Goodbye to a good friend

Suzie Harrison

After 10-years of serving the Laguna Beach Community, not only

through his restaurant but through his sizable charity work and

donations, Mark DePalma is closing the doors of his restaurant.

He said he wants to emphasize that’s he’s really not going

anywhere, he will still be very much involved with the community. He

will be doing catering with chef Martin Gonzales, who has been with

DePalma for 20 years, and plans to open another restaurant in the

future, in this place he calls home.

The last big event at Mark’s will be a benefit for the Laguna

Beach Community Clinic from 5 to 9 p.m. May 27, which, for a $45

donation per person, includes an open bar and major hors d’oeuvres.

He will donate 100% of the proceeds to the clinic.

Throughout the years, he has given much to the AIDS Services

Foundation.

“Although it’s a mixed crowd here, I have a big following in the

gay community,” De Palma said. “My brother died of AIDS.”

The reason Mark’s is closing is that he realized he doesn’t get to

spend enough time with his family. He’s making time for such things

as coaching his son’s Little League team.

“I am going backward in my childhood,” De Palma said. “I’m

coaching my son and doing some easier things. I can concentrate on

one thing and that works out better.”

Catering is like a vacation to him, he does so much of it and only

has to have a small staff of 10.

“And it will be 10 years, I just decided to close the doors, move

on to do my catering, concentrate more on that,” De Palma said. “I

can do a much better job -- I’m hoping everything goes well with the

new people.”

The “new people” are the people who are opening Rox Restaurant in

Mark’s current location.

“This kid used to be my manager, he got together with Chuck Rox,

who got together with the chef at the Ritz Carlton,” DePalma said.

“They’ll be coming in and redoing the whole building.”

DePalma said he will still be very much involved with his AIDS

Services Foundation donations.

“The biggest thing is with ASF, I’ll do a lot with them,” De Palma

said. “I want to reach out to other places in Laguna Beach, like the

clinic.”

“It’s depressing,” DePalma said. “I didn’t think I would leave,

but it’s time to move on.”

He said that his mentor told him the key of keeping customers

happy is to pretend that they’re walking into one’s home, and make

every customer feel important.

“I am grateful for a loyal clientele,” DePalma said. “The one

thing I want to emphasize is that the people of Laguna Beach have

been so great to me and have supported me.”

In return, he’s always tried to support causes throughout Laguna,

such as battered women, the cancer society, ASF and AIDS activism.

“I have no problem doing any of these things, I enjoy it,” DePalma

said. “People will say to me, ‘It’s so nice you did that thing,’ I’ll

say, ‘What did I do?’ I’ll forget about it, and it comes to me later

on -- I’ve got a funny feeling it all comes back to you. Karma.”

He said the things he’ll miss the most are things like his private

ASF benefit holiday party, which has raised $15,000 to $20,000 each

year.

“It’s not what you can get, but what you can do -- something that

fulfills your heart that can help others,” DePalma said.

But don’t expect him to disappear; Laguna is his home and he’s

planning on sticking around for a long time.

Mark’s Restaurant is at 858 S. Coast Highway and is closing on

June 2. For reservations for the benefit on May 27, call the clinic

at 494-0761, ext. 125.

To find out about Mark’s catering or to make a reservation before

they close, call 494-6711.