Sun and surf and all that goes with it is the main attraction of Pacific and Mission beaches, which are a mecca for aquatic-related activity of every imaginable type. And the businesses in the two adjoining coastal communities reflect the same. The slogan for Pacific Beach\u2019s business improvement district (BID) is: “It\u2019s all right here.”
\n“And it really is,” said Sara Berns, executive director of Discover Pacific Beach, the largest of San Diego\u2019s 17 BIDS and 18 micro-BIDS.
\nPacific Beach\u2019s business district, which includes Grand and Garnet avenues between Mission Boulevard and Interstate 5, as well as Cass Street, Turquoise Avenue, Lamont Street and Mission Bay Drive, boasts more than 1,400 businesses.
\n“There\u2019s tons to do in PB, whether it\u2019s riding bikes on the boardwalk, skateboarding or surfing, playing beach volleyball, horseshoes or extreme Frisbee. It\u2019s an active, outdoor lifestyle and our businesses match that,” said Berns.
\nAbove all else, Pacific Beach has a great mix of businesses. Some are large. Others small. Some cater primarily to locals. Others serve mostly out-of-towners.
\n“There is a wide range of price points,” said Berns. “You can come down and shop for a $200 pair of jeans or a $2 tank top.”
\nMultitudinous skate and surf shops serve the needs of those coming down to indulge themselves in the beach lifestyle.
\nPB\u2019s business mix includes professionals of every stripe \u2014 doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects and acupuncturists. It also has big chain stores right alongside small businesses.
\n“I\u2019m looking out my window at Office Depot and a sushi restaurant,” said Berns. “Mom and pops, we\u2019ve still got \u2019em. We\u2019ve got a Maytag store here where you can still buy a washer and dryer.”
\nThe business community in Mission Beach is equally as diverse.
\nThe home of Belmont Park, The Wave House and The Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, Mission Beach is perhaps best known for having great beach vacation rentals.
\nOne such rental entrepreneur is Gina Champion Cain, who owns The Patio on Lamont Street and several pet-friendly vacation-rental properties on Mission Beach, as well as Luv San Diego Surf at 4439 Lamont St., a retail store in connection with the vacation rentals.
\nChampion Cain said Pacific Beach is the more commercial of the two coastal communities, whereas Mission Beach is more seasonal and “beachy.”
\n“Mission Beach is clearly a hospitality-driven neighborhood, which has more the flavor of a tourist attraction,” she said. “PB really has more long-term residents.”
\nGuests of Champion Cain\u2019s beach rentals are pampered \u2014 and so are their pets, which are always welcome at her establishments.
\n“We rent like a hotel, charge by the day, have concierge service,” she said. “We\u2019re pet-friendly and it\u2019s a big deal for us. We love our animals.”
\nBeing pet-friendly is “how we separate ourselves from everybody else,” she said. “Ninety-eight percent of beach rentals in Mission Beach are not pet friendly.”
\nChampion Cain\u2019s establishments also specialize in “supreme customer service.”
\n“Our rentals are completely turn-key with food in the refrigerator, dog food treats and free coffee beans,” Champion Cain said. “If you want to get tickets to the San Diego Zoo or SeaWorld, we can do all that for you.”
\nFor more information, visit luv-surf.com or email gina@luvsdsurf .com.
\nPacific Beach and Mission Beach are both noted for a wide range of more than 100 restaurants catering to every imaginable taste and palette, such as The Mission at 3795 Mission Blvd.
\nThe Mission\u2019s menu includes everything from classic pancakes and sandwiches to modern Chino-Latino cuisine, which, the website (themissionsd.com) proclaims, “has made The Mission a huge favorite among local San Diegans and travelers from around the world.”
\nIf your dining tastes run more toward the traditional, there\u2019s Luigi\u2019s At The Beach at 3210 Mission Blvd.
\nThe restaurant, named for an Italian who opened it in 1985, uses a blend of “family secrets” to create a “dazzling, yet simple” menu.
\nIf breakfast is what you seek, Kono\u2019s Caf\u00e9 at 704 Garnet Ave. across from Crystal Pier offers outdoor seating, some with incomparable ocean views.
\nAn iconic Pacific Beach eatery known for its breakfast burritos and other specialties, Kono\u2019s has long lines out the door during the busy summer peak season for good reason. Patrons would be hard pressed to find better quality, bigger portions or more reasonable prices.
\nIf your culinary tastes run more toward the homegrown side, you can indulge yourself at three local farmers markets in Pacific Beach. One takes place Tuesdays from 2 to 7 p.m. on Bayard Street at Garnet Avenue. Another happens at 4150 Mission Blvd. at Pacific Beach Drive in the Promenade, and a third takes place at the Seaside Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mission Bay High School, 2475 Grand Ave.
\nThe community also abounds with retail delights. Pilar\u2019s Beachwear at 3790 Mission Blvd. is one place \u2014 among many \u2014 that offers PB-centric attire: beachwear.
\n“Pilar\u2019s Beachwear has been in Mission Beach since 1970,” said Julie Wilkinson, the boutique\u2019s co-owner. “We are a family owned business that carries swimwear, beachwear, clothing and accessories for women of all ages and sizes. We pride ourselves on providing personalized customer service so our customers leave here feeling beautiful and good about themselves.”
\nWilkinson said Pilar\u2019s has been voted “best place to buy a swimsuit” several times, and recently moved to its expanded location at 3790 Mission Blvd.
\nIf you\u2019re searching for a hotel, there are no shortage of options in either Mission Beach or Pacific Beach. Two excellent choices are The Bahia Hotel on a 14-acre peninsula surrounded by Mission Bay at 998 West Mission Bay Drive, and the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa at 3999 Mission Blvd.
\nThe family friendly, Mediterranean-themed Bahia provides picture-perfect views from 314 spaciously appointed guestrooms. Gardenfront rooms inspire guests to relax in a tropical paradise while listening to the sounds of a trickling stream surrounded by palm gardens.
\nA trademark of the Catamaran with its 313 luxury guest rooms is its signature spa with its South Pacific-inspired menu of products with marine and botanical elements offering the finest in therapeutic skin and body treatments.
\nBesides a large assortment of beach cottages, there are more than 20 high-rise hotels in Pacific and Mission beaches from which to choose, Berns said.
\nBest of all about the beach communities is they\u2019re ageless and timeless, Berns said.
\n“There\u2019s something for everybody \u2014 kids, singles, couples, the elderly, whether you\u2019re coming here to do something active, or just to lay on the beach and sunbathe,” she said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sun and surf and all that goes with it is the main attraction of Pacific and Mission beaches, which are a mecca for aquatic-related activity of every imaginable type. And the businesses in the two adjoining coastal communities reflect the same. The slogan for Pacific Beach\u2019s business improvement district (BID) is: “It\u2019s all right here.” […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":269664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"PB and Mission Beach still meccas of activity with much to see and do","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11559,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach-bay-press","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}