W E LLNESS Mercado Laguna By Alyssa Swanson Hamilton When you walk into Summer Tarango’s Mercado Laguna at 912 North Coast Highway, you know immediately that this shop was manifested by a longtime Laguna Beach local. There is an easy intimacy there, a clean, sunny white space with high ceilings and an ocean cross-breeze. Mercado Laguna is spelled out in vintage metal letters that originally adorned a Mexican liquor store, procured by lucky happenstance in an auction. Stacks of fresh, vibrant seasonal produce — Little Gem lettuce, Harry’s Berries, edible flowers — share space with her own brand of Summer’s Table meal kits, premade salads, sandwiches, bowls, pastured specialty meats, eggs, gourmet groceries, and fresh bread. Other delectables include coffee from local purveyors Jedidiah Coffee, Meet the Source vegan and gluten-free raw treats, and De La Calle tepache sodas. Always a person who keeps cultivating community first and foremost in her mind, Summer brought in a few close friends and business owners to join her in her newest endeavor. Sussanna Davidson, owner of French Buckets in Laguna Beach and Lido Isle, shares her famous fresh and dried flowers in a pop-up store. Molly Rossettie, owner of Hi Sweetheart Gift Boutique in La Jolla, offers unique greeting cards, playful gifts, totes, and party supplies. Online boutique owner and curator Gayle Jarrett sells vintage tabletop items such
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Photos courtesy of @curiousgabe
as vases, dishes, and baskets. And Embry Munsey, coowner of Jedidiah Coffee, provides her popular local coffee and her seasoned business acumen. “I want Mercado Laguna to embody a neighborhood market; it’s not just a brand extension for Summer’s Table,” Summer says. She grew up in the bohemian enclave of Laguna Canyon, and the organic farm-to-table lifestyle was something she was immersed in practically from birth.
