Wellness

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 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.

“In the ’70s, my mom, Vijaya, ran the Laguna food co-op in the canyon. I spent a lot of time with her there, watching her work,” she says. “There was also a health food store in north Laguna called Nirvana, whose name later became the inspiration for my sister Lindsay’s restaurant, Nirvana Grille. “My mom was always very dedicated to our health,” Summer continues, recalling lovingly prepared vegetarian meals and hand-cranked homemade ice cream with honey and vanilla. “Because she ran the co-op, my mom would order natural frozen treats, and give them to the ice cream man when he came around in his truck so we could ‘buy’ the treats from him.” Junk food was “not an option,” she says with a laugh. In junior high, she began learning how to make her own meals. Raised vegetarian, she felt ready to branch out and was encouraged by her mother to always use high-quality ingredients, including pastured, hormone-free meat. She discovered early on that she had a knack for putting dishes together, taking great satisfaction in creating her own menus. Summer put down roots in the food industry as the operations manager for Z Pizza, working for owner Sid Fanarof. She held that position for 14 years until she was blindsided by a breast cancer diagnosis in November 2017. Sid gave her time off from her job during her treatment and afterward, allowing her time to heal and process. “It was a time of powerful reassessment,” Summer says. “I started to think deeply about where I wanted my life to go. While I was recovering, a lot of ideas were percolating.” She and her partner, Ed Benrock, drummer for the popular Americana band Jamestown Revival, availed themselves of countless meal kits during her oftengrueling weeks of cancer treatments. “They were a lifesaver,” she says. And, as it turned out, an inspiration. She sat down with Sid and told him she was ready to try a business on her own. He gave her his full support. Summer’s Table was launched shortly thereafter. “Once my treatment was done, I created a clunky post on Instagram advertising my own hand-delivered meal kits, starting with friends and family,” she says. An early hit? Tomatillo mint salsa verde enchiladas. “That was definitely a favorite,” she says, recalling how several of her friends reported their children were eating more vegetables and trying a wider variety of foods because of her creative offerings. When COVID-19 hit, she was barely testing the waters and had just moved into a shared commercial kitchen space. “I was in the right place at the right time for a lockdown,” she says. “We even did a brief grocery pop-up behind Sourced Collective in Laguna Beach, where people could drive right to it and pick up groceries.” Business tripled in 2020, and Summer never looked back. The commercial kitchen in Laguna Canyon is now hers. After a year-long remodel, Summer’s Table is back to delivering meal kits all around Orange County. And Mercado Laguna opened on May 5. What can we look forward to in the near future from Mercado Laguna? “We plan on doing charcuterie and floral arranging classes, and lots of other workshops,” she says. Additionally, her store will offer a farmers market popup on Thursday mornings. “What’s unique about Mercado Laguna is that it’s a constantly evolving creative space,” she says. “It’s a specialty market, but it’s so much more than that. I’m really excited about what we’ve created.” Mercado Laguna is open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Tuesdays). summerstable.com IG: @mercado_laguna