BRIEFLY IN BUSINESS

Brew crew takes home a bronze

The Newport Beach Brewing Co. won a bronze medal Sept. 30 at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival Competition in Denver, the largest beer competition in the world.

The peninsula brewery’s Balboa Brown Ale was honored in the English-style Brown Ale category and was noted for its hints of caramel and chocolate.

An international panel of experts picked the winners. The Balboa Brown Ale was one of over 2,440 entrants from 450 breweries in the country.

Under the direction of brew-master Kirk Roberts, Newport Beach Brewing Co. specializes in making small batches of ale at its 14-barrel facility.

Salon recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The Retreat Salon at The Camp shopping center in Costa Mesa is joining the fight against breast cancer through Oct. 31 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The salon will donate a portion of every purchase to the American Breast Cancer Society’s awareness program.

The salon is at 2981 Bristol St. For more information call (714) 557-2097.

Retail space next to the Retreat Salon is available for leasing now at the Camp.

The space, which is approximately 1,200 square feet, is between the salon and a new clothing boutique called the Commissary. The storefront is on Bristol Street. For more leasing information, contact kelly@thelab.com.

Native foods up for best veggie restaurant

In other Camp news, two of the shopping center’s businesses were nominated for VegNews’ 2006 Veggie Awards.

Native Foods, which serves only vegetarian and vegan dishes, was recognized as one of the best vegetarian restaurants. Humanitaire, a “cruelty-free” shop that carries linens, shoes and clothes made without animal products or testing, was named as one of the best vegan storefronts.

The honors will be awarded based on a survey of over 10,000 people. The Camp executives consider it the largest survey of all things vegetarian.

Winners will be announced in the November/December “Best of Vegetarian” issue of VegNews. For more information visit www.nativefoods.com or www.vegnews.com.

Mixer for professionals at Newport Dunes

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce will host a Newport Sunset Networking Mixer from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.

The networking event helps members work on teambuilding while allowing for a bit of fun.

The night is free for members and $15 at the door for nonmembers. Complimentary appetizers will be served and there will be a no-host bar. For more information call (949) 729-4400.