The Pacific Beach restaurant scene is a lively one, with the menu always changing.
\nOne longtime staple, The Green Flash, at 701 Thomas Ave. on the boardwalk, recently changed ownership, and another, China Inn, at 877 Hornblend St., is history.
\nNamed for the green-spot optical phenomenon occurring just before or after sunset, The Green Flash has reportedly been sold by longtime owners the Gemora family to Michael Bezarra, who also owns Cabo Cantina and PB Cantina.
\nLongtime China Inn owners Judy and Andy Kim closed shop after losing their lease on March 31.
\nThe Kims said they will be going on a deserved vacation before returning and possibly relocating to an as-yet-to-be-determined spot.
\n“We\u2019re going to take a rest; we\u2019d like to reopen at some point,” said Judy Kim. “We have no plans right now.”
\nAccording to The Green Flash website, the restaurant as presently configured opened in 1965 as Armando\u2019s Snack Bar.
\n“I remember it as a beach caf\u00e9, with beach rentals out front and a take-out window,” longtime PB resident Marcie Beckett said.
\nReincarnated as The Green Flash in 1990, another popular eatery, World Famous, operated in that spot for some years before 1990. World Famous moved to its present location, 711 Pacific Beach Drive, displaced by Armando Gamora and The Green Flash.
\nChina Inn as owned by the Kims opened in 1988. Previous tenants on the site, according to the Pacific Beach Historical Society newsletter, were Larry Waibel, who opened Waibel\u2019s restaurant in 1954, and Copper Skillett, which took over in 1975.
\n“This is a favorite spot for longtime residents, and it will be greatly missed,” Beckett said, noting the restaurant serving mandarin cuisine is an institution, part of the community\u2019s fabric.
\n“My extended family has been going there regularly for as long as it has been in operation,” she said.\u00a0
\nBeckett said some in PB fear the new owner will turn Green Flash into an oceanfront version of Cabo Cantina\/PB Cantina.\u00a0
\n“The (Gemora) alcohol license was issued many years ago and likely has few if any conditions, which means it is very valuable, because it can be used to\u00a0sell full spirits from 6 a.m. until 2 am. with very few restrictions,” Beckett said. The restaurant is presently open between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.
\nTom Frost, a\u00a0 fourth-generation Pacific Beach resident and owner of Pacific Beach Properties, which owns the Beach Cottages Motel, at 4255 Ocean Blvd. next door to Green Flash, cautioned people against jumping to conclusions about the new restaurant\u2019s owners or their intentions.
\nFrost noted The Green Flash is well known for its somewhat “upscale seafood” cuisine and for catering to locals and tourists alike.
\n“When you have so few tables, no parking, and you\u2019re successful \u2014 that means you\u2019re doing something right,” Frost said of Green Flash\u2019s success.
\nNoting the beach alcohol ban has been a real “game changer” for beach businesses and how they operate, Frost noted that “the change of (no) drinking on the beach was a good change, putting drinking in the bars, which is better than on the beach.”
\nHe cautioned that “a delicate balance” needs to struck between “noisy” bars and “quiet” hotels in the touristy beachfront neighborhood.
\n“We\u2019re trying to find that balance,” Frost said, noting a “higher level of activity” is needed on the boardwalk to keep it vibrant.
\n“Otherwise, people won\u2019t come here,” he said, adding that “to some degree you need to maintain excitement at the beach.”
\nThe Beach &?Bay Press was unable to reach Bezarra or his firm for comment on their future plans for The Green Flash.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Pacific Beach restaurant scene is a lively one, with the menu always changing. One longtime staple, The Green Flash, at 701 Thomas Ave. on the boardwalk, recently changed ownership, and another, China Inn, at 877 Hornblend St., is history. Named for the green-spot optical phenomenon occurring just before or after sunset, The Green Flash […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":275702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"Turnover is afoot as Green Flash is sold, China Inn shutters","_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-275701","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\/275701","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=275701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}