Checking in with LV's Skateworld
Plus: Upcoming Community Events; Whole Foods Trolley Stop; Bayside Graduates RLA class; and New LV Farmer's Market Set to Open
There are few businesses in Linda Vista that better represent the resilience of the community than Skateworld. In spite of being closed for thirteen months during the pandemic, and after fighting off two serious attempts by city officials in the past few years to close the business down in the name of commercial redevelopment, Skateworld has emerged more popular than ever as a place to go for both fun entertainment and fitness.
After weathering a COVID-induced shutdown, Skateworld (located at the intersection of Linda Vista Road and Comstock Street) once again opened its doors last April and has now been thriving for a year in this post COVID-restriction world. The skating rink has returned to its original status as the local place to go for Friday and Saturday night family-oriented fun, as well as a place where adults can skate and socialize during certain days of the week. In fact, we previously featured a story on Skateworld when it first re-opened last year, detailing its sessions for adult skaters
Since a year has gone by since their re-opening, we thought it would be a good time to check in with the owners of Skateworld and get an update on this long-standing LV institution (the building was originally constructed during World War II). Co-Owner Christina Stang was kind enough to sit down and fill us in on the current state of Skateworld.
She reminded us that her father-in-law Gary Stang owned Skateworld from 1975 to 2020. She and her husband Brett (Gary’s son) began operating Skateworld in 2013 and then took over ownership in 2020, just in time to deal with COVID. As mentioned previously, Skateworld was forced to close down for thirteen months. What helped the business survive was its two other businesses, another skating rink in Tacoma, Washington (Skateworld Tacoma), and Fritzy’s Rollerskate Shop, located in Pacific Beach and El Cajon. During this time, one of the busiest venues in Linda Vista was reduced to serving as a mere warehouse for Skateworld’s other businesses.
Fortunately, Christina is happy to report that support from the community has been great since the re-opening. Based on the number of customers frequenting Skateworld, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, it’s clear that local residents and people throughout San Diego County greatly missed the opportunity to skate at such a great indoor facility, and are now making up for lost time. She added that Skateworld has used the time to make improvements, upgrading the painting, and adding new carpeting as well as new tables.
Christina commented that she and her husband enjoy running a family-centered venue. “Our goal,” she said, “is to provide an affordable opportunity for families to bring their kids for skating,”
When asked if Skateworld has any special deals going on that LV residents might be interested in, she informed us that Summer Skate passes will soon be offered for $99.00. These passes are good from June 1 to August 31. This is an even better deal than the current 30-day pass that sells for $75.00 and allows for unlimited skating during all public skate sessions. She also wanted to let our readers know that passes are available for San Diego library card holders. You can go to the Library web site to reserve a pass under the library’s “Discover and Go” program.
She pointed out for our adult newsletter readers that a good time to visit Skateworld is on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Lunch Time Skate sessions (10:00 am to 12:00 pm). (I can attest that the skating rink plays some great music during these sessions) You can also check out the Skateworld web site for other adult sessions scheduled during the week, along with other types of sessions for all ages.
As Skateworld looks toward the future, Christina identified two goals for the community and the business. First, that the Linda Vista community strive to focus on its youth, ensuring that we make the area more engaging for young people. The second goal involves Skateworld eventually being able to work out a long term lease with the City of San Diego, which owns the Skateworld facility. “We need a long-term lease in order to make bigger improvements,” she said. “Right now, we are on a month-to-month lease arrangement.” It’s safe to say that any LV resident who was around when Skateworld was forced to fight for its survival in both 2010 and 2019 (when the City seriously considered ending its lease with the skating rink to redevelop the premises), would enthusiastically support such a goal.
In closing, when asked if she had anything else to say to our readers, she expressed her appreciation by simply commenting “We are just happy to be here in Linda Vista.”
****
The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank Christina Stang for taking the time to answer our questions.
Upcoming Community Events
—USD Baseball: The University of San Diego Torero baseball team plays a three game series against conference competitor Santa Clara University at Fowler Park on April 29 (6:00 pm), April 30 (5:00 pm), and May 1 (1:00 pm). The Toreros are currently tied for second place in the West Coast Conference.
—Community Clean-up: The next monthly LV Community Clean-up, sponsored by the Bayside Community Center, will be held on Sunday May 1 at 10:00 am. Volunteers meet in the Linda Vista Library parking lot.
—Fire Safe Your Place Event: The Coastal Canyon Fire Safe Council will be sponsoring a Community Safety Event on May 21st. Check the below poster for details.
Whole Foods Just Three Trolley Stops Away
Editor’s note: This is a third in a series of articles exploring interesting venues located close to stations on the new Blue Line Trolley Extension, which starts at the nearby Tecolote Road station. In this article, we feature the Whole Foods Supermarket, which is within easy walking distance of the Nobel Drive Trolley station.
Well, it’s a few days out from the Linda Vista Multicultural Fair and Parade and time for me to get back to work. The Fair was so much fun, and it was great meeting so many of you. I didn’t get to be in the Parade as I was chained to our booth, and told to get as many new subscription signups as possible. But seriously, Steve and the Carnivore enjoyed riding in the back of that beautiful Mustang, and I was happy to get many more subscribers to our newsletter, talk to a great many residents, and hear some interesting stories you may be reading about in future LV Updates.
So, this week it was back on the trolley to see what adventures awaited just a few trolley stops away. This is the third in our continuing story to ride the trolley along the new Blue Line extension and find something to write about near each trolley stop. This time we rode all the way to the Noble Drive station in La Jolla and looked around to see what we could reach there on foot. The stop itself has a good deal of parking and we saw a lot of students, probably from UCSD. We looked around and spied a Whole Foods Market not far away. In fact, walking distance to the supermarket was only .16 of a mile. I’ve always had supermarket envy for those who lived close to a large or fancy supermarket. And Whole Foods is as fancy as they get. The Whole Foods in Hillcrest gives me claustrophobia as it is so small and the aisles so narrow and I rarely go there. However, I found the La Jolla Whole Foods to be much larger, and the aisles are very wide. It has so many products that are organic, vegetarian, vegan, plant based, and non-food products (non-milk, non-butter, non-cheese, non-chorizo, etc.) that I imagine it is paradise for non-meat eaters and vegans. There are almost as many non-recognizable products there as there are at Sieu Thi Thuan Phat Supermarket in Linda Vista.
Everything at Whole Foods is arranged to look very pretty. The produce appears very appealing and is arranged by organic and nom-organic. The organic tends to be more expensive than non-organic, and not quite as perfect. Their bakery selection is fantastic. I had no idea you could get so many things made of brioche. Brioche croissants, brioche hamburger and hot dog buns, brioche dinner rolls, brioche chocolate swirl bread, brioche-brioche. Crazy. And cheeses. I never knew there were so many kinds of cheese or that cheese could be so expensive. I think they had cheese from every country in the world. The fresh fish area was huge. Other than the common fish and shellfish, there were many types of exotic fish that I wouldn’t begin to know how to cook. They also have many ready-to-eat items arranged in trays from which you serve yourself. They have sushi, pizza, sandwiches, stews, many types of olives and cooked vegetables, and more. I believe more affluent people must have a need for greater variety than us ordinary folks.
I was surprised to see dragon fruit, something I recognized from having seen it in our local store and farmer’s market. I also saw something that I had never seen here in our supermarket which I thought looked really good. Upon closer look, I saw it was actually a Yoga Brick and not a food item. I guess I don’t get out enough.
Although everything looked really good, we soon realized that maybe taking the trolley to Whole Food might not be the best idea. We would not be able to carry many groceries to and from the trolley. This would be even more problematic if we bought frozen items. Luckily, since everything was so expensive, it wasn’t likely that we could buy much anyway. So, it all worked out.
The next time I am feeling bad that Linda Vista does not have a fancy grocery store, I will remember that our stores are much less expensive, less complicated, and I can always learn to substitute. After all, who really needs expensive brioche when we can get delicious baguettes at K’s Sandwiches up at Mesa College Square?
Bayside Graduates Latest RLA Class
After undergoing training over the past couple months, 8 residents of the Linda Vista area are now ready and eager to take on impactful activist roles in the community.
The Bayside Community Center recently graduated the 14th class of its Resident Leadership Academy (RLA). The graduates included 8 motivated members of the local Vietnamese-American community, to include: Lê Thúy, Lý Khánh, Nguyễn Tuấn, Quách Tịnh, Trịnh Thủy Long, Trần Hủ, Trương Quang, Vương Liên. Also participating in the training were Vân Nguyễn and Nữ Hằng.
They attended 10 training sessions of a curriculum designed to familiarize motivated local residents with subjects like community leadership, crime prevention and safety, land use and active transportation, and healthy food systems. Residents learned skills and best practices to address the issues that most affect their communities, and to prepare them to work alongside their neighbors to help improve quality of life where they live. Upon graduation, attendees have new knowledge and access to a support network to help them lead community improvement projects.
The training was delivered in their native Vietnamese language, with Huy Tu, a San Diego State University graduate (B.S. Public Health) and Vietnamese Community Advocate for the Bayside Community Center, serving as the instructor.
As part of their training, the RLA graduates took a trip to San Diego’s Little Italy to check out and discuss the Farmer’s Market and the MTA bus and trolley system in the hopes of preparing them to eventually provide input on such local issues as the upcoming LV Farmer’s Market and the convenience of bus routes running through the neighborhood. Another visit involved a short trip to nearby Kelly Street Neighborhood Park to determine what improvements should be made to enhance the value of the venue for LV residents.
As graduates of the RLA, these local residents plan to pursue the following community concerns: (1) Being able to grow their own vegetables for themselves and for low income people; (2) Working on making the LV streets safe and beautiful so that people feel comfortable about walking in their neighborhoods; (3) Seeking more bus routes in Linda Vista; and (4) Finding ways to address the high cost of living.
At their graduation ceremony, these RLA graduates commented that their training “was very useful for the Vietnamese people,” that it made them “passionate about the city and the local community,” and that it “empowered them and made them feel more confident about interacting with the community.”
The new RLA graduates will continue working with the Bayside Community Center via the organization’s Leaders in Action monthly meetings.
LV Farmer’s Market Coming Soon
The new Love, Linda Vista Farmers’ Market is coming to the parking lot of Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center (on 6937 Linda Vista Road) starting with a soft opening on May 5th (1pm-6pm). The Grand Opening ribbon cutting with San Diego dignitaries and representatives will be at 1:30pm on June 2. It will run every Thursday all year long.
Currently, there are 5 farmers scheduled to participate with various fruits, veggies, micro greens, fresh squeezed juices squeezed on-site, succulents, and plants. There are 8 handmade craft vendors. There are twelve food vendors ranging from Mexican to Paula’s Soul Food fried catfish and fried chicken to Full Belly BBQ (which was at the Fair), to popcorn and cotton candy to Gabina’s filipino food. The focus will be on local SD businesses. More food vendors and various produce and crafts will be added as the weeks progress. According to Jonathan Widener, President of the Love, Linda Vista Board of Directors, “We will also have weekly civic organizations like the County Parks and Rec Department coming to do talks on their weekly hikes and star gazing as well as show-and-tell of animals. Something different each week will be offered to engage youth of all ages. It is also for families to gather and have a fun meal for the week.” Should a potential vendor be interested, please contact Widener at (858) 349-5454 or email Jonathan.Widener@icloud.com.
Love, Linda Vista is looking for benefactors and sponsors to support the Farmer’s Market; the organization is a non-profit and there are many fees, permits, insurances and other things that must be paid to keep it operating. As explained by Widener, “We will need the community’s help financially and we need volunteers each Thursday to help us especially for setting up at 11:30am-1pm and then to close it at 6pm. This is on us as a community to keep the Farmer’s Market alive.”
Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update
We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free. Just click on the below “Subscribe now” button. The Linda Vista Update is a digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighing communities.
I can’t wait to eat those delicious veggies!
Oh my--the Love Linda Farmers Market is opening! Great News!