Local Business Highlight: Colossus Bread
COLOSSUS BAKERYUNDERGOES COLOSSAL EXPANSION A NICHE BAKERY IN SAN PEDRO EXPANDS INTO A FULL-BLOWN PRODUCTION IN BELMONT SHORE. By Lindsey Goodrow Stepping through the door of this friendly neighborhood bakery, you are immediately greeted by smiling front-of-house staff who stand behind a long stretch of counter space strategically extended outward, allowing the experienced bakers ample working space in the bustling kitchen. The design of the space grants guests the fantastic opportunity to observe their baked goods being prepared and baked. The kitchen is wide-open, and you can watch as bakers prepare the croissants you will undoubtedly pick out from the tempting display case. Pastry Chef and Owner, Kristin Colazas Rodriguez, opened this second location of Colossus in her hometown of Long Beach after the wild success of her first brick-and-mortar in nearby San Pedro. The two storefronts are a testament to her hard work, dedication, and the cult-following she has amassed since her small beginnings at farmers' markets. 100% WOMAN-OWNED, 100% LOCAL Kristin Colazas Rodriguez is the owner and head pastry chef behind Colossus. Before she opened her first storefront—alongside her coffee-roasting and program director husband, Nick— to a delighted public, she spent years sharpening her baking skills and popping up at local farmers' markets with her delectable baked goods. Whipple Group was honored to have a moment to sit down with her and earn an exclusive look into the inner workings of her successful small business. Rodriguez was born and raised in Long Beach, where she can trace her maternal roots back multiple generations. Her father used to be the principal of an elementary school in San Pedro, and she spent part of her childhood exploring the tide pools and hiking along the oceanside trails. She moved away from Long Beach for college, but not culinary school. She studied history, minoring in Middle Eastern studies, and paid her way through school like many students do, by working in coffee shops. Eventually, she landed a government job in the non-profit sector, but the pay wasn't great, and the work wasn't rewarding. She stuck with it for as long as she could, but a thought began to weigh on her: "Why don't I do something I actually want to do?" Rodriguez had always enjoyed working in cafes. At first, she thought she needed a big job with big pay to open up the cafe of her dreams—but then realized she just needed to go for it. SAN PEDRO LOCATION After a year of saving while working out of a Primal Alchemy, a catering kitchen, to prepare and bake pastries to sell at the farmers market, she was able to purchase a proper brick-and-mortar in San Pedro. With the bones of a previous cafe already in place, Colossus San Pedro opened in August 2019, and Rodriquez's pastries and coffee were an immediate success. The line into the small, 700 sqft bakery wrapped around the block daily, presenting Rodriguez with a set of challenges. As a new small business owner, Rodriguez says she made the mistake of "underhiring and overcommitting. That first week, we were planning on being open from six to six, but then we completely sold out in two hours". The area was in dire need of a bakery, as the many family-owned Croatian and Italian bakeries, such as Amalfitano, DiCarlo, and Ramona had shut down in the few years leading up to Colossus' opening. Rodriguez and her team were shocked by how quickly the San Pedro community opened its arms to them. Word of mouth and a solid social media following helped the bakery thrive through the pandemic. So successful that it became necessary to open a second location where they could have a full-out production. BELMONT SHORE LOCATION Colossus Belmont Shore has a full-service kitchen serving breakfast items and sandwiches that highlight its phenomenal bread and incorporate fresh produce from the farmer's market. It took this second location a little longer to get to the same level of community that they essentially walked into in San Pedro. Compared to Colossus San Pedro, Rodriguez says, "people [still] don't know who I am here. They don't know we're locally owned. They don't know we're 100% woman-owned. They don't know that we have a [full] kitchen. We've had to work a lot on getting the message out". But since opening this location in April of 2021, they have steadily grown their following and shown the community all that they are capable of. Located on the second to last block of Second Street just before Livingston, the Colossus Belmont Shore signage reads BAKERY in white block letters. Families sit outside, joyfully munching on chocolate croissants, Kouign-amanns, and specialty sandwiches. Soon, crowds will gather in the evening to enjoy freshly baked pizzas paired with beer and wine that will come with their pending alcohol license. Colossus is a superstar bakery that is locally-owned and woman-fronted—bringing joy to all those who wait in those lines that always wrap around the block. Visit their website here
Local Business Highlight: Ceremony Chainstitch
Meet Nico, the Front Woman Behind Ceremony Chainstitch. How Curiosity Turns to Passion Turns to a Sought-After Business By Lindsey Goodrow Nico was first drawn to vintage embroidery out of sheer curiosity. While working as an event coordinator for Lot Stock and Barrel, a design studio in Los Angeles that sells clothing with custom embroidery, she observed how chainstitching could turn a mundane article of clothing into a work of art. Her curiosity eventually evolved into a full-blown obsession. She fought her LA to LB work-to-home commute by learning the ins and outs of a vintage embroidery machine. Nico never imagined the hobby this led to would transform into a full-blown career. Or that she would come to own her own vintage Singer. She couldn’t anticipate, when she posted her personal chainstiching projects to social media, that she was laying the foundation for Ceremony Chainstich. Lindsey, the contributing writer for the Whipple Group blog, interviewed Nico to learn more about her craft, her business, and her relationship with the local community. For the layman (including myself) can you define chainstitching and tell us how it differentiates from other embroidery techniques? I’m still learning so much! The machine I work on is from the 1920s. (A Singer lovingly named Mona). During the industrial revolution, it was used soleyy for uniforms. It added names and company logos to front pockets [in essence, It individualized people that were otherwise being placed on a conveyor belt].. The difference between other machines, first off, is there’s a hand crank. My right hand is doing the cranking and guiding while my right hand is taking a vacation. It’s kind of like a joystick. While regular sewing machines tailor and mend, this machine only does chain stitch or moss stitch (think varsity jackets/a towel consistency). Towards the 40s and 50s, chainstiching got way more imaginative and fun (think personalized bowling shirts!) What’s your embroideress origin story? The first year I got into embroidery was a lot of me playing around on the machine. My former job required me to be on site for movie premiers and coachella every year—It was there that I watched countless pieces of clothing receive custom chainstitching—and I loved watching the process. My mom was a clothing designer (eons ago) and she taught me how to sew when I was young. I have always been comfortable hand-mending my own clothing. I can hem and repair jeans—although tailoring is a whole different ball game. Chainstiching just felt like an organic next step. What are a few of your favorite custom order pieces you’ve done recently and why? I just finished a stunning wedding veil. This was my dream client; Their request: “These are the words I want. In Old english. Everything else is your decision. We trust you” I had never worked with tulle or lace so at first I was nervous to take this on. But it turned out insanely perfect. Also, when i dropped off the veil to the bride-to-be, she was at a hair salon and there happened to be a few other clients of mine there. It was this surreal experience, really. I feel so grateful. On social media, you recently shared that you moved into a studio space with another creator and maker, Carleen. Can you tell us more about that? My friend Kelsey AKA Carleen is a friend and [OG] client that I stitched monograms for. I never intended to be in this space, I didn’t think I was ready [mentally or financially] to move my business out of my home. But serendipity took over. Turns out, I know the landlord of the building and am close to her daughter. It felt too easy. And, of course, it feels great to move my business away from my cats, who take over my work space and leave hair everywhere and on everything. What’s it like being a part of the creative community in Long Beach?Do you feel connected to other makers and creators in this city? It’s amazing, and I have Handy Dandy Brandy to thank for it. She would probably roll her eyes hearing this, but she’s the mama bear in our community. Her holiday market last year was incredible and brought so many of us together for the first time. So many relationships have sprouted and strengthened because of her. In Long Beach, my creative community has something special that not many people have elsewhere. Maybe it’s our generation, but we take care of each other and support each other’s growth here. I’ve been in this city for eight years now, originally hailing from Pomona. I didn’t know what to expect when I moved here but I’ve grown so much and become fully immersed in my loving community. I can’t imagine living and working in any other city. Ceremony Chainstich is named after one of Nico’s favorite songs, “Ceremony” by New Order. While many songs written by Ian Curtis sound dreary and hopelessly romantic, this last verse is the perfect testament to Nico’s business continuing to grow and evolve in Long Beach, a welcoming city and community: Picture me and then you start watching Watching forever Forever Watching love grow, forever Letting me know, forever
Local Business Highlight: Oh La Vache!
OH LA VACHE! (OH MY GOSH) HAVE WE GOT A CHEESE STORY FOR YOU. By Lindsey Goodrow Since confidently opening its doors in the midst of a global pandemic, Oh La Vache has won the hearts and cheese-obsessed minds of the local community. This friendly cheese shop, located in the endearing Retro Row neighborhood of Long Beach, is refined in appearance and carefully-curated, but designed to be open and accessible to all. Do you love cheese? Do you want to know more about cheese? Do you want to try cheeses of all types, varieties, and flavors? Let your taste buds run wild and step foot into Oh La Vache—the passionate cheesemongers behind the counter can’t wait to help you find the cheese of your dreams. LES FROMAGES Beyond cheddar, mozzarella, brie, and parmesan, you might not have much experience or knowledge of cheese. You might not even be able to list five other varieties off the top of your head. Perhaps you have crafted a charcuterie board or two in your life, but you bought cheese at random or based on appearance at a chain grocery store—the cheese that looked or sounded the most interesting—Merlot soaked goat cheese, caramelized cheddar, aged gouda, etc. Oh La Vache is here in Long Beach to help you better understand cheese, and not in a condescending way. They know that this coagulated milk protein is often considered a luxury to many, but they intend to dispel this misconception. They want to teach you everything they know about cheese! “With our ever-rotating unique array of cheeses in our cases, we really want anyone who walks into our shop to feel comfortable trying something new, from cheese novice to experts. So in addition to guiding customers through all the delights in our cases, we cut all cheeses to order with no minimums. That way customers can try a little of a lot of things to figure out what they like. We love sharing delicious food with people, we can’t wait to have you in! — Erika & Jessica Oh La Vache owners and friendly cheesemongers CHEESESTORY Before Oh La Vache had a case full of over 50 unique cheeses in its humble shop, the fragrant business was a distant dream to owners Erika and Jessica. This cheese-loving duo goes back many years, their friendship solidified soon after being introduced through their husbands, who met in high school. It would be years until they would work together, however, their separate career paths eventually meeting under perfect circumstances. Erika’s cheese story began when she befriended a French foreign exchange student living in her family home in high school. The French are known for their love of cheese, and this student was no exception. They helped open up Erika’s eyes to a bigger, brinnier world of cheese. She would end up landing a job at The Cheese Store, building upon and refining her knowledge over a 7-year period. In 2018, her expanding expertise would eventually lead her to open up her own gourmet deli shop in Highland Park—Monte 52—which showcased handcrafted sandwiches made from imported and domestic cheeses, which were carefully selected by Erika. By the time 2020 rolled around, the commute from Erika’s home in Long Beach to her sandwich shop in Highland Park was beginning to wear on her and her family, who had welcomed a baby girl just the year prior. All this, plus the looming threat of a pandemic, inspired Erika to approach her old friend, Jessica, about opening a shop closer to home. As marketing director at Beachwood BBQ, Jessica had all the knowledge and resources to make this wish for a local cheese shop a reality, all she needed was the passionate cheesemonger. Opening up a small business mid-pandemic was perceived as daring to the community, who watched as many small businesses closed their doors to the public forever. The new business owner duo would find that this opening was not without challenges. CURDLING HURDLES After everyone in Long Beach was stuck inside for two years, they peaked their cautious heads out to find that Oh La Vache had opened its doors. Like a cartoon mouse who gets a whiff of cheese, their bodies seemed to levitate off the ground toward the store. Once they walked in, they found a display case full of carefully selected cheeses—from Europe, New York, Vermont, Wisconsin—as well as meats, spreads, breads, and every imaginable condiment. The grand opening had many setbacks from the city, which was all over the place and unorganized when it came to helping this new business open up. After countless emails sent back and forth and Erika and Jessica jumping through one million bureaucratic hurdles, Oh La Vache officially opened in February of 2021. THE HOLY TRINITY Oh La Vache carries the holy trinity: bread, cheese, and now WINE. With their new wine and beer license, this store is now a one-stop-shop. Drop in before heading off to a picnic, grab a few sandwiches that Erika has crafted that day—she has new combinations daily, which you can find updated on the Oh La Vache Instagram page. Ask a friendly face behind the counter which bottle of wine would go best, and head off for your day with a perfectly paired lunch. Drop by Oh La Vache on 4th Street for your next cheese fix, or visit the business website for more information: ohlavachecheese.com
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