Care to be an “insider” in La Jolla? Now you can courtesy of Ron Jones and Michael Mazaika.
The business duo has created a new website, lajollainsiders.com, to “pull back the curtain” to reveal noteworthy businesses and individuals, as well as to shed light on things to do, hot spots, and issues of the day in the beach community.
“La Jolla Insiders are locals, not paid agents living elsewhere, who proudly share the deep knowledge of everything that La Jolla has to offer as only a team of long-time La Jollans can,” states their website. “In addition to knowing where to go and what to see, we’re able to share a deeper understanding of La Jolla’s history and traditions, helping you to add a deeper meaning to your La Jolla experience.”
La Jolla Insider’s first two online productions were a segment on La Jolla street vendors, and another on La Jolla-born and bred movie actor Gregory Peck, whose father owned a pharmacy in the community’s early days.
Longtime radio host, MC and the “voice of La Jolla,” a title coined by La Jolla Congressman, then-City Councilman Scott Peters, Jones said their relatively new online business venture is “already getting lots of views and hits. At this point, we’re really pleased. We know we’re on the right track.”
A La Jollan for 40-plus years, Jones lays claim to a more than 50-year entertainment career beginning with the American Forces Radio Service in 1968. After returning stateside, he began lengthy stints in radio and television studios nationally and internationally. Along with that, he has made featured appearances on film sets and theater stages here and abroad while adding 19 years of spinning discs in San Diego dance clubs.
Mazaika, a La Jollan for 27 years, started as an aerospace engineer, with a minor in hypersonic aerodynamics, and thus became involved with the design of rockets and space systems with both North American Aviation (now Rockwell Int’l.) and Space Technology Labs (now TRW). Since retiring, he currently serves on the boards of four companies, primarily startups; has served on the board of the Fleet Science Center, and still serves on its programs committee.
Jones, who emceed and co-produced the popular, recently revived La Jolla Concerts by the Sea series, and who serves as La Jolla Town Council’s communications director, talked about why they started their new online enterprise. “I just saw the future and thought I’d plug in,” quipped Jones. “We wanted to create something La Jolla-centric with interesting subject matter interviewing people.
“La Jolla is a destination for the world. This is where people vacation. And I realized, we (La Jolla) had nothing that really speaks about the best hotels, best breakfast places or restaurants, what to do and see, or that talks about the history of La Jolla. We wanted to create a combination of all these things to inform people of what we’ve got here. We’re giving you a local’s view about La Jolla.”
Pointing out he and Mazaika are “taking it to the next level with the insider,” Jones noted they’ve recently produced four more 20-minute videos “going behind the scenes with stories about the people of La Jolla.” One segment, Jones noted, involves the popular Belgian restaurant Girard Gourmet. Another regards the back story of family-run Harry’s Coffee Shop on Girard Avenue.
Jones added there are several other “legacy” businesses to be profiled in the beach community like Meanley & Son Hardware, and Warwicks Bookstore.
La Jolla Insider segments, said Jones, are not “cell phone or background narration,” but rather “a real production” exploring recently redeveloped hotels in the Village like the Cormorant and Hotel La Jolla. “They (hotels) deserve quality representation,” said Jones adding the idea is for the insider to “broaden our scope,” and not “air the community’s dirty laundry.”
Asked about La Jolla Insider’s next project, Jones said that might involve looking into day trips with La Jolla serving as “the launching pad,” hopefully enticing visitors “to come back, spend time and have some fun. The insider is the best for that.”
