Arches comes out on top The...

Arches comes out on top

The Arches Restaurant has been recognized as the “best business

lunch” in Orange County by the Newport Beach Bacchus Society.

That bit of good news comes soon after the restaurant -- an

80-year tradition in Newport Beach -- was named “superior to all new

steakhouses” in the area.

Famous guests of the Mariner’s Mile institution include John

Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Howard Hughes and Shirley Temple.

“The restaurant is a staple in Newport Beach, known by people all

over the area,” said Dan Marcheano, the restaurant’s owner for more

than 20 years. “This is one of the few restaurants that serves

traditional East Coast fare, and as a result, many people who move

here from the East Coast become regulars.”

The Arches also has received an “Award of Excellence” from Wine

Spectator magazine and had its Cobb salad named among the best by the

Los Angeles Times.

-- S.J. Cahn

Ad agency wins award

Advertising agency Lawrence & Ponder Ideaworks won a Gold Quester

Award last month at the 13th annual Quester Festival International

competition and an award of excellence for its new corporate logo in

the 2001 American Corporate Identity Awards.

The Newport Beach-based advertising agency received its Quester

award in the electronic brochure category for its DVD that detailed

the making of the animated Dinosaurs television sport for the READ

California campaign for the Secretary of Education.

“When we used new animation techniques in a spot that urged kids

to read, we thought that kids would be as excited by the process as

we were,” said Claudia Ponder, agency partner and chief strategic

officer.

The logo award was presented for the company’s playful new,

multicolor logo.

The company also won six Tellys at the Telly Awards for its

statewide social marketing television campaigns, including its ad

encouraging reading among children.

The agency was founded in 1991 and has won more than 350 awards.

It employs 35 people and works with businesses throughout the state

and nation.

-- S.J. Cahn

John Laing Homes joins forces to aid home buyers

Newport Beach-based John Laing Homes and Countrywide Home Loans

Inc. have formed a joint venture, JLH Mortgage Co., to aid Southern

California home buyers.

“Having recently been ranked No. 1 in customer satisfaction among

the largest national home mortgage lenders by J.D. Powers and Assoc.,

Countrywide is very pleased to begin a partnership with a company

like John Laing Homes, known nationally for its quality and

integrity,” said John W. Stewart, senior vice president for strategic

business development for Countrywide.

JLH Mortgage will offer competitive loans, interest rates and

services. A variety of loan programs, including zero down payment

loans, will be available.

-- S.J. Cahn

Sutton Place offers summer fun packages and events

The Sutton Place Hotel is offering a handful of summer packages

and events, including one that includes tickets to the Pageant of the

Masters.

Packages for the Pageant of the Masters weekend begin at $309 and

include tickets and transportation to the Laguna Beach show. They are

offered on Fridays and Saturdays only through Aug. 31.

Also being offered at the hotel are a “Summer Sizzle” package that

includes breakfast for two; a “Best of the Best” wine tasting series,

which costs $85 per person and will be held at 7 p.m., Fri. July 26;

and a Calypso Cafe & Lobster Cookout ever Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

The hotel is located at 4500 MacArthur Blvd. in Newport Beach.

Information: (949) 476-2001.

-- S.J. Cahn

Costa Mesa company opens new surf store in Laguna

Costa Mesa-based surfwear maker Toes on the Nose opened a new

store on Main Beach in Laguna Beach in late June.

Architect Paul McClean teamed with designers Rick Raling and Jason

Johnson in transforming the former Main Beach Surf Shop into the new

store.

“Laguna Beach is our birthplace,” said Richard Allred, the

company’s owner. “The opportunity to move the store into the

historical downtown building is a dream come true ... The downtown

location is a perfect spot and something we’ve been searching out for

years.”

The store will carry mens, juniors and kids apparel as well as

various models of sunglasses. For more information, check out

www.toesonthenose.com.

Newport Beach firm wins design competition

Newport Beach-based design firm Robbins Jorgensen Christopher won

a $20.7-million design/build competition at the Marine Corps Combat

Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Since 1997, the firm has earned eight military design/build

projects with a construction value of about $75 million.

The Twentynine Palms project will be a five-story,

202,560-square-foot complex that houses 384 Marines. Set for an

August 2003 completion, the structure will also feature a

675-parking space garage, additional facilities such as meeting,

game, laundry, study and computer rooms, television lounges, duty

stations and outdoor recreation facilities, including basketball and

volleyball courts.

Robbins Jorgensen Christopher is an architecture, landscape

architecture, interiors and program management group.

Hot dog company sponsors skate event

Wienerschnitzel, a Newport Beach-based hot dog chain, sponsored

the King Of Skate on June 28. The pay-per-view event featured the

world’s best skateboarders, who invented and performed stunts that

had never before been attempted. The winner took home $25,000.

“Wienerschitzel is looking to promote our hot dog products in new

areas, including skateboarding,” said Tom Amberger, director of

marketing for the company. “The demographic is the perfect fit and

King of State is the ideal event to reach this demographic.”

As sponsor, Wienerschitzel provided hot dogs to the skaters and

those attending the event. Future events now in the planning stages

include King of Snow and King of Surf competitions.

Wienerschitzel was founded in 1961 by John Galardi in Wilmington,

Calif. The world’s largest hot dog chain serves more than 96 million

hot dogs annually. The chain has about 350 stores in 10 states.

Newport Beach firm builds new medical facility

A Newport Beach architectural firm built Saddleback Memorial

Medical Center’s Meiklejohn Critical Care Pavilion that opened in

Laguna Hills on Saturday.

The $22-million, 55,000-square-foot facility hosts a

state-of-the-art emergency room and intensive care unit.

“The Meiklejohn Critical Care Pavilion is the product of a

collaboration between physicians, nurses and other health care

providers whose input and combined vision resulted in a unique

facility that offers the finest in patient care,” said Barry

Arbuckle, chief executive of the medical center.

The first floor of the pavilion hosts the 17,062-square-foot

emergency care center while the second story has a 15,156-square-foot

intensive care unit.

As the population of South County continues to grow, the need for

such a facility, too, grew. The pavilion had been planned for eight

years and became reality on Saturday after two years of construction.

It was funded exclusively through private donations.

The facility was named after William and Louise Meiklejohn,

Leisure World residents who have a history of supporting the medical

center at 24451 Health Center Drive, Laguna Hills.