Why this $250 bottle of bourbon may help save a Santa Ana distillery [The Orange County Register]
Jan. 19 Buddy, can you spare $250?
Beleaguered Blinking Owl Distillery in Santa Ana has had a run of ups and downs, from its temporary shut down by California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in November of 2019, to opening a hand sanitizer business to pull in some extra scratch at the beginning of the pandemic.
Now it’s fallen on hard times again. “Unfortunately, we had to furlough the entire staff this time around,” said Robin Christenson, who co-owns the business with her husband Brian Christenson and their friend, former “Criminal Minds” cast member Kirsten Vangsness.
Local bar czars acquire Muldoon’s Irish Pub in Newport Beach [The Orange County Register]
Dec. 29 The pandemic means challenging times for bars and restaurants but it also creates opportunities. So when Mario Marovic and his business partner Andrew Gabriel got the chance to acquire Muldoon’s Irish Pub, a popular local watering hole in the swanky Fashion Island neighborhood, they seized it.
Bar czars Marovic and Gabriel, the masterminds behind Playa Mesa, The Country Club, Wild Goose Tavern, The Country Club, Matador Cantina + Cocina and other projects, always liked the 4,500-square foot restaurant with a courtyard and a patio. “I used to hang out there with my partner Andrew,” Marovic said in a telephone interview.
Miirch Social soft opens in downtown Fullerton with new spins on Indian cuisine [The Orange County Register]
Dec. 23 It will serve butter chicken, naan and curries. But Miirch Social, which soft-opened in downtown Fullerton at the end of November, isn’t your mom and dad’s Indian restaurant.
“At Miirch Social, we have not only taken some of the staples of Indian cuisine, but we have also added flavors and global influence from other parts of the world,” said founder Jesse Singh. “Our menu will still feature more traditional dishes for Indian food purists, but we are also introducing some innovative and out-of-the-box delights that will tempt you.”