at any time of the day—even during a pandemic. Rare is the Linda Vistan that hasn’t made at least one purchase there in the past 15 years. However, in spite of selling the business that kept her life extremely busy, Sood is not planning to take a prolonged rest. In fact, she is immediately embarking on a new and more exciting adventure. Now that she no longer has to worry about all the details involved in running a retail business, she is free to follow her passion of becoming a full time inventor/entrepreneur. The hat business calls, and Sood has decided to answer the call.
For the past 5 years, Sood has been working part-time on developing a hat that can be worn at the beach or pool, or in the rain, or any other place where style and functionality converge. Her design incorporates a stylish wide-brimmed, light weight, water-proof hat that provides full protection from the sun. Through “lots of trial and error,” and after going through several prototypes, she has continued working on a hat that is “waterproof and will not lose its form or fade in color.” The hat also comes with a band that allows one to add fashionable accessories, enabling the hat to serve as “a blank canvas” for individual style purposes, just like the “little black dress.” All that “trial and error’ has resulted in Sood obtaining a design patent for her hat. She foresees the hat being sold in the $99.00 to $129.00 range. Her name for the hat is the “Shaya Brims”, which happens to be a combination of her two kids’ names, and a word that means “shade” in her native language.
Now free of her former 7-11 responsibilities, Sood’s intentions are clear. She aims to make hats, and sell hats!
“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for,” she said. Though many people would be apprehensive about the big career change, she remains calm about answering her call to adventure, insisting “I’ve planned this move for a long time.”
The former franchisee admits that about five years ago she began thinking about a change in careers. The “7-11 environment was changing, becoming more challenging, I was working more night shifts, and I had two small children to take care of. And so I started to look for other options. I wanted more creativity, more personal growth, and more freedom.” Her thinking coincided with a trip she took with friends that involved leisure time at the pool—all that time in the sun and water got her to start thinking about the ideal hat that could be worn in those circumstances.
As far as her former career is concerned, Sood paints her experiences as a franchisee in an overall good light. “I am happy with the team I am leaving for the new franchisee.” She looks back and sees the variety of work required at the 7-11 as the most enjoyable part of the job, claiming that “The stocking, the cleaning, the working with the customers and my team meant never being bored.” And she is proud that she has “grown a lot as a manager working with people and developing my team.” The parts she won’t miss include “working many night shifts” and “not having a vacation in two years.”
When asked to relate a memorable experience from her 15 years at the 7-11, Sood told the story of a time from a few years ago when the store was experiencing a series of shoplifting episodes, always from the same group of local teens. She got a tip that identified one of the shoplifters, and so she eventually called the mom of the teen, who then brought her son in to apologize. In the discussion, Sood found out the family had been going through a rough time, to include the death of the teen’s father. The discussion brough an end to the teen’s shoplifting, and Sood is happy to report that he now regularly comes in as a customer and always says hello.
In regard to the community she has served, Sood says she will “always have a special place in my heart for the Linda Vista community. So much of our customer base is made up of local residents. You really get to know them.”
We wish Ms. Sood the best of luck in her new career. If you are interested in following her career, or if you are interested in purchasing one of her hats, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/ShayaBrims/
Improve Your Hitting Skills at J.P. Longball in LV
Is your ten year old Little Leaguer interested in improving his hitting skills? Does your 16 year old daughter want to be the top slugger on her high school softball team this season? Or are you a forty-nine year old who still dreams of having the San Diego Padres sign you to a contract once your hitting skills are finally refined? If so, then I suggest you and your family members, along with your respective bats, take a trip down to J.P Longball, located at 5232 Riley Street in Linda Vista. J.P. Longball’s indoor batting cages are where you can work on those hitting skills to your heart’s delight.
This business, which has been operating out of it’s current location for 28 years, offers ball players the opportunity to work on their hitting skills by facing the adjustable speed of a pitching machine, as well as opportunities for personalized instruction from batting instructors. There are a variety of sessions that customers can sign up for, depending on how long they want to practice. The speed of the pitching machine can be adjusted from 38 to 70 mph.
Regular customers range in age from 5 to 50, and include both baseball and softball players.
Though walk-ins are welcome, J.P Longball recommends calling in advance for reservations to ensure batting cage time.
The lobby of J.P. Longball proudly displays photos and baseball cards of star college and professional ball players who have used the J.P Longball batting cages, to include Carlos Quentin, the former major league star who spent part of his career playing for the San Diego Padres, as well as former major leaguer Adam Jones who is currently playing in Japan.
Based on San Diego’s association with two of the greatest baseball hitters that ever lived—Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn—it makes perfect sense that local ball players have made J.P Longball’s Indoor Batting Center a favorite sports training facility.
5232 Riley Street
San Diego, CA 92110
619-299-4487
Monday - Friday 12 to 8 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Upcoming LV Community Events
— USD Just Read! Bridging Homelessness and Community: A conversation on temporary storage in Linda Vista
On Thursday, April 8 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., the Linda Vista Library and the University of San Diego will conduct a community forum for residents to learn about the role that temporary storage facilities play in helping unsheltered Linda Vista neighbors. Panelists from advocacy and service organizations Think Dignity and Community Casa Linda Vista, the Linda Vista Branch Library, and neighbors who’ve been without shelter will share their experiences and facilitate a discussion. You can register here for this Zoom event: https://sandiego.librarymarket.com/events/bridging-homelessness-and-community-conversation-temporary-storage-linda-vista
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— Taking the Lead from Local Organizations to Address Housing Insecurity
On Friday, April 9 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., a Zoom discussion will be held to address how housing insecurity affects over 150,000 Californians each day. This event is sponsored by USD’s Urgent Challenges Collective Speaker Series and the Center for Educational Excellence Just Read! program. Representatives from POOR Magazine and Monarch School, two organizations dedicated to eradicating poverty homelessness, will discuss the problems they see and face in the field and what solutions they are implementing. You can register here for this virtual event: https://sandiego.secure.force.com/events#/esr?eid=a0K4y00000X1n5AEAR
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— San Diego Humane Society Community Town Hall
On Tuesday April 13 from 5-6 p.m., Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of San Diego Humane Society will lead a discussion that provides an inside look at SD Humane Society’s accomplishments and highlights over the past year, as well as what the future holds for the organization. When you register, you will have the opportunity to submit questions that may be addressed during the event. Space is limited. You can register here for this virtual event: https://sdhumane.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QpL6VvgkSbWQRFjsn6uvlg
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— Meet Your Mayor Event for District 7
On Saturday April 17 at 11AM, Councilmember Raul Campillo will co-host a Meet Your Mayor event with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. During this event, residents of the district will get a chance to meet Mayor Gloria and Councilmember Campillo and ask both of them questions regarding such issues as homelessness, affordable housing, and infrastructure.
Residents can register for the event by going to this site: https://sandiego.seamlessdocs.com/f/mayorcd7townhall
Registering for the event will allow you to pre-submit questions for the event.
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— Linda Vista Scavenger Hunt
The 2021 Linda Vista Scavenger Hunt will be held on April 24, 2021. The Scavenger Hunt will be held in lieu of the annual Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade.
Details regarding the Scavenger Hunt can be found here: http://www.lindavistafair.org
As mentioned on the above site, “attendees will participate in a scavenger hunt on April 24, 2021 with drive-thru curbside pickup of goodie bags and resources from key Linda Vista hubs. Masks and social distancing will be required when interacting with guests.”
Vendors/Hubs interested in participating can fill out the interest form found on this site: https://airtable.com/shrOmdwY59NstJchc
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Linda Vista Update readers…if you wish to let fellow readers know about upcoming LV community events, please submit the information to srodriguez2@san.rr.com. We will do our best to post the information in the next edition of the newsletter.
Commentary
A Mission Valley Mystery
Mission Valley is experiencing a boon in construction. Numerous condo developments and a major road improvement have progressed rapidly. And yet, Mission Valley’s biggest mystery is related to the relatively slow pace of one particular MV construction project. Who knows why the Hazard Center Drive extension has taken so long to complete and open for traffic? It’s a mystery!
Speaking of construction, if you’ve ever paid a visit to the Washington D.C. area and taken a tour of its many sites, chances are good you came away impressed by the size of the Pentagon. This Department of Defense headquarters building is a massive structure that houses 23,000 military and civilian employees. It’s so big that the building’s lengthy corridors (17.5 miles of corridors) have resulted in many a first-time person getting lost inside. And here’s the most amazing thing about the Pentagon…in spite of its huge size, it took workers only 16 months to complete its construction. As soon as construction was finished, the offices started to get filled. After all, the time was World War II, and the military didn’t have any time to waste.
Here’s another construction fact. NYC’s Empire State building, at one time the tallest building in the world, only took two years to complete.
Along more local lines, the new SDSU football stadium is scheduled to open in the fall of 2022. That’s a fairly fast time for such a major project.
And then there’s the Hazard Center Drive extension! This short road extension is Mission Valley’s longest running mystery. This extension is just a block in length, running west from in front of the Doubletree Hotel to the Fashion Valley Mall’s east parking lot, while going underneath Highway 163. The extension involves a mere two lanes, along with cement sides 15 feet in height, due to it going so deep underneath the 163 overpass. It was designed to facilitate the flow of traffic into/out of the Fashion Valley Mall. Planning for this small road extension began sometime in the mid-1990’s. Actual construction began in 2017. It’s now 2021. Surprisingly, despite this lengthy passage of time, the extension is still not open for traffic. Why? Who knows?
Let’s add some more perspective. Construction of the impressive Friars Road/Highway 163 interchange area—a 111 million dollar project—began at about the same time as the Hazard Center Drive extension project. This major construction endeavor involved several months of inconveniences for local residents, to include frequent noise and detours. Fortunately, the Friars Road/Highway 163 interchange project was completed in just two years. I think most local residents were pleasantly surprised by the time it took to complete this project, and are equally pleased with the results.
However, we are still left waiting for the much smaller Hazard Center Drive Extension project to finally handle traffic flow. I’m not sure what accounts for the delay. It’s an intriguing mystery, and one that appeals to my imagination. The extension is currently like a zombie road. Lifeless, but still standing (play Twilight Zone music here). I like to imagine the extension’s opening has been delayed because a city official discovered the road serves as a dangerous portal to another dimension. Spooky, uh? I never thought I’d utter the words “Something about Mission Valley reminds me of a Stephen King novel.”
Then again, it could be someone at City Hall simply lost the paperwork required to officially open a road, in which case, instead of a Stephen King nightmare, there might be a government bureaucratic nightmare to blame.
Or could it be the city is delaying the grand opening ceremony until the dry summer months, so that there’s less chance of the road getting inauspiciously flooded by rain (like the rest of MV) on its first day of operation?
Who really knows? But it’s fun to speculate about the possible reasons.
I’m sure the Hazard Center Road extension will someday open for traffic, and I’m sure there’s a good reason why it’s taken so long to build. But until I hear otherwise, I am going to savor this curious Mission Valley mystery and allow my imagination run wild.
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The Linda Vista Update aims to publish informative, interesting and fun news about the Linda Vista community and its adjacent neighborhoods.