Category: Local Business Spotlight

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Food & Beverage Local Business Spotlight Podcasts

Best Happy Hours in Midtown Ventura

Life as an Artist & Student – VC Social

In this podcast episode, we as a group, focused on the best local happy hours surrounding midtown Ventura, CA. Each individual provides the places they tried, their personal ratings, expense total, and overall experience. Whether it’s food, or drinks, or both, we’re here to give you our findings and hopefully new places for you to try for yourselves. Enjoy this episode and stay tuned for more!

Here is the cast and their links!

  1. Michelle Mercado

Email: ⁠⁠michelle_mercado1@my.vcccd.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

2. Melina Ramos

3. Tonisha Franklin

4. Cynthia Nava

Email: ⁠⁠cynthia_nava3@my.vcccd.edu⁠⁠

Below are the Instagram profile links to the restaurants that we attended.

Waters Edge Restaurant and Bar:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/watersedge_ventura?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠⁠

Two Trees Restaurant and Taps:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/twotreesrestaurantandtaps?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠⁠

Rincon Brewery:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rinconbreweryinc?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠⁠

Yolanda’s Mexican Café:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/yolandasmexicancafe?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠

Margarita Villa:

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/margaritavilla805?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠

Social Tap Ventura:

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/socialtapventura?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠

Boatyard Pub:

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/boatyardpub?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠⁠

Brophy Bros. Ventura:

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/brophys_vta?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==⁠

Categories
Local Business Spotlight Podcasts

Marketing Perspectives from Ventura College Business Students

Marketing Perspectives from Ventura College Business Students – VC Social

This podcast will talk about different marketing perspectives, perspectives such as marketing for oneself and marketing for other people or small businesses. We will also mention a few things that have worked for us so stay tuned because they may work for you too.

Connect with us through our socials:

Carlos S. Alvarez V. | ⁠About Carlos Alvarez

⁠@swiper_is_the_best⁠

Kassandra Olguin | ⁠About Kassandra Olguin⁠

⁠@tanas.treasures⁠

Alyssa Moreno | ⁠About Alyssa Moreno⁠

⁠@morenoalyssa_⁠

⁠@oxtownclothing⁠

Ivonne Galindo | ⁠About Ivonne Galindo⁠

⁠@galindoscustomdesigns⁠

Categories
Food & Beverage Local Business Spotlight

The Perfect Marriage: MadeWest Brewery & Food Trucks

Just when you thought the perfect marriage didn’t exist, MadeWest Brewery combined beer with Ventura County’s food truck culture in matrimony. From authentic Mexican, Greek, and Asian fusion, you’ll be able to satisfy any hunger cravings.

Game Over Catering is first on the Menu, known for their street tacos. You can put chicken, asada, pastor, and occasionally mariscos (seafood) in your tacos or quesadillas smoothened with cheese. Religiously appearing in the MadeWest parking lot on Wednesdays from 4-7:30pm.

Looking for homemade birria just how mom made it? Look no further, with over 7K followers on Instagram, Birria El Güero shares their family recipes, mom included! Named after the owner’s son who loves birria, Birria El Güero gained popularity with their famous torta de birria. MadeWest plays host to them every Thursday at 3pm.

Make your Friday date night Greek style with Wrapped food truck. Or even lunch because they arrive on the property at 12 noon. Their signature dishes include a Chicken Shawarma Wrap, Shawarma Fries, and Yalanji aka Stuffed Grape Leave. My personal favorite is their Gyro generously stuffed with lamb meat, drenched in Tzatiki sauce. Complete your meal with Baklava for dessert that is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Lamp Gyro from Wrapped

Last but not least and new to the scene is pop-up and catering truck Takeos Grubshack. Their California-style Asian cuisine includes Whole Wings with a variety of flavors, Pho, Korean rice bowl aka Bibimbap, and their popular Korean-style boas. Check their Instagram page to find out where they will pop-up next!

Korean Style Boa by Takeo’s Grubshack

Next time you visit MadeWest, don’t just arrive thirsty, come hungry too!

All Food trucks mentioned operate at Madewest Brewing Company and tasting room at 1744 Donlon St, Ventura, Ca. Check out MadeWest’s Calendar of Events on their website to see when and what food truck will be there today!

Categories
Local Business Spotlight Sports & Leisure

Perce’s Kenpo Karate: What it Takes to be a Business Owner

To be an 8th-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate is one of the highest belts one can receive in martial arts. Paul Perce, owner and founder of Perce’s Kenpo Karate, holds one of the highest black belts in all of Ventura County, along with running a successful Karate studio for over 28 years in Fillmore California.

Today we dive into the story of a successful business owner in Ventura County and what they did to get where they are today. Paul Perce grew up in El Rio, Oxnard, where many know that the area has gang-affiliated groups residing there. The parents of Paul Perce didn’t want him and his brother to be involved with gangs, so his parents signed the brothers up for martial arts to keep them occupied throughout the day. Paul continued his love for martial arts for over 26 years training in a variety of arts kenpo, kali, and jiujitsu.

In 1996 Perce’s Kenpo Karate was opened in Fillmore California at the age of 26. He gained management skills by helping to instruct the Flores Brothers’ karate studio in Oxnard. That karate studio was also where he trained for many years. Paul learned the experience he needed and thus took the leap of faith opening his very own Kenpo karate studio. When interviewing Paul, he explained, “When teaching students, it’s very important to pay attention to every detail. That is the key to success.” The key to being successful in running a smooth business is to never overlook the small details, especially when training people of all ages. Perce’s Kenpo Karate has established a long-lasting foundation for Fillmore’s small community. Even though Fillmore is a small town, students of Paul even those based in Los Angeles County travel to Perce’s Kenpo to learn from him. Perce’s studio has created a strong relationship with his students and created an impact on the communities of Fillmore and Ventura. Paul’s plan for his business is to stay established in Fillmore but expand to different schools all around Ventura County teaching after-school self-defense classes.

Overall Paul has established a successful business through his eye for detail, organization, experience, and love for what he does. Establishing a business you don’t have passion for is not going to work if you do not love what you do. For Paul, his passion and love for karate will continue helping him build a proud long-lasting business in Fillmore, California teaching people of all ages the art of Kenpo Karate.

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Arts & Entertainment Business Local Business Spotlight

Review of Brooklyn Charm in Ventura, CA

As someone who does not live in Ventura, CA this shop was excitingly new to me. It took me around 30 minutes to get to the shop and when I first entered I was in shock. I expected the store to be somewhat bigger, but it was a cute local shop size. While in the shop, I found charms, beads, rings, bracelets, necklaces, pins, earrings, crystals, shoe lace jewelry, costume jewelry, and so much more! Upon entry, there were already quite a few people in the store picking out charms for custom necklaces/ bracelets. This is predominately a shop to make custom jewelry.

For example, customers pick their own chains and charms for necklaces or bracelets, when finished, they take it to the front of the store. The employees at the front then ask the order of the charms on the chain and put the jewelry together, which typically takes around less than 15 minutes. However, this depends on how many people have already turned in their jewelry to be assembled before you.

COST 💵

When making a custom bracelet or necklace all charms do not cost the same amount. The pricing for most charms are different they typically range from $6-$15 per charm.

  • Rings: $5 each, 3 for $10, or 10 for $25
  • Disney pins: $8 each or 4 for $20
  • Premade bracelets: $12 each or 2 for $20
  • Earrings: ranging from $5-$20
  • Stickers: $2 each, 3 for $5, or 8 for $10
  • Crystal bottles : $5 each
  • Permanent jewelry: ranging from $45-$100+
  • Mystery bags: $5-$15
  • Chains: ranging from $3-$20

RATING ⭐️

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

I would have to rate Brooklyn Charm a 3.5/5, due to the fact that there is a humungous variety of all kinds of jewelry. In general, there is so many diverse charms, chains, rings, etc. that you could easily spend 1-2 hours of finding amazing products. The service was great, staff was friendly, and the store was aesthetically pleasing, clean, and organized. This could also be a fun activity to do with friends, family, or even a date! Nonetheless, I think the pricing for most items were too overpriced. People are already paying around $35 if not more for only 5 charms on a necklace or bracelet. I do realize they are a small business in Ventura and they need to make their income, but in my opinion it is too overpriced.

Images taken at Brooklyn Charm 📍

By: Melina Ramos

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Local Business Spotlight

Santa Paula Trading Co.

Santa Paula trading co is located in Santa Paula, CA. I was founded in 2017 and in 2020 it was under new owner ship by Tracy. It is a cool and unique store with so many great finds. They sell so many  great finds like candles, jewelry, clothes, ceramics, and many more. This is one place everyone needs to check out, they have such a friendly community when walking in. So, if there’s one place you need to find some cool stuff, Santa Paula Trading Co is the place to go!

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Local Business Spotlight

Boutique Fashion Blog

VC Social YouTube

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Food & Beverage Local Business Spotlight

Boccali’s Pizza & Pasta

Last week, Melissa, Ella, and Davey of Ventura College, visited Boccali’s Pizza & Pasta in Ojai, California. Continue below to read about their experience!

18 miles north of Ventura, is Boccali’s, a family owned and operated eatery that has been around since 1986. The menu at Boccali’s, features a variety of choices including hand tossed pizzas with all the toppings you can think of! There is also a list of pasta’s, ravioli’s, salads, and sandwiches to choose from. Boccali’s also has its own wine vineyard on property, in which you can take part in an exclusive wine tasting experience, available Saturday’s and Sunday’s from 12-5pm.

We decided on ordering personal sized pizzas which were much bigger than we expected them to be! (as you can tell in the image above) The outdoor seating made our eating experience extra enjoyable, seeing the beautiful green aesthetic of Ojai on our left and right.


For dessert, we ordered Boccali’s most famous dish, which is the strawberry shortcake

This delicious treat left us incredibly satisfied, and eager to go back for more. Who’s joining us for our next trip?


Overall, our meal at Boccali’s is one we will continue to praise, and recommend to all looking for their next place to visit.

Check out our Instagram Reel to see our experience!

Ella
Davey
Melissa
Categories
Local Business Spotlight

Action VC taking Action in our Community

Do you know there is an organization that helps our community? Have you ever felt that you could do more for your community? Listen to my podcast. During our interview, Jason Hurst shared with us what Action VC is all about. How Action VC helps our Ventura County community.

Connect with Action VC

https://www.actionvc.org/

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Arts & Entertainment Local Business Spotlight Social Media Sports & Leisure

If You Surf You Should Check Out False Front Media

Social media is a growing multi-use tool for everyone. Surfers and skaters have been able to capitalize on social media as a way to grow their audience and earn money by promoting brands. It can be tough, for local surfers especially, to get good quality clips showcasing their skills. This is where False Front Media can help. False Front Media records clips of surfers, skaters, and more on a high quality camera and creates video edits for their social media feeds.

Here’s a YouTube video that takes a behind the scenes dive into False Front Media.:

Filmed and edited By Schuyler Arevalo

False Front Media was created by Noah Gilbert, an Oxnard local. Him and his team help create and promote high quality videos on social media, they primarily operate on Instagram and YouTube. My experiences working with False Front Media have been positive. The process no matter the project has always been quick, enjoyable, and productive. Noah Gilbert has great ideas for video creation, once his vision is set and the video starts coming together I’m always able to appreciate the art of putting clips together to make a video a little bit more.

Here is a link to their Instagram page to see some of their work: https://www.instagram.com/falsefrontmedia/

Here is a link to their Youtube page to see some of their work: https://www.youtube.com/@falsefrontmedia