La Jolla real estate agent and private tennis coach Brett Buffington was recently invited to Stockholm, Sweden to coach a some up-and-coming 10-year-old junior tennis players. Buffington, a La Jolla native since 1969, grew up playing tennis at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. He played for the La Jolla High School Vikings from 1977-79, the UCLA NCAA championship tennis team from 1982-84 and then on the International Tennis Tour from 1985-1990. Buffington is known in the tennis world for his volleys and exploding balanced footwork. He spent a week coaching in Värmdö, an island of the Stockholm archipelago. Swedish tennis players are famous for their solid forehand and backhand ground strokes, but not so much their volleys. “It was so rewarding to see the excitement on the players faces when their volley technique and footwork kicked in,” Buffington said. “I had an awesome time, not only coaching tennis, but enjoying swimming in the Baltic, scrumptious Swedish food and spending good times with friends.” Tennis legend Björn Borg, considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, and his family introduced Buffington to crayfish. A crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the Nordic countries. The tradition originated in Sweden, where a crayfish party is called a kräftskiva. “I found out that it’s culturally correct to suck the juice out of the crayfish before shelling it. Sounds gross and crayfish shelling is tedious work, but the end result is worth it,” he said. Roppongi Restaurant and Sushi Bar has recently welcomed two new staff members, and the restaurant hopes to continue serving the La Jolla community with its added talent in both the front and back of the house. Keli Knubley recently joined the team of Roppongi as the general manager. Prior to joining Roppongi, Knubley earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She worked in various restaurants throughout Nevada and Colorado, and most recently was instrumental in overseeing operations at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and was an operating partner at its La Jolla location for more than eight years. A Kansas City native, Knubley relocated to Southern California several years ago and fully embraces the La Jollan lifestyle. She is excited to bring her one-of-a-kind spirit and expertise to the team at Roppongi. With more than 14 years in the restaurant business, creating decadent sushi rolls has become second nature to chef Yoshiyuki Shimooka, the new sushi chef to join Roppongi Restaurant and Sushi Bar. Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, “Yoshi” has come a long way to bring his culinary repertoire to San Diego. From a young age, the self-taught chef always found himself at various restaurants in Osaka and the surrounding areas to stay up-to-date with new techniques and trends happening in the industry. Although his hometown is a strong source of inspiration, he ultimately wanted to expand his horizons and bring his treasured findings and passion for Japanese and Asian cuisine to the states. In 1994, he did that by relocating to San Diego. Since then, he has made several moves throughout the U.S. to further develop his skills and work up the ranks. The budding chef is clever in his creations and is thrilled to bring his expertise to his guests at Roppongi.