Playa Vista Direct - May/June 2022

Playa Vista MAY / JUNE 2022

Direct

Transforming People‘s Health and the Planet ‘Master Chef’ contestant Alejandra Schrader makes plant-based eating sustainable

FOODIE FINDS ISSUE

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

3

TABLE of CONTENTS

22

May / June 2022

Departments FROM THE EDITOR

6

Bon Appétit

PEOPLE

8

Coach Kev helps people build healthy relationships

10

Artist and author Terre Reed shares her journey through loss

Foodie Features 22

26

Playa Vista MAY / JUNE 2022

Direct

Transforming People‘s Health and the Planet ‘Master Chef’ contestant Alejandra Schrader makes plant-based eating sustainable

12

“Hex Code Black” podcast discusses race and culture

SHOPPING

Chef Alejandra Schrader makes plant-based easting sustainable

Enjoy ice cream and other hand crafted treats from N’ice Cream

CULTURE

30

The Slice continues to serve good pizza after 18 years

ON THE COVER: Former “Master Chef” contestant Alejandra Schrader recently authored an award-winning cookbook on the benefits of a plant-based, sustainable lifestyle.

Photo by Chris Mortenson Design by Arman Olivares

16

Enjoy summer in style with the ultimate beach essentials

BUSINESS

32

Parker Clay empowers at-risk women

ENTERTAINMENT

34

Freeway Funk Yard brings laughs to Playa Vista

PET ADOPTIONS

37

Meet Ziggy, a gentle old soul looking for love and care

CALENDAR FOODIE FINDS ISSUE

38

Check out fun local events including Marina del Rey’s Fourth of July Fireworks

4

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

JE S S E WE INBE RG

127 Via Marina, Marina Del Rey 4 Bed + 6 Bath + 4,588 Sq.Ft. + 600 Sq.Ft. 3 car garage + 719 Sq.Ft. of deck/patio space Dramatic architectural designed by Michael Lee Architects $8,999,000 127ViaMarina.com

COMING SOON

COMING SOON 2495 Glencoe Ave. Venice 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,254 Sq.Ft. $2,399,000

13322 Maxella Ave. #5, Marina Del Rey 3 Bed | 2.5 Bath | 1,585 Sq.Ft. $1,399,000

JUST LISTED 310 Washington Blvd. #101, Marina Del Rey 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,090 Sq.Ft. $1,799,500 or $8,000/Month 310Washington101.com

IN ESCROW SIGNIFICANTLY OVER ASKING WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS 7330 Trask Ave., Playa del Rey 5 Bed | 4 Bath | 3,294 Sq.Ft. $2,599,000

COMING SOON - CORNER UNIT OVERLOOKING CONCERT PARK

COMING SOON

7330Trask.com

The Lofts - 13020 Pacific Promenade #217 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,480 Sq.Ft. $1,149,000

JUST LISTED

JUST LISTED

8415 Naylor Ave., Westchester 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 2,013 Sq.Ft. $1,625,000

13228 Fiji Way #A, Marina Del Rey 3 Bed | 2.5 Bath | 1,647 Sq.Ft. $1,399,000

8415Naylor.com

13228Fiji.com

IN ESCROW SIGNIFICANTLY OVER ASKING WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS

IN ESCROW SIGNIFICANTLY OVER ASKING WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS

13082 Mindanao Way #20, Marina Del Rey 4 Bed | 3.5 Bath | 2,295 Sq.Ft. $1,749,000 13082Mindanao20.com

4140 Glencoe Ave. #306, Marina Del Rey 2 Bed | 2.5 Bath | 1,502 Sq. Ft. $1,179,000 4140Glencoe306.com

JESSE WEINBERG AND ASSOCIATES DRE #01435805 This is not intended as a solicitation if your property is currently listed with another broker/agent. Based on information from the CLAW MLS as of May 18, 2022. All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources2022 and has notPLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.

MAY / JUNE

5

FROM the EDITOR

Bon Appétit

G

oing out and discovering new places to eat is one of my favorite pastimes. Whether it’s an old-time spot with years of history or a brand-new restaurant in the area, I love experiencing different culinary adventures while supporting local business owners.

On the cover of our Foodie Finds issue we feature Playa Vista resident, food TV personality and chef Alejandra Schrader, who authored “The Low-Carbon Cookbook,” which emphasizes the benefits of living a plant-based, sustainable lifestyle.

The Slice is a local Italian joint that continues to serve the community after 18 years, and owner Luc Trasleglise and his team are hard at work seven days a week preparing their popular pizza that is made to order, along with their other signature dishes.

As the weather heats up over the coming months, N’ice Cream is a great spot to visit for ice cream, gelato and other fun hand crafted treats like their famous Cookie Split, which features pink and white circus cookies alongside freshly baked cookies that will satisfy any sweet tooth.

In our May/June issue we also highlight some of our favorite beach essentials from chic umbrellas to trendy totes so you can enjoy summer in style. We chatted with Brittany Bentley, co-founder of the new Parker Clay story at RUNWAY, to learn more about how her leather goods brand is helping to uplift at-risk women.

And Coach Kev is a dating and relationship expert who helps men and women date smarter and achieve their personal goals.

Whether it’s a five-star dinner or a family meal in your backyard, I hope you enjoy some good food this summer, and I’d love to hear about your favorite restaurant recommendations around Playa Vista and the Westside.

Kamala Kirk Editor • kkirk@timespublications.com

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christina Fuoco-Karasinski EDITOR Kamala Kirk GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Arman Olivares CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Chris Mortenson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Haley Beyer, Jessica Koslow, Bridgette Redman, Marin Heinritz ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Peter Lymbertos plymbertos@timespublications.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Rebecca Bermudez rbermudez@timespublications.com

CONTACT US EDITORIAL christina@timespublications.com kkirk@timespublications.com

(310) 822-1629

PO Box 1349 South Pasadena, CA 91031 Playa Vista Direct is direct-mailed every other month to homes and businesses in the 90094 area code, with additional distribution to multiple office and retail locations throughout the Playa Vista area.

VICE PRESIDENT: Michael Hiatt PRESIDENT: Steve Strickbine

PlayaVistaDirect.com

6

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

7

PEOPLE Coach Kev is a dating and relationship expert in Playa Vista who helps men and women date smarter.

(Photo credit: Lesley Bohm Photography)

Dating Smarter Coach Kev helps people achieve personal goals and build healthy relationships

A

BY KAMALA KIRK

fter a successful career as a business change consultant and entrepreneur, Kevin Thibodeaux (aka Coach Kev) decided he was ready to pursue a new challenge.

“I helped companies implement huge change projects and initiatives, new processes, strategies, technologies and did a lot of change management work,” Thibodeaux says. “When companies make big changes that impact their workforce, they need people to help them through the process. I did that for a long time and had my own firm, but I got tired of the grind and wasn’t feeling fulfilled. There aren’t many people of color in the coaching field and I wanted to add value as a resource in this space.”

8

Putting his professional skills and background to work, Thibodeaux became a dating and relationship coach. His company, From Casual to Serious, helps high-achieving individuals navigate the challenges of today’s rapidly-changing world, achieve their personal goals and build healthy relationships.

“I offer one-on-one coaching, which is tailored for the individual and provides up to 10 coaching sessions over four months where we go over the Date Smarter process, which is tailored to the needs, challenges and goals of each person,” Thibodeaux says. “I also offer small group coaching, which is a three-month program where I host weekly group sessions. If you’re coached by me, you get to join my

exclusive Date Smarter community, which is a safe space where like-minded individuals can connect, network, have access to tools and resources, receive ongoing support and guidance, and share their stories and successes.”

Prior to taking on a new client, Thibodeaux offers a free 30-minute session to see whether it’s a good fit.

“They need to evaluate me to see if I’m a good match for them as a coach, and I can always refer them to other coaches I know,” Thibodeaux says. “I feel like each day I’m helping new people with a challenging aspect of their lives, who at the end of the day want results, which I will help them achieve.”

In addition to writing a book, Thibodeaux is planning to put events together in the next few months where people can meet new friends and potentially more.

“It’s not a speed-dating event,” Thibodeaux says. “I’ll invite a certain number of pre-screened people that are ready to be serious about dating and they can each invite a friend that they screen based on the same criteria, then we’ll have a nice mixer. My best relationships have typically been referrals through friends. At the very least, you’ll make new friends, or you never know, you might find the love of your life.”

A Houston native, Thibodeaux lived in downtown Los Angeles for several years before moving to Playa Vista at the end of 2021.

“What brought me to California was a change of scenery and good weather,” Thibodeaux says. “I’d been here many times for vacation and after all the rain, humidity and mosquitoes in Houston, I was due for a change. Playa Vista is beautiful, clean and the people are nice. The community has great parks, local events and offers good walkability.”

From Casual to Serious fromcasualtoserious.com Instagram: @fromcasualtoserious PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

9

PEOPLE

Resolving Grief Author and painter Terre Reed shares her journey through loss (Courtesy photo)

BY BRIDGETTE M. REDMAN

G

rief is a multilayered experience and there are many ways to explore, process and live through it.

Terre Reed, who lives in both Playa Vista and Santa Fe, shared her grief in a book called “The Wind Blows and the Flowers Dance.” In it, she called upon three different art forms to escort her readers on a journey of grief and recovery. She combines poetry, painting and narrative stories to encourage others who are traveling the same sort of odyssey that she did when her husband of 40 years died.

She and her husband, Charlie, were retired and enjoying life. They were traveling through Spain and Switzerland when he started getting a cramp in his side. However, before he could go see a doctor, he had to attend an important family event.

“We were at a command performance,” Reed says. “His daughter, who was 52, was getting married for the first time. You know you can’t miss that. You have got to give your daughter away no matter what.”

When they finally got home in late January 2016, they went to the doctor and her husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer. At first they were told it was operable and not a big deal. But things got worse and he died five months later.

Throughout her life, Reed had been a painter who would journal. She said she never called herself a writer, it was just something she did to process her thoughts.

However, as her husband grew sicker, she found she couldn’t take care of him, continue to journal and email all her friends

10

Terre Reed is a painter and author who divides her time between Playa Vista and Santa Fe. (Photo by Chris Mortenson)

and family to keep them updated on what was happening. She decided to make the emails her journaling. She started to get feedback that people were saving and sharing the emails and then other people approached her asking if they could be on the email list.

After her husband died, Reed was told she had to do something with the emails she had been sending out. She began to create a group of essays that then grew into a book that included her paintings and poetry.

The book was originally published in October 2020, at the height of the pandemic and a time when people needed help with grief. Now, with restrictions being lifted, she is starting to do book readings, signings and other events surrounding the book publication.

After she wrote the essays, she started playing with the book, deciding what paint-

ings to add and moving elements around.

“The paintings allow me to go deep into feelings and painting large means you go into detail,” Reed says. “One of my values is how choices color perception and how that transfers from a painting, which is so visual, to words and how they both express almost the same thing.”

One example that she points out is a painting of a pair of boots, boots that were filled with personality and were a tribute to her husband. Charlie loved to wear red wing boots. He’d get a pair and wear them for as long as he could, re-soling them when needed and not giving them up until the tops were completely worn out.

“Red Wings is the name of the painting; for me, it is a little inside joke about Charlie being an angel and he has red wings,” Reed says. “No one can imagine him with feathered wings, but he’s wearing red wings. It’s something that is uniquely him. It’s very representative of his personality and also the fact that he’s not there anymore. Nobody’s wearing these boots (in the painting).”

It took her four years to write the book and then it underwent more changes and an expansion after the first printing. At first, she was afraid of the cost of having color pictures so the original printing of the book was in black and white. However, when it came time for a second printing, she insisted that the paintings were reproduced in color.

Reed says that the things that make her book stand out from the others about grief are that it is intimate and filled with PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

Reed’s book, “The Wind Blows and the Flowers Dance,” combines poetry, painting and narrative stories to escort her readers on a journey of grief and recovery.

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

self-expression.

“I am able to discuss aspects of a topic many find difficult in a calm and gentle way,” Reed says. “The reader is drawn into and engages with the details of my personal life as I was figuring out how to move into the next chapter without my husband.

I don’t give advice. I share my first-hand experience.”

She says the thrust of the book is how she moved forward and created a new life for herself.

“One of the reasons that the book is so successful is it’s a very intimate look into my life,” Reed says. “This is me sharing my process as an example and I come out the other side with a new life that is exciting, fulfilling and satisfying.”

She says there are plenty of books on grief that talk about statistics or the five stages of grief. She instead wanted to teach by example, to share her journey and let others find whatever they need from it.

“I’m not telling anybody how they should live their life or what to expect, or how to respond,” Reed says. “I’m simply saying, this is how it went for me. The result is that people feel validated, that the kind of feelings they are having are valid.”

She talks about how loss causes an involuntary change in who a person is. For her, MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

she went from being a married woman to a widow. She was no longer the same person.

Everyone needs to find something that is the fulcrum, a pivotal moment that moves them from grief to moving forward. For her, it was gratitude for the long marriage that she had.

“Grief, for me, isn’t learning how to live with the loss,” Reed says. “It’s how to take that loss and incorporate it into my life as I go forward. I bring the loss along. It’s not like I’m trying to get over it or through it.

Why would we want to get over a person?

It’s always a part of you.”

Because she doesn’t have to let go of the loss, she’s able to start a new chapter that looks different and is exciting in its own right.

Reed’s new chapter has her going back and forth between two studios, one in Playa Vista and one in Santa Fe. The reason she is going back and forth is that she now has a new partner, Lee, who she is in a relationship with—a widower who also was in a longtime marriage before the death of his wife. She met him a few years ago.

“That was a real surprise,” Reed says.

“I didn’t go looking, but I was being open in life, not trying to plan everything. You make room in your life for surprise. That has been very wonderful and success-

ful. I still have moments where I feel very sad and miss Charlie dearly. I wish I could share something with him or tell him about something. But then it passes because if the shoe were on the other foot and he was the one left then—our expectation of each other was pretty clear. You need to live your life to the fullest and be present.

Charlie is with me and Lee’s wife is with him. And it’s all part of the conversation.”

Reed encourages people who want to read her book to buy local. The Book Jewel in Westchester carries her book and she has gone there to give talks. She wants people to take hope and possibility away from her book and to appreciate the fresh approach of presenting three different expressions on resolving grief—paintings, poetry and story.

“My book has been called a love story,” Reed says. “But it is not just a love story between a man and a woman, but a love story of how I learned to love myself again.

The real core of this book is how I rediscovered, redefined, reshaped my life and found joy.”

Terre Reed terrereed.com

11

CULTURE

Raw and Real Conversations Podcast features discussions with Black professionals on race and culture in creative spaces

“H

BY HALEY BEYER

ex Code Black” is a new podcast for Black creatives created by Reonna Johnson and produced with Karen Costello in partnership with Deutsch LA, the creative advertising agency in Playa Vista both women work for.

Along with help from others on the production and design teams, Johnson and Costello have worked nonstop to get the podcast up and running. Costello will help Johnson spread the raw and honest conversations she has with her guests centered around race, culture and creativity from an unapologetic Black point of view.

Johnson, an advertising executive, and Costello, chief creative officer, met through another initiative and by working together at Deutsch LA. Johnson had the idea for the podcast for three years before finally sharing it with Costello, who immediately encouraged her.

“Because of where we work, we could lean on the production team right down the hall from our offices,” Costello says.

“I knew Reonna would be perfect to have her own podcast, especially one so intimate that is in your ears, head and heart.”

Once the idea became a reality, it was all hands on deck.

“I work in business, so the creative process was new for me, but I just picked subjects I knew I wanted to be included

12

in the podcast and started from there,” Johnson says.

Johnson found several individuals that she felt would make for deep and meaningful interviews and invited them to chat with her, which were later made into the first episode. But the project wasn’t created to make money or become a career.

Costello and Johnson want each episode to really mean something.

Hex Code Black, also known as #000000, is the HTML color code for the color black. HTML color codes are hexadecimal triplets representing the colors red, green and blue (#RRGGBB) used for digital aesthetic design.

“I want every episode to drop some knowledge by actual professionals who can back up the information with the truth and facts,” Johnson says.

“Each conversation will be beautiful and fascinating because sometimes when people are bouncing off one another, the narrative could be completely different from where it originally started,” Costello adds.

Johnson plans to have guests from different creative backgrounds such as scholars, artists and professors. Her dream guest is rapper and record producer Kendrick Lamar.

“We just want people to listen to the episodes and have it open their mind and hearts,” Costello says. “We asked ourselves, what can we do with what we have

“Hex Code Black” is a new podcast for Black creatives created by Reonna Johnson and produced with Karen Costello in partnership with Deutsch LA, a creative advertising agency in Playa Vista.

(Photo credit: Ben Morris/Deutsch LA)

to make people feel heard and promote empathy?”

“It’s so important that our listeners get something out of it,” Johnson adds.

“The reason we are doing this is so people can heal and feel understood through powerful stories being shared and heard.

It is such an intimate thing when conversations allow for more connection and dialogue that isn’t being talked about.”

The hardest part for Johnson and Costello has been finding enough time to sit down with the interviewees and get into deep conversations. It is also extremely time-consuming to decide what makes the final cut for an episode. But all that hard work, effort and time is worth the outcome.

“I’m growing, I’m starting to hear and understand the power of my physical voice,” Johnson says.

Costello adds, “And I’m learning from Reonna and the others. It’s the most amazing thing to witness the power of people coming together.”

The first episode of the podcast is available on Apple and Spotify with more episodes on the way.

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

YA V I S TA

P L AYA V I S TA PROMENADE P L AYA V I S TA ACIFIC

DRIVE DRIVE

PROMENADE WE S T PROMENADE CENT PARK WEST CRESCENT PARK WEST RCRESCENT Y CRE PARK K DISCOVE RY C R E E K D I S C O V E R Y C RE E E K DRIVE ENNIUM DRIVE PACIFIC

MILLENNIUM MILLENNIUM SPR AY

DRIVE

PL AC E SEA SPR AY SEA SPR AY

PLP ALC E AC E

N I S H S I I D E N N I S H S I I T ADENNIS H O M E S A L EHSII S

L AYA V I S TA H O M E S A L E S P L AYA V I S TA H O M E S A L E S

listings &listings more! can for map, & more!

Scan for map, listings & more!

NIS HSII, MBAHSII, MBA DENNIS

DENNIS HSII, ® DRE #01919746 Realtor® DRE #01919746

MBA

Realtor® DRE #01919746

4) 99-PL(844) AYA 99-PLAYA (844) 99-PLAYA

Playa Vista Premiere Vista Premiere

Playa Vista Premiere

remiere. All rights reserved.

DRE License #02014153. material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is commaterial presented herein is intended forAll informational purposes only and is coms deemed reliable but is subjectAll to rights errors, omission, or withdrawal withoutpresented notice. If herein your property is for currently listed purposes with another Highland Premiere. reserved.

DREchanges License #02014153.

All material is intended informational only and is comes or ©2021 withdrawal without notice.

If your proper ty is currently listed with another this is not intended as a deemed solicitation. piled from sources reliable but is subject to errors, omission, changes or withdrawal without notice. If your property is currently listed with another real estate broker, this is not intended as a solicitation.

MAY / JUNE 2022 PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

13

REDEFINING PHYSICAL THERAPY AND FITNESS IN THE HEART OF PLAYA VISTA

New Member Unlimited Fitness Classes for just $99

310-915-6100

evolutionphysicaltherapy.com 6826 S Centinela Ave, Playa Vista

Accepts most major health insurances for physical therapy services

14

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

A WHOLE SCHOLAR APPROACH TO TK-12 EDUCATION

CHOOL

ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL A WHOLEAPPROACH SCHOLAR APPROACH TO TK-12 EDUCATION A WHOLE SCHOLAR TO TK-12 EDUCATION

COMMUNITY SCHOOL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY SCHOOL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL

continues to thrive WISHWISH continues to thrive due due the incredible support to thetoincredible support of of the Westchester community, the Westchester community, parent partnerships, strongstrong parent partnerships, a commitment and aand commitment to to high-quality meaningful high-quality meaningful and and engaging education engaging publicpublic education all students our amazing for allfor students by ourbyamazing of educators! team team of educators!

A place A place wherewhere your your child child will: will: and understood and understood • be valued • be valued be to held to expectations high expectations high • be •held experience exciting & experience exciting & • engaging • engaging curriculum curriculum a chromebook a chromebook • receive • receive have the opportunity to have the opportunity to •ajoin • join a sports sports team team

participate in exceptional participate in exceptional •music, • art, art, music, technology & technology &

PE instructional experiences PE instructional experiences

have high quality have high quality SEL, SEL, • STEM, • STEM, & GATE instruction & GATE instruction receive hands-on project receive hands-on project • based • based learning learning benefit from university & benefit from university & • business • business partnerships partnerships

take rigorous High School take High School • rigorous • pathway pathway courses in courses in Engineering, BioMedical Engineering, BioMedical Science, Justice & Science, SocialSocial Justice & Performing Performing Arts Arts

pply at: www.wishcharter.

hool

45

Ave.

Apply www.wishcharter.org/apply Apply at: at: www.wishcharter.org/apply Middle School

Elementary School Elementary School

6550 80th St., 6550 W. 80thW.St., Westchester, CA 90045 9474 Westchester, CA 90045

Entrance on Emerson Entrance on Emerson Ave. Ave.

phone (310) 642-9474 phone (310)PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM 642-9474 MAY / JUNE 2022

7400 W. Manchester Ave., CAAcademy 90045 Academy School HighHigh School

Westchester Middle School , Middle School

on Park Hill Dr . Manchester 7400 W. Manchester 7400 W. 7400Entrance W. Manchester Ave., Ave., 7400 W. Manchester Ave., Ave., Westchester, CA 90045 Westchester, CA 90045 Westchester, CA 90045 Westchester, CA 90045 phone (310) 410-9940 Entrance Park Entrance on ParkonHill Dr. Hill Dr.

Entrance on Manchester Entrance on Manchester Ave. Ave.

phone 410-9940 phone (310)(310) 410-9940

phone 743-6990 phone (310)(310) 743-6990 15

SHOPPING

Fun in the Sun From umbrellas to sunglasses, enjoy summer in style with these beach essentials

• Stay cool on the sand or by the pool with Business & Pleasure’s Premium Beach Umbrella featuring a UV and water-resistant canopy with fibreglass ribs trimmed with natural cotton fringe. Available in an array of stunning colors and designs. Comes with a matching canvas carrier bag. $299, businessandpleasureco.com

BY KAMALA KIRK (All photos courtesy)

• The Resol Rattan Beach Chair is the epitome of tropical chic, hand made with the highest-quality rattan from Bali. Featuring a comfortable headrest for lounging and a convenient shoulder strap for easy travel, the lightweight, flat-folding beach chair makes for easy travel. $245, resolbeach.com • For the ultimate stylish sunnies, Nina Chantele x Alexander Daas’ ‘Chi-to-LA’ Aviator Sunglasses are one-of-a-kind, unisex aviators with custom multicolor rainbow lenses. $150, alexanderdaas.com

• Stash all of your belongings in Hammitt’s Large Addie Tote that is part of a limited-edition collaboration with artist Michele Mozzone. It features a print of Mozzone’s “Fractured Light” painting atop leather and alongside raffia. It can fit up to a 17” laptop and includes two large wrap-around side pockets, a full back drop pocket and a back phone pocket. Perfect for errands and long days at the beach. $545, hammitt.com

16

• Protect your things at the beach with The Beach People Co Wet Bucket, which is made from flexible biodegradable EVA material, resistant to UV rays, and has durable handles for easy carrying. It’s designed to fit everything you need from wet swimsuits and beach toys to towels and cold drinks. Available in several stylish colors. $119, thebeachpeople.co Continued on page 18 PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

Sold by Team Tami Capri Court 5856 Kiyot Way

3 bed | 3.5 bath | 2,376 SqFt Offered @ $1,949,000 Represented Seller

l o S

or f d

,0 2 $

,0 5 5

!

0 0

Highest on record and $315,000 MORE than the most recent sale of this floor plan!

Camden

Mason

Camden

12510 Fielding Circle #3

12714 Sea Spray #3

12526 W Fielding Circle #6

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1,601 Sq Ft. Sold for $1,820,000 Represented Buyer

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1,816 Sq Ft. Sold for $1,825,000 Represented Buyer

Tami Humphrey (310)745-1600

3 Bed, 2.5 Bath, 1,871 Sq Ft. Sold for $1,950,000 Represented Seller

home@playavistaliving.com www.playavistaliving.com

DRE #01745122

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

17

SHOPPING • Odacite SPF 50 Mineral Drops Sheer Sunscreen is formulated with squalane to nurture the skin barrier, niacinamide for correcting dark spots and green tea for antioxidant-rich nutrients against free radical damage.

Chamomile and calendula provide soothing comfort to reduce redness and irritation. Dries like liquid silk, works well under makeup, and designed for all skin types. $48, odacite.com

Continued from page 16

SPF Spotlight Protect your skin from the strong summer rays with these sunscreen products

BY KAMALA KIRK (All photos courtesy)

• cocokind silk SPF is a lightweight, broad-spectrum sunscreen fluid with SPF 30 that protects skin from UVA/UVB rays and environmental stressors. The hybrid SPF blends into skin easily, works well with blemish-prone skin,and improves hydration. $25 cocokind.com

18

• Fortified with antioxidant-rich super fruits, Josie Maran Get Even Sun Milk is a silky smooth, ultra-lightweight sunscreen that helps protect against environmental aggressors. Argan oil and purified water turn the formula into microdroplets, which allows for sheer application, while new micro-sphere dispersion technology helps the product spread 100% evenly without flaking or drying out for longer-lasting protection. $46, josiemaran.com

• Enjoy a hydrated glow from head to toe with Kopari’s Sun Shield Body Glow Broad Spectrum SPF 50, a unique gel formula that is luxuriously lightweight, goes on clear, and absorbs instantly.

It contains a proprietary blend of SPF protection, superfood oils, antioxidants and natural pearlescent minerals. $36, koparibeauty.com

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

19

compass.com

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate.

12465 Osprey Lane #3

kriszacuto.com

JUST SOLD | CONTACT FOR DETAILS

Fully upgraded top floor unit at Skylar with only 3 reside within a private courtyard and boasts high ceilings and 3 BD 3 BA 1,909 SF

KRIS Z ACUTO

310.702.6299 | kris.zacuto@compass.com DRE 01972897

ences per building. This single level condo is situated tons of natural light with its preferred top floor location.

Skylar | Playa Vista

COVER STORY

Transforming People’s Health and the Planet ‘Master Chef’ contestant Alejandra Schrader makes plant-based eating sustainable

F

ormer “Master Chef” contestant Alejandra Schrader got signed to work on her first book the same weekend she found out she was pregnant for the first time. At 46 it was the best possible news, a longtime dream come true for the Playa Vista resident.

It wasn’t until Schrader switched to a plant-based diet that she and her husband were finally about to conceive.

And it’s the very subject of the awardwinning book she wrote in four months of the pandemic, with her successful pregnancy and now happy, healthy baby boy: the incredible benefits of living a plant-based, sustainable lifestyle.

The 256-page “The Low-Carbon Cookbook” includes four chapters on the science of climate change, as well as an action plan for home cooks with 140 sustainable, globally-influenced, plant-based recipes.

Schrader says that despite the many delays she experienced in getting the book published and the challenges she has faced as a woman of color in a male-dominated industry, as well as having to put off a proper book tour because of the pandemic, “it’s not a bad thing that things happened the way they did,” she says.

“My book is ahead of its time and at the same time it’s very timely,” Schrader says.

22

BY MARIN HEINRITZ

“2022 is the year a lot more people have caught on. The climate crisis is here and we all have to do our part.”

In addition to being a successful chef who spent a lifetime using her passion for food to develop recipes, Schrader took time to study and learn the science behind the lifestyle changes she was experimenting with, earning a certificate in plant-based nutrition in November 2019 from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University, in addition to the master’s in urban planning from the University of Michigan and bachelor’s in architecture from SCIArc she’d already earned.

Schrader’s deep understanding has been incredibly helpful as she’s gone from reality TV contestant to catering and private chef business owner to cooking teacher to cookbook author to become a true influencer on a global scale for sustainability, speaking at the World Health Assembly, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Women in Food and Agriculture Summit, as well as serving as an ambassador for Oxfam America and a founding member of Chefs’ Manifesto.

So not only can she explain with authority how to make a delicious salad that contains more protein than a piece of meat and how food affects one-third of the greenhouse gases, but she can also convince anyone that if they cut their meat

consumption by 50%, they’ll reduce their carbon footprint by 40%.

“I wanted to have all the science and the education so I could have those conversations,” Schrader says. “Because you can’t argue with that.”

A major component of Schrader’s passion is eliminating food waste as part of diminishing our carbon footprint, so onethird of the recipes in “The Low-Carbon Cookbook” include food waste, such as using carrot tops to make salsa verde, crushed avocado seeds as salad toppers, and the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans to make mayo.

During a demonstration in Colombia for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Schrader announced, “Guys, I love to cook with trash and that’s what I’m serving you today,” and describes with a laugh how everyone tilted their heads.

But that off-the-cuff comment earned her an invitation by the Rockefeller Foundation to apply for the Bellagio Center Residency Fellowship, for which she is now applying to do “very deep research on food waste to prevent food insecurity around the world,” she says.

And she looks forward to continuing work in nutrition equity and equality and Continued on page 24 PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

Playa Vista resident Alejandra Schrader is a plant-based nutrition certified chef, food TV personality, entrepreneur and activist.

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

23

COVER STORY Schrader’s book, “The Low-Carbon Cookbook,” covers the science of climate change and features 140 sustainable, globally-influenced, plant-based recipes.

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

Continued from page 22

food sustainability.

“I get to work elbow to elbow with scientists on really deep and meaningful things that will change not just food systems, but access to nutrition for people who don’t usually have that opportunity,” Schrader says.

Though “The Low-Carbon Cookbook” won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Food Waste in the United States, the recipes are otherwise influenced

by Schrader’s childhood in Caracas, which she describes as “a melting pot,” like a Venezuelan mini New York City in its diverse food influences.

“I come from a very humble upbringing, never traveled for pleasure,” Schrader says of having been raised by a single mom in a third-world country. “My whole thing was to travel the world through my kitchen, so my global concept culinarily became intrinsic in my own style.”

Schrader modified some of her favorite standbys to be plant based, such as empanadas and buñuelos, as well as a tagine and tabouleh.

“It’s a reflection of my global take on food,” she says. “I wanted it to appeal.”

Thinking globally and acting locally is a way of life for Schrader, and though she’s inspired, especially as a new mother, to do her part to make the planet hospitable and thriving for generations to come, she also wants people to experience the kind of health transformation she’s enjoyed—from infertility and morbid obesity to health markers to be proud of plus a healthy pregnancy and natural delivery at 47.

“It’s not only that eating that way is great for the planet, my first motivation, but it’s also great for my health,” Schrader says.

“It’s hard not to motivate others to enjoy that as well.”

The Low-Carbon Cookbook thelow-carboncookbook.com Instagram: @chefaleschrader

24

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

Fresh & Healthy Cooked Just for You!

Authentic Tacos, Burritos, Salads & Rotisserie Chicken Handmade Corn & Flour Totitllas

o Winner Best Tac mmended o c e R r e d a e R d an Eats for Best Bargain

BennysTacos.com

7101 W. Manchester Ave. | Westchester 90045 | 310.670.8226 915 Wilshire Blvd. | Santa Monica 90401 | 310.451.0200 10401 Venice Blvd. | Culver City 90232 | 424.298.8327

10% OFF IN-STORE DINING Mention this ad when ordering.

Not to be combined with any other discounts/coupons.

Let Us Do Your Next Catering

20% OFF CATERING

Call Benny 818.612.3875

Mention this ad when ordering.

Not to be combined with any other discounts/coupons.

FOODIE FINDS

Modern Creamery N’ice Cream serves ice cream, gelato and other hand crafted treats

BY JESSICA KOSLOW Located at Runway Playa Vista, N’ice Cream serves freshly hand crafted ice cream, gelato and sorbet.

(Photo Courtesy of Keyla Vasconcellos)

I

n 2017, N’ice Cream fell into Omid Torkian’s lap, metaphorically.

As his wife Elaheh (or Ellie as people call her) tells it, they had been looking to jump into the restaurant business. More specifically, Omid was looking for a business for her to nurture — and she just happened to be pregnant with their third child.

N’ice Cream’s previous owner was looking to sell the Playa Vista location, and the Torkians saw the perfect opportunity to “start small and get the ball rolling,” Ellie says.

After opening in February 2017, Ellie conducted what would be the first revamp of the shop. She upgraded the vibe to a bright and pastel interior, added a refrigerated section with fresh fruit, and put her skills as a former art teacher to work by designing their mascot, Mrs. N’ice Cream, who is painted on the wall and smiles at customers.

They also expanded the types of soft serve they offered beyond strictly gelato or frozen yogurt.

“My husband has a sweet tooth,” Ellie says. “His favorite dessert is ice cream.

He wants it any time of the day, his eyes light up. He’s a cookie monster and an ice cream lover.”

N’ice Cream has recently introduced a few items combining his two favorite sweet treats. The Cookie Split features a choice of up to three flavors and toppings such as pink and white circus cookies with two freshly baked cookies. One of the three signature milkshakes is Cookies & Cream featuring vanilla custard blended with Oreos, whipped cream and Oreo crumbles topped with a cherry.

The Cookie Monster Taco is part of the taco trio on the new creations menu: horchata yogilato with Oreos and cookie dough drizzled with hot fudge sauce served in a homemade waffle taco. Ice cream tacos are the brainchild of the employees themselves and a brilliant Continued on page 28

26

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

Seeds of Love Wonderschool In-home Child Care in Playa Vista Bilingual Program English/Spanish for 6 kids

Benefits of enrolling in-home child care: • Environment that makes children feel welcomed, supported and at home.

• Personal attention.

• Less exposure to Covid.

• Owner is always there.

Manage postal mail and packages while at the beach

Virtual and Private Mailboxes Starting at $9.97 Children are like little seeds when we give them love & dedication they grow developing strong roots & good values.

Schedule a tour on our website: www.wonderschool.com/ ca/playa-vista/seeds-of-love-wonderschool-2183

Text Jessica at 213-425-4457 or email: jessicarumbea@gmail.com

playaplace.com 322 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA 90293

13163 FOUNTAIN PARK DRIVE | PL AYA VISTA

(424) 289-0012

NOMINATED FOR BEST FAMILY-STYLE ITALIAN

ial Lunch Spec

FREE dessert with $50 minimum From 11:30am-2:30pm

When you walk into Caffé Pinguini you can be assured of a warm Italian greeting courtesy of owner Tony.

Tony, who hails from Rome, has been running the restaurant since 1997, featuring daily food specials, hand-tossed pizzas, homemade bread, delicious pastas and a number of simply prepared chicken, fish and veal dishes.

• Home-made Pastas • Romantic Dining by the Beach • Specializing in Seafood • Indoor and Open-Air Patio Seating

OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER!

Tues-Fri 11:30am - 2:30pm Tues-Thurs 5pm -10pm Fri & Sat 5pm -10:30pm Sunday 5pm - 9:30pm

CAFFÉ PINGUINI

RISTORANTE ITALIANO 6935 Pacific Avenue • Playa del Rey 310-306-0117 www.CaffePinguini.com MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

READER RECOMMENDED

WE ARE OPEN TUESDAY – SUNDAY 12 pm - 9 pm DINE IN, TAKE OUT, DELIVERY & PATIO

(310) 670-6677 8343 Lincoln Blvd. Westchester www.AlejosRestaurant.com

BEST OF THE

WESTSIDE 2021 Most Romantic Restaurant

WE ARE FULLY OPEN INSIDE AND ALSO HAVE PATIO SEATING AVAILABLE 27

FOODIE FINDS Continued from page 26

innovation.

“Our employees are like family,” Ellie says. “They’ve been here for so long.

Our manager, Lucia Mendes, is amazing.

We adopted her. Jose and Lenny, we’re a unit. We sat down and came up with combos.”

It takes a strong family unit to survive something as destructive as a pandemic.

In 2020, Ellie had to close shop for three months, which was hard.

“Financially, we got crushed,” Ellie says. “We could no longer offer selfserve.”

It was time for the second revamp. All the employees had to learn how to serve.

Ellie called on an interior designer friend who brought her vision of a 1950s diner to life at N’ice Cream. The bar was extended another 7 feet and splashed with bright turquoise, two TVs were installed to display the mouth-watering menus, and the cement poles were wrapped with striped wallpaper.

“Covid killed the mood to want to go out and have ice cream,” Ellie says. “We had to come back to life, to introduce interesting product.”

Around 11 to 11:30 each morning, the employees make fresh cones from fresh batter, and the smell of vanilla wafts out the door. Taco Tuesdays offers 2-for-1 ice cream tacos. There’s a kids’ section, and a basket with toys is waiting behind the counter for the little ones. Their blue spoons change color to purple when they touch the ice cream or anything cold.

“What I like about our product is that it isn’t too sweet,” Ellie says. “We aim to get the perfect measurements. At the trade show every year I sample product, and I get a cavity just eating it. You get to a point of no return. I want people to have the experience of finishing what they bought and coming back for more.”

While the Torkians have considered opening a second shop, it’s all about real estate, and in LA, places to park.

28

The Cookie Split features a choice of up to three flavors and toppings such as pink and white circus cookies with two freshly baked cookies.

(Photo Courtesy of Keyla Vasconcellos)

“We have looked in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica, and in Westwood we found a place but there was no parking, so we’d have to depend on foot traffic,” Ellie says.

For now, Ellie, whose kids are 4, 7 and 9 years old, is very happy at Runway in Playa Vista.

“People are so friendly, nice and supportive,” Ellie says. “When we were doing the remodel, I would be in here painting and people would stick their heads in and tell me they couldn’t wait to come in and support. There’s a kids’ play area right in front.”

As summer approaches, N’ice Cream will open its doors one hour earlier and close one hour later starting in June.

“When we’re about to close, that’s when we get the busiest,” Ellie says.

Ellie has learned a lot since 2017, and she continues to learn every day. Her family vibe trickles down to how she interacts with the frozen yogurt machine repairman.

“If we need supplies, boom, the next day they are shipped,” Ellie says. “I don’t want to leave my employees hanging.

The more money you put in, the more it grows and the better it gets. I put a lot of love here.”

N’ice Cream 12746 W Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles 424-228-4873 nicecreampv.com PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

29

FOODIE FINDS

Local Italian Joint

Luc Trasleglise is the owner of The Slice, which is known for their pizza that is made to order and cooked in a Greek oven.

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

The Slice continues to delight Playa Vista community after 18 years

BY HALEY BEYER

L

uc Trasleglise bought The Slice in 2015 and has run it ever since.

He, along with seven others, work seven days a week to bring smiles to customers’ faces. Customers can choose to have their food delivered or schedule a time to pick it up. There are several tables outside, but those are on a first-come first-serve basis.

The Slice is best known for their pizza, which is made to order and cooked in a Greek oven, the original New York-style way.

“Anyone who has come in from the East Coast loves our pizza and says it’s the closest thing to the pizza back home that they can find on the West Coast,” Trasleglise says.

Pizza is available by the slice, as well as in medium and large sizes. Customers can choose from an assortment of toppings such as cheese, margherita, BBQ chicken, Hawaiian, meat lovers, and veggie. Other options include: White (garlic, provolone, mozzarella, ricotta, and tomato sauce); Favorite (pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, mozzarella, and tomato sauce), Stuffed Pizza (double crust and double cheese), as well as vegan cheese, among others.

“Our meat lover’s pizza is a favorite,” Trasleglise says. “We started it about four years ago and everyone says it is good.

Our margherita pizza seems to be pretty famous too.”

Aside from pizza, The Slice also serves an assortment of salads including, BBQ chicken, antipasto and chopped. Other categories on the menu are calzones,

30

trombolis and sandwiches, which range from meatball and eggplant parmigiana to buffalo chicken and Italian.

Pasta lovers will enjoy classic offerings such as marinara, baked ziti and cheese ravioli.

Various sides are available including garlic bread, buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, garlic knots or coleslaw. The Slice also serves sweet treats like New York cheesecake, cheesecake chocolate ganache, and cheesecake lemon blueberry crumble.

For Trasleglise, it’s all about keeping it simple. The Slice is designed to be a place where customers can get good food in an efficient manner and at a reasonable price.

But nothing is as significant as the emphasis on creating quality food.

“We just do the best we can and hope it’s enough for our customers,” Trasleglise says. “We have a very strong and loyal customer base that we rely on to keep coming back.”

Just like any restaurant or business, one of the hardest parts has been coming out of the pandemic.

“The catering side of the restaurant is a pretty large business in itself,” Trasleglise says. “Recently, we have had catering come back more regularly than right after Covid.”

The Slice 13151 Fountain Park Drive, Playa Vista 310-437-7499 theslicemenu.com PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

TannerSewAndVac.com 6230 West 87th Street. Westchester, CA 310-670-2429 Serving the Los Angeles area since 1964!

The long awaited Kids Sewing Classes and Camps are back!

Now with more sessions and new machines!

At Tanner’s you can count on oldfashioned service and expert repair for all makes and models of vacuums and sewing machines. We are happy to add repairs for lamps as well as knife and scissor sharpening. Excellent warranties on all machines!

Estate Planning Employment Law Business Law www.kumarlaw.net 323-456-8657 8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 800 Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Rittu Kumar, Esq. Playa Vista resident since 2007

Advertising Works!

Playa Vista Direct magazine is the only local magazine mailed directly into every address in 90094.

Your advertisement will reach a community with a median income of $121,000! And with so many families staying closer to home, our readers are closely paying attention to each issue.

J U LY / A U G U S T SPECIAL FOCUS “PET LOVERS” Ad Space deadline Wednesday, July 13 Publishes July 21

Playa Vista

MAY / JUNE 2022

Direct

Transforming People‘s Health and the Planet

‘Master Chef’ conte stant Alejandra Schrader makes plant-based eating sustainable

FOODIE FINDS ISS

UE

Need help paying your utility bill?

We’re here to help!

Sign up today for a flexible payment plan.

•

For more information, please call 310.822.1629 MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

No down payment and no interest

•

48 months for discount program customers

•

36 months for all other residential customers

ladwp.com/cares

1-800-DIAL-DWP

31

BUSINESS

Premium Leather Goods with Purpose Parker Clay is on a mission to empower at-risk women

W

BY KAMALA KIRK

hen Brittany and Ian Bentley visited Ethiopia, they met local women overcoming the odds, discovered beautiful traditions, and learned about world-class materials that have been the backbone of luxury brands for decades, but with no recognition or growth to show for it.

Their experiences abroad ultimately led to the creation of Parker Clay, a B-Corp and Ethiopian leather goods brand with a mission to uplift at-risk women.

“An idea was born,” Brittany says. “Could we bring these beautiful products to the world, create jobs to empower vulnerable women, and celebrate traditional, sustainable and ethical craftsmanship all at once?”

Named after the couple’s two sons, Parker and Clay, the company was founded in 2014. They opened their first store in Santa

Barbara in 2016, and have since expanded to four brick-and-mortar locations in San Luis Obispo, Denver, and most recently at Playa Vista Free Market in April 2022.

“We decided to bring Parker Clay to Playa Vista because we wanted our customers to experience our products because shopping for sustainable leather hits different,” Brittany says. “Our LA community cares about sustainability and the impact behind every purchase.”

Parker Clay crafts premium leather bags and goods, and one of their best-selling and most reviewed products is the Miramar backpack, named after their hometown favorite, Miramar Beach. Like all of their products, it’s handcrafted with full-grain Ethiopian leather and is available in four colors. Their signature product is the Merkato Signature tote, a classic full-grain leather

Parker Clay recently opened a brick-and-mortar retail location in Runway Playa Vista Free Market that highlights the brand’s focus on customer connection.

(Photo courtesy of Parker Clay)

Brittany Bentley is the co-founder and CCO of Parker Clay, a B-Corp and Ethiopian leather goods brand with a mission to uplift at-risk women.

(Photo courtesy of Parker Clay)

tote designed to fit everyday essentials.

“We offer products for everyone in the family – men’s, women’s, and a selection of products available for personalized monogramming online,” Brittany says.

The Woven Collection is a Zero Waste initiative that features products designed

by Parker Clay’s team in Ethiopia to utilize leather scraps and cuttings from other styles, in an effort to use every last inch or raw material available. To accomplish this, their team focused on woven designs, using traditional methods to turn a handful of “useless” scraps into a cohesive, functional and beautiful accessory.

“The community will enjoy visiting our Playa Vista location within the Free Market because they will be able to experience our products and feel the quality while visiting neighboring brands – a one-stop shop,” Brittany says.

Parker Clay is open Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Parker Clay 12751 Millennium Drive, Los Angeles 805-699-5144 parkerclay.com

32

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

The Westside’s Best Advertising Source

Connecting Advertisers tor Customers fo 50 Years Proudly Serving Marina del Rey, Westchester, Santa Monica, Playa Vista, Venice, Playa del Rey, Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey

C A L L TO DAY: 3 1 0. 8 2 2 .1 6 2 9

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

33

Nick Hoff and Ryan Churchill are actors and comedians who deliver much-needed laughter to their neighbors and audiences throughout Playa Vista and Los Angeles with Freeway Funk Yard, a monthly stand-up comedy series.

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

34

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

ENTERTAINMENT

Getting Funky With It Comedians open backyard for monthly stand-up event

BY BRIDGETTE M. REDMAN

T

he last thing people needed to lose during the pandemic was laughter.

Ryan Churchill and Nick Hoff hatched a plan that made sure people wouldn’t have to do without—and it gave birth to an ongoing monthly series of events at a place they call the Freeway Funk Yard.

Both are actors and comedians, and saw the pandemic as an opportunity to hone their stand-up skills as well as invite other comedians to deliver much-needed laughter to their neighbors and audiences throughout Playa Vista and Los Angeles.

Every first Thursday of the month, they gather with four other comedians and put on a backyard show with free beer and wine.

Churchill used to do stand-up comedy in Chicago, but he got away from it when he came to LA and had been doing sketch and improv. He was right about to get back into stand-up when the pandemic started and clubs shut down.

However, Churchill possessed something rare in LA—a really big backyard.

“You could play baseball in it,” Hoff says.

“The Dodgers have reached out to me,” Churchill jokes with Hoff piping in to say they turned them away.

“We have comedy to do, get out of here!” Hoff says.

Churchill came up with the idea of building a stage in his backyard and decided to reach out to Hoff—someone he’d encountered numerous times because they were always showing up at the same auditions for commercials. He had no idea how Hoff would feel about it.

MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

Hoff expressed some initial skepticism.

“Oh yeah, this guy I’ve met that always gets the parts I’m going out for, let me go help him,” he says.

Bantering back and forth, Churchill insisted there were enough parts for both of them, while Hoff said he only got the back-up roles in case Churchill broke his arm.

“They’d say, ‘You just sit tight, because you’re the same person,’” Hoff says.

“We kind of are,” Churchill admits.

“We’re pretty much the same guy. If you were to do a police artist sketch, we’re both going to be picked up.”

“It must have been a two-man crime,” Hoff adds.

“We’re two average-looking white guys,” Churchill says.

The idea was born and Churchill began to build the stage—claiming that Hoff helped out on only one of the days. He said if the comedy thing didn’t work out, his wife would have a sun deck. Once it was built, they began to rally the troops, though Churchill said Hoff did most of that.

“To preach about Nick, he has been a working comedian since 2008,” Churchill says. “He’s well entrenched in the stand-up comedy world. He’s much more connected than I am. He has been instrumental in getting us headliners.”

For their first show in February 2021, they had Brandon Vestal, Kira Soltanovich, Rell Battle and Jodi Miller. For their April 2022 show, they had Tre Stewart, J.F. Harris, Paul Morrissey and Brian Moses.

At first, they didn’t publish the address,

instead calling it a “secret location” that people had to contact them to find. They said that while it gave it a speakeasy sort of vibe, it was also because they weren’t sure whether they were breaking a code.

Now, they said, they’re living in a lawless society post-COVID and have learned that everything they are doing is legal. It does, though, still have the feel of a secret location.

“It’s at the dead end of a street and as you open the gate, you walk into this backyard with an awesome stage and expert lighting,” Hoff says. “It’s really cool when you walk into it. It feels like a hidden gem and it’s definitely off the beaten track.”

Because the location can be hard to find, the hour-and-a-half shows keep starting later and later.

“Late start is the bane of my existence,” Churchill says. “If they know it’s starting at 8 p.m., they show up at 8:06 and it keeps getting worse. Now that we’ve done it for a year, tonight’s show will start tomorrow. It won’t begin until after the blue moon.”

“The last show had an 8 p.m. start time and didn’t start until 8:40,” Hoff says.

“One of these shows, we’re going to start with no one there and when they arrive, I’m going to let them sit there and pretend like the show hasn’t already happened,” Churchill adds.

The two of them switch off hosting duties with the other getting to do a full set when it isn’t his turn to host. What began as a creative way to survive the pandemic has grown and the two comedians hope it Continued on page 36

35

ENTERTAINMENT Continued from page 35

will become an institution.

“It started out as a necessity,” Churchill says. “Comedy had shut down and no one could do anything. There were just a handful of little sparks of light and we wanted to be one of those and give comedians a chance to perform. Without a stage, comedians are the most annoying people in the world. They have to talk. We got them off Twitter and brought them into the backyard.”

It wasn’t just comedians they were helping, but all the people who were suffering from the isolation of enforced quarantine.

“It gave people a release,” Churchill says.

“People were pent up and not able to do anything. Having it masked and outdoors, it felt safe and cool. Now we’re just trying to build on that momentum.”

It is something they do more for love than money. They pay the comics who perform from the ticket sales. They have started to line up a few sponsors for their shows. Some of their neighbors have small businesses. It costs only $150 to $200 to sponsor a show and sponsors are included in all the social media postings, they’re mentioned in the show, and the comedians cross-post the posters where the sponsors are mentioned, giving them pretty wide coverage for what they pay.

While live, outdoor shows traditionally are subject to unexpected surprises, they’ve not had to deal with any of them so far.

“We have a strict no Will Smith policy— we don’t allow him in the Funk Yard,” Churchill says.

“There was a homeless contingent that stuck their head in,” Hoff says. “We’ve got some beefy security to deal with that.

You’re 5’8, right, Ryan?”

They also said they had a show where one of the comics caught a bit of heckling because someone was offended. However, they said he’s a pro who is used to it and that it is always a bad idea to take on a comedian during a stand-up show.

36

Every first Thursday of the month, Hoff and Churchill gather with other comedians to put on a backyard comedy show with free beer and wine.

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

“You don’t want to heckle your comedians,” Churchill says. “They’ve been around.

It’s like going to a USC fight and jumping into the octagon. Don’t do that. We don’t want to do that to you, but we will. You’re jumping into a fight where the audience likes the comedian.”

“And you have the microphone and they don’t, so you’re louder,” Hoff adds.

While they’ve encountered minor heckling, they said that for the most part, their crowds are respectful. The closest they came to something unexpected was the night before their very first show when there was a giant brush fire behind the 90 Freeway, which runs behind the stage.

“But that was the night before, I kind of wish that had happened during the show, that would have been amazing,” Churchill says.

Hoff suggests that perhaps they should invite extremely pregnant women to the show.

“If someone gives birth during a show, that’s publicity you can’t pay for,” Hoff says. “If your due date is this week you get in free. Or if you’re late, we pay you to get in.”

While both comedians highly recommend going to comedy clubs—saying it is the best thing you can do with your evening—they also point out that what

you get at Freeway Funk Yard is different from what you’ll find anywhere else in the world. The environment contributes to the comedy experience the way fireworks do to a trip to Disney.

“It’s right by the Playa Vista Runway, a super hip new area,” Churchill says. “It’s really up and coming now. They can go to dinner at Runway and then literally walk to our show. It’s a cool neighborhood.”

They also said they are really proud of the level of talent they’ve been able to get—people who are headliners. Often, they’re trying out new stuff so people attending the Freeway Funk Yard shows get to hear material that is still being developed and they might see later on Netflix.

Their next show is on June 2 and tickets cost $15.

While the pandemic may be ebbing, Churchill and Hoff plan to keep riding the wave and bringing laughter and joy to their audiences at Freeway Funk Yard.

Freeway Funk Yard 5301 Grosvenor Street, Los Angeles facebook.com/freewayfunkyardcomedy Instagram: @freewayfunkyard PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

PET ADOPTION

Adoptable Pets FROM ANNENBERG PETSPACE The coolest buddies in Playa Vista are waiting for their new forever homes

Ziggy Ziggy is a gentle old soul who needs to experience love and care at the end of his life. This senior is searching for a foster hospice with a pet parent who can take him on casual walks and give him lots of affection. Ziggy is an easygoing guy who gets along well with other pups. Annenberg PetSpace will cover all medical needs while in his hospice home.

Pablo Barbara Barbara is a kind adult cat who has lots of love to share. She prefers being the center of attention in your world and can also be a bit skittish around loud noises. Give this sweetie a chance and meet her soon!

Pablo arrived at PetSpace with a broken elbow. The PetSpace medical team quickly scheduled Pablo for surgery with an orthopedic surgeon to repair the break. We would love for him to recover fully in his forever home!

Pablo will need six weeks of exercise restriction which can be hard for a young, energetic pup. PetSpace will be sending Pablo home with three physical therapy sessions at CARE to ensure his recovery is as successful as possible!

How to Help During Kitten Season COURTNEY STONE, ANIMAL OPERATIONS & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER WALLIS ANNENBERG PETSPACE

Kitten season, the warmer months when cats produce litters of kittens, is upon us. If you happen upon kittens in your neighborhood and they are not ill or in evident danger, the best advice is to monitor the situation for the mother’s return. Unweaned kittens should remain under their mom’s care until they are old enough to be spayed and neutered. For

more information, visit animalcare.lacounty.gov/gotkittens. If you are looking for other ways to help, join us this month at PetSpace for our Give Back hours where we are assembling kitten foster kits or sign up for our June Wellness Workshop all about kitten fostering. Together, we can make a difference for kittens in our community.

To learn more about pet adoption, or to see other available pets, visit annenbergpetspace.org MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

37

EVENTS CALENDAR

— Compiled by Kamala Kirk

P.C. Pitstop: Cars & Coffee Saturday, May 28 Join P.C. Pitstop the last Saturday of every month for Cars & Coffee hosted by Free Market Playa & Period Correct. Meeting spot is the Main Drive at Runway.

12775 Millennium Drive, Playa Vista, 9 a.m. to Noon Annenberg PetSpace Give Back May 28 to 31 This month’s Annenberg PetSpace Give Back focuses on supporting the generous foster guardians and shelter partners who work tirelessly to help neonatal and underage kittens that are in need of foster care. During May, volunteers can help assemble foster care kits and make homemade heating pads, which will be delivered to local partners.

Registration is encouraged. Walkins are welcome.

12005 Bluff Creek Drive, Playa Vista, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., annenbergpetspace.org Freeway Funk Yard Standup Comedy Thursday, June 2 Freeway Funk Yard is a large hidden lot nestled near a secret Westside Los Angeles freeway where you can see some of

On Thursday, June 2 at 8 pm. see some of LA’s top comics perform at Freeway Funk Yard, an outdoor Playa Vista speakeasy hosted by comedians Ryan Churchill and Nick Hoff..

(Photo by Chris Mortenson)

LA’s top comics perform in an outdoor Playa Vista speakeasy.

Hosted by Nick Hoff and Ryan Churchill. June lineup includes Francisco Ramos (Netflix, HBO Max), Sandy Danto (National Lampoon), and Adam Cozens (Drybar Comedy). Doors open at 7:30 p.m. $15 per person. RSVP online.

5301 Grosvenor Street, Los Angeles, 8 to 10 p.m., bit.ly/3wBYnhs Dorian’s Live Neosoul & Yoga 5th Anniversary Flow Saturday, June 4

From May 28 to 31, volunteer at Annenberg PetSpace by helping to assemble foster care kits and make homemade heating pads for neonatal and underage kittens in need of foster care.

(Courtesy photo)

38

Celebrate five years of Dorian’s live Neosoul and Yoga with a goa flow led by three different yoga teachers while grooving to Dorian’s music. Participants will move through a one-hour yoga flow with each segment of the class – beginning, middle, end – crafted by three different yoga teachers tag-team style.

During this flow, you will groove to conscious neosoul music with live vocals by indie singer Dorian.

Finger-snapping, toe-tapping and freestyle dance breaks along with unplugged segments with Dorian sharing the life experiences that inspired his songs as you flow is what to expect during this soulful serenading experience. Beginnerfriendly, all levels are welcome.

Tickets $25.

12746 W Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., eventbrite. com/e/333942128897 Marina del Rey Fourth of July Fireworks Monday, July 4 One of Marina del Rey’s most popular annual events, the Fourth of July Fireworks Show, is back this year with a 10-minute display that starts at 9 p.m. The pyrotechnics will be synchronized to music played over loudspeakers

at Burton Chace Park and Fisherman’s Village. The fireworks will be shot from a barge off the Marina’s south jetty. View the show from virtually anywhere in Marina del Rey, Venice Pier, Playa Vista and Dockweiler Beach. Early arrival is strongly suggested. Parking is limited and local street closures are planned to start as early as 1 p.m. in some areas.

4701 Admiralty Way & 13755 Fiji Way, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, 9 p.m.

Summer Comedy Series Saturday, July 16 Celebrate summer with a massive beach comedy bash in Playa del Rey featuring major headliners from Netflix and Comedy Central. Lineup includes Amy Miller (Comedy Central), JC Currais (Conan) and Garrick Bernard (Single Drunk Female, Freeform). Enjoy a 90-minute outdoor stand-up comedy show at a beachfront house in Playa del Rey. BYOB, actual seating will be limited. Guests are encouraged to bring their own beach blanket or chair. Feel free to bring food, drinks, blankets, etc. Tickets $22.

Email questions to seanlearypress@gmail.com.

7053 Trolleyway S, Los Angeles, 8 p.m., bit.ly/3814541

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

MAY / JUNE 2022

We are Committed to Excellence & Comfort Your comfort during dental care is just as important as your results, we look forward to treating you in a secure, friendly environment.

Marina Dentistry ALL DENTAL SPECIALTIES

• Easy Payment Plans/Zero Interest • No Insurance • No Problem • All Insurance Accepted • Nitrous Oxide Available • We Accept All Other Competitors’ Coupons • Se Habla Español

Dr. Sameer Aljanedi

DENTAL IMPLANT

699

$

STARTS AT

REG $1,999

ABUTMENT AND CROWN ARE EXTRA NEW PATIENTS ONLY WITH AD NOW THROUGH 6-30-22

PORCELAIN VENEERS $ 799Each. REG 1,400 COMPLETE $

NEW PATIENTS ONLY WITH THIS AD EXP 6-30-22

PORCELAIN CROWN $

DENTURE $

BUILD UP IF NEEDED IS EXTRA PORCELAIN FUSED TO METAL NEW PATIENTS ONLY WITH THIS AD EXP 6-30-22

NEW PATIENTS ONLY WITH THIS AD EXP 6-30-22

499 REG 999 $

899 REG 1800 $

MARINA DENTISTRY 4292 Lincoln Blvd., Marina del Rey, CA 90292 (Above Starbucks)

www.marinadentistry.com MAY / JUNE 2022

PLAYAVISTADIRECT.COM

4900 FREE

CLEANING SPECIAL

INVISALIGN $

$2,999 WITH THIS AD. NOW THROUGH 6-30-22

TEETH WHITENING SPECIAL

99

$

ONLY

00

NEW PATIENTS ONLY!

Periodontal Root Planning Not Included • With Coupon Only • Insurance Programs Billed At Regular Fees • Exp. 6-30-22

AS SEEN ON ABC’S “EXTREME MAKEOVER” INCLUDES X-RAYS & EXAM

Cannot Be Combined With Any Other Offer

CONSULTATION INCLUDING FULL MOUTH X-RAYS & EXAMINATION NEW PATIENTS ONLY EXP 6-30-22

DEEP CLEANING

Regular $749

ONE HOUR IN-OFFICE ZOOM! WHITENING

Regular $149

X-Rays, Exams, Cleaning, Oral Cancer Screening, TMJ Evaluation, Diagnosis & Treatment Plan

SPECIAL

100

$

PER QUAD

REG $499

NEW PATIENTS ONLY WITH THIS AD EXP 6-30-22

310-305-9600 39

A B OU T THE A SS I L E Y E I NSTI TU TE • The Assil Eye Institute is nationally recognized for its compassionate patient-centric care, its commitment to pioneering advances in ophthalmology and its dedication to supporting the health and well-being of not just its patients, but also of their community.

• Dr. Assil’s life-long commitment to advancing the field of ophthalmology is evident in his body of work developing new surgical techniques and advances in laser surgery.

• Dr. Assil lectures internationally and has taught state-of-the art surgical skills to well over 10,000 thousand ophthalmologists worldwide.

Dr. John May, Dr. Avneet K. Sodhi Gaur, Dr. Kerry Assil, Dr. Lindsay Harris

• The Assil Eye Institute has participated in dozens of FDA clinical trials, either as lead investigator or as a member of a multi-center team, testing new ophthalmological devices and surgical techniques.

A B O U T DR. AVN EET K. SOD H I G A U R • Dr. Sodhi Gaur is a Board Certified, Fellowship trained Cataract, Refractive, and Glaucoma Specialist, with training and experience developed at nationally renowned ophthalmic institutions. She serves as the Director of the Glaucoma Service at Assil Eye Institute.

• She has performed thousands of glaucoma, refractive (LASIK, PRK, ICL), and cataract surgeries including implantation of the latest premium intraocular lenses with Optiwave Refractive Analysis (ORA) system and Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery.

• She has been featured in Angeleno Magazine 2019 Los Angeles Power Players section as one of the top extraordinary inspiring individuals and she is highly regarded among her patients and peers leading her to be voted multiple times as one of Los Angeles Top Doctors and Super Doctor Rising Stars.

• She is a local Playa Vista resident and enjoys working out, cooking, traveling and spending quality time with her husband and two boys.

G OO G L E R E VI EWS: “I just got my lasik completed and I cannot tell you how excited and happy I am with the result.

I was told Dr. Sodhi Gaur was the best and that I would not be disappointed, and they were

right. From the consultation to having 20/15 vision, only took 1 week. I never dreamed I would be able to see clearly so quickly and without much pain or discomfort! “

“Professional staff as well as elegant waiting rooms, with all safety protocols in place during these challenging times.”

“I was wearing ‘Readers’ and my distance vision was starting to

assileye.com

fade so I went to Assil Eye for a consultation, and thanks to Dr. Gaur and the phenomenal team at Assil Eye, I’m now glasses free in my early 50’s! Couldn’t be happier!”

450 N. Roxbury Dr., 3rd Floor | Beverly Hills, CA | 90210 | 310-651-2300 2222 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 107 | Santa Monica, CA | 90404 | 310-382-5050

@avneetsodhigaurmd @assileye