Kelson<p><strong>The Essentials</strong></p><p><a class="u-syndication" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelsonv/53758017726" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a></p><p>When I took this photo back in 2016, it was a combination coffee/Chinese food restaurant: they sold coffee in the mornings and Chinese food for lunch and dinner. The owner had previously run a separate coffee shop (The Bean Counter, IIRC) in the same shopping center, then combined the two businesses to save on rent. It was one of our go-to Chinese takeout sources, and I’d sometimes grab coffee in the mornings if I was in the area or on my way somewhere in that direction.</p><p>The old coffee location sat vacant for a few years until a bakery (with coffee on the side) moved in. Amusingly, the bakery — with is still there today — also chose a pun-based name: Redondough (as in Redondo Beach).</p><p>In early 2020 — and I mean <em>early</em>, either January or February — they were offered a really nice buyout price by someone who wanted to turn-key convert it overnight to a Hawaiian restaurant. I imagine when mid-March rolled around and the initial Covid lockdown started, they were extremely relieved to have accepted it!</p><p>I never did get around to trying the Hawaiian place, even for takeout. Eventually it was taken over by a Hawaiian-style fast food chain.</p><p><i>Photo taken February 27, 2016 and originally posted on my Instagram account a few days later with this title, but no commentary.</i></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/coffee/" target="_blank">#coffee</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/internet-cafe/" target="_blank">#InternetCafe</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/redondo-beach/" target="_blank">#RedondoBeach</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/restaurant/" target="_blank">#restaurant</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/see-also-instagram/" target="_blank">#SeeAlsoInstagram</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/signs/" target="_blank">#signs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/tag/wifi/" target="_blank">#WiFi</a></p><p><a href="https://hyperborea.org/journal/2024/05/the-essentials/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://hyperborea.org/journal/2024/05/the-essentials/</a></p>