Tasting the great outdoors
September 1st, 2021
Across the country, the coronavirus pandemic has forced many food service businesses to offer outdoor dining, and sometimes that means reimagining how to use their parking lots. The city of San Marcos, Calif., revamped its outdoor dining permit process for restaurants to offer outdoor dining. Rip Current Brewing was one of those businesses that quickly […]
Shade sails find a place in the sun
September 1st, 2021
It was only a few years ago that Amy Poe, owner of Wyckam Fabric Creations, in Portland, Ore., started hearing about shade sails. Now the company is doing elaborate shade sail projects like this shade cover for the Big Toy Playground at Keizer Rapids Park in Keizer, Ore. Photo: Wyckam Fabric Creations. For something that’s […]
Food for life
July 1st, 2021
As with many food-related companies, the North County Food Bank in Vista, Calif., has had a need to utilize its parking lot due to COVID-19 restrictions. The food bank serves between 200–300 families per day, and the operation was forced out of the building. Volunteers serve a constant line of cars from 9 a.m. to […]
Finding the great pumpkin
June 1st, 2021
Carlsbad Strawberry Co., located along the Pacific Coast south of Los Angeles, Calif., has been growing strawberries for four generations. Since the 1950s, the “pick-your-own” produce company has prospered as it actively engaged with local schools, churches and nonprofits. One tradition enjoyed by the locals for decades stems from a secondary crop that brings people […]
Growth of the gorillaBrella
November 1st, 2015
In the summer of 2008, looking to capitalize on the long-standing residential backyard construction boom, Conrad Masterson and his then-partner Patrick Howe (who later founded the shade sail company Shazeebo in Carlsbad, Calif.) designed a permanent umbrella—something to be unobtrusive but provide adequate shade, that could hold up to normal winds and storms and would […]