Hey, that’s not Italian, it’s Promelis

He is a small Italian man, hunched over on a stoop outside of a local

market.

In his right hand, a small knife. In the left, a raw piece of

maple he plans to fashion into a rocking horse for one of his many

grandchildren back in the old country. Although he is too old to

stock the shelves and slice the high-grade meats himself, he can’t

tear himself away from the market. He greets his customers with a

smile but no words. His English is broken.

“Who is that?” one whispers to the other as they walk in the door.

“That is Mr. Promeli.”

That is the image R.J. McNerney said he wants his community market

to conjure in most people’s minds. Promelis (pronounced pro-mee-lees)

Westcliff Market in Newport Beach is a gourmet shop that specializes

in farm fresh produce, hand-selected, quality meats, fresh seafood,

poultry, wines and cheeses. McNerney invites his costumers to

“experience ‘old world’ customer service in an extraordinary

environment.”

Customer Janette Raymer, who was bagging ripe, red cherries, said

she thought the store was named after the owner.

“I thought it was the guy’s name or something,” she said.

Lauren Nichols (no relation to the Newport Beach councilman) said

the name sounded “like something Italian.”

“It sounds like a meat, like an Italian meat,” Nichols said.

Promelis is not a family name, it is not anything edible and it

does not belong to an old whittling man. The name is an acronym, of

sorts -- a combination of everything the market provides: PRO(duce),

ME(at), (de)LI and S(eafood.) Clever, huh?

While McNerney is not Italian, not old (well, he’s 55, so you be

the judge) and speaks English fluently, the market embodies the

spirit of a quaint, little shop.

“It really is a neighborhood store,” McNerney said.

McNerney, who is the kind of guy that looks you straight in the

eye when he speaks and doesn’t sugar coat things, is a long-time

Newport Beach resident. He raised his children here and now that they

are grown -- with careers of their own -- McNerney can focus on his

market and his sanity, he said.

The father of five splits time between his Newport Beach home and

his house in Wisconsin, where he sees deer in his front yard. He

escapes to the Midwest for a little relaxation. A place where tall

mature trees grow everywhere (not just in Balboa Village) and “eagles

fly over head.” He comes back to Southern California to tend his shop

and enjoy the beach.

“I’ve got the best of both worlds,” McNerney said.

Four-year-old Promelis sits at the corner of Irvine Avenue and

Westcliff Drive (what 17th Street turns into on the Newport Beach

side). It is not a mega-store, or a one stop shop. There is no

Promelis Club or double coupons. McNerney does not send weekly

mailings. In fact, he does not advertise. Word of mouth is the best

advertisement, he said.

“I’d rather take the money I would spend on a quarter-page ad, or

something, and give it one of the causes that is important to my

customers,” McNerney said.

Showing his customers that he is invested in the betterment of the

community is the best marketing -- plus it makes him feel good to

help out. After all, this is where he raised his boys, where they

went to school and made memories, he said. He’s invested in more ways

than one.

His strategy seems to be working. Although the store sits right

across the street from a major grocery store, the parking lot is

always filled with Mercedes and Land Rovers.

“I usually shop at Ralphs but I come here for the produce,”

Nichols said. “It’s just better and fresher, I mean, look at it.”

Raymer agreed, adding that the meats were just as high quality.

She admitted the prices were “a little higher” but said it was worth

it. Her son has even joined the Promelis team, as a recent hire.

“But that’s not why I shop here,” she said. “I have been coming

here forever.”

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.