Category: Business

Dark Horse coffeehouse gallops toward expansion

This story was reported for San Diego Uptown News on Aug. 29, 2014. A favorite Normal Heights coffeehouse is expanding. Daniel Charlson, owner of Dark Horse Coffee Roasters on Adams Avenue, recently opened a Lake Tahoe location and soon plans to open coffeehouses in North Park and Golden Hill in September and October. Charlson, 32, said he and his co-owner… Read more →

Japanese tapas bar joining North Park food scene

This story was reported for San Diego Uptown News on Aug. 29, 2014. A University Avenue space that has stood empty for three months will soon reopen as another arm in North Park’s growing restaurant monster. The SafeHouse, a Japanese tapas restaurant serving craft beers and wines, will open in September by local businessmen Nick Thanasith and Ernest Hsu. “We… Read more →

Surfdog founder makes waves in 30-year career

It was almost 30 years ago when an Encinitas businessman joined the big dogs of the music industry. Dave Kaplan signed UB40 shortly after the British band blew up the Billboard charts in the U.S. with its album “Labour of Love” featuring songs like “Red Red Wine.” Kaplan, now 55 years old, often finds himself wondering how he has made… Read more →

Water quality change on tap for California brewers

This story was reported for 10News on April 13, 2012. When it comes to brewing beer, San Diegans take it seriously. San Diego County is home to 87 of the 423 craft breweries in California, including Stone Brewery, the 10th largest craft brewery in the nation. The local craft brewing industry also saw sales of $781.6 million in 2013 and… Read more →

PUSD Alum Takes Fluxx Nightclub to Fame and $15M

This story was reported for Patch on May 7, 2013. If Fluxx—the downtown nightclub—were a basketball team, it would be in the Final Four. And why not? Its general manager is a former hoops coach at Mt. Carmel High School. As an SDSU student years ago, James Thorp would work until 3:30 a.m. at local nightclubs, then wake up a… Read more →

GLT’s financial missteps show ‘a business in trouble’

This story was reported for the San Diego News Network on May 19, 2010. Mikey Rox, a New York City freelance writer, was owed $600 when he stopped submitting his articles to San Diego’s Gay & Lesbian Times in February 2009. That represented a year’s worth of work. Rox says he tried contacting the magazine’s publisher Michael Portantino and associate… Read more →

Leading gay publication misleads its advertisers

This story was reported for the San Diego News Network on May 11, 2010. One of San Diego’s oldest gay and lesbian print publications has been misleading its advertisers with false circulation numbers and at the same time racking up debt, according to information obtained by San Diego News Network (SDNN.com) and San Diego Gay & Lesbian News (SDGLN.com). In… Read more →