Community Corner

Surf Food Stand Welcomes Those on the Sand

A new eatery along the Strand serves those unwilling to stray too far from the comfort of their beach towels.

Surfers and beach-loungers in El Porto no longer have to interrupt their (in)activity with a barefoot trek uphill to grab some food several blocks away.

The Surf Food Stand—serving such items as egg sandwiches ($5.95), steak burritos ($8.95) and mahi mahi fish tacos ($7.95)—has been off to a bustling start since opening over Memorial Day Weekend.

"Our first weekend, there wasn't a single point in the day where there wasn't a line," said 19-year-old Kenzie Larson, the jaunty North Dakotan transplant working the takeout window. "And now it's getting to the point where friends are starting to let other friends know."

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Larson has been handing out smoothie samples and paper menus to surfers fresh in from the waves and clustered in the beach parking lot. She also takes phone orders from beachgoers en route from home or those already stretched out on the sand.

"A lot of the surfers just want to be able to take their wetsuit off and have a breakfast burrito and be ready for the day," she said cheerfully. "For the surfers' convenience, in the next couple of weeks we're gonna try to open at either 6 or 7 (a.m.)." Currently, food is served from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

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Wave riders aren't the only locals the stand hopes to attract. Owner Ben Yeshzkia—who has been renovating the space last occupied two years ago by  Alfredo's—offers a generous discount to lifeguards and city employees.

And he hopes to generate more community support with a prominent suggestion box and questionnaire asking visitors to choose from five new names—or write in their own idea—for his business.

"We're trying to get the community involved in everything," said Larson. "Any suggestions the community is willing to give us, we're willing to take."

Eventually, the business will graduate from a snack shack to more of a destination spot, Larson said. "Because we do have a broad menu that would do well in more of a restaurant setting. In a couple weeks we're adding fresh fruit, cottage cheese, Mediterranean dishes; anything that a customer has suggested so far, we've gotten it."

The Surf Food Stand is located along the Strand at 41st Street. For more information or to phone in an order, call 310-939-7000.


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