Kickoff

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And we're back with another episode of Unlocking Huntington Beach. What's going on? My name is Lane Stone, and we have another good one for you today. And this one's kind of special. I can't believe it either. Time has flown by. We are celebrating our 20th episode. Believe it or not, in honor of Huntington Beach and our 20th episode, we're going to be doing a top five episode, top five everything, top five coffee spots, top five things that I missed about Huntington Beach, top five new spots. So stay tuned for all of the good stuff happening in this

Top Five Things Missed

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particular episode. And I was going to kick things off of top five things that are new and what I'm looking forward to, but I'm a really nostalgic guy. So I want to take it back. And what are the top five things that I'm missing right now? And I know if you've been in Huntington Beach for a long time, and I know that if you've been a local for a while, you have your list as well. So I definitely want to hear it in the comments below of what you're missing out on because I hear things like Golden Bear, and that's a little bit before my time, but I always hear things about it. So leave comments like that for me to make sure that your stuff that you're missing about Huntington Beach is recognized

Movie Theaters Memories

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as well. So let's start with number one on my list as far as what I miss in Huntington Beach. And that's the movie theater that was downtown in downtown Huntington Beach. I loved going to that movie theater. It was so nice. You had a great view even after you walked out of that particular movie theater. We had friends that work there. I'm gonna take you back to middle school lane, maybe eighth grade, ninth grade, tenth grade lane. That's kind of like when you first start holding hands with your first like uh girlfriend at the time. Maybe after the movie theater, you walk down to the beach, you go underneath the lifeguard tower, and you maybe you start kissing for the first time. But like some memories like that, what I miss about Huntington Beach. So you have the downtown movie theater. Now, along the same lines, this is still, um I guess part of number one. We used to have Charter Center over there on Beach and Warner as well, and that was a really great movie theater. But I miss when it became a cheap, like two dollar theater and they had like one dollar hot dogs and stuff like that. They would get movies that have already been out for a while, and it was ended up being like a cheaper theater. So it was nice to have that theater as well. At one point, I believe we had three movie theaters in Huntington Beach, and now we're down to one. But I really do miss, so I've taken it back, to the downtown Huntington Beach movie theater.

Gone But Tasty Eats

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The next on my list is a combination of two restaurants, and I'll explain why it's a combination, and for those that don't know. But I have the Jose McCoy's restaurants and the Sammy's restaurants. So, Jose McCoy, before they redid Seacliffe Center, they there was Seacliff Center there, and they had some of the best burgers and best french fries that I can remember. Sammy's had great breakfast burritos and good burgers as well. They were located on beach across from where the In N Out is now, and then they moved to locations and they kind of combined efforts and it was like Jose McCoy's and Sammy's, and they were like combined into one restaurant there, and then kind of Jose McCoy's fell off, and then it was just Sammy left leaving. And I loved um going to still with Sammy and having his breakfast burritos there. And if we were doing a top five breakfast burrito spot and Sammy's was still around, I would make sure that he and those breakfast burritos would not be on that list. And I definitely miss both of those restaurants. Uh speaking and staying along the themes of restaurants, I miss Bravo Burger. Bravo Burger on Beach Boulevard was a really cool restaurant as well. I remember you would open up and they'd have that car seat where you can sit and have four people sitting at the table there into that car. They had trains on the ceiling going around. They had a big Elvis Presley there, but they had a really extensive menu. And speaking of breakfast briers, they had some of the monstrous, like biggest breakfast briers I can remember. They stuffed it with potato and sausage and cheese and eggs. And it was a really, really great place. And they, I think they had like something else that was similar that came after, but it was never the same. And I think it's like a Popeye's location now, but I definitely miss old school Bravo burger. Their burgers, their breakfast burritos, the like the vibe and the cool feeling that you got when you're inside sitting at that big red car uh with your family. That was really cool that I miss as well.

Beach Paintball Days

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Uh, another thing that I miss about Huntington Beach, and I might be one of the loners on this one, but every year we used to have a paintball tournament at the sand. It was like the NPPL7, I think is what it was called. And I used to love going down to the beach and watching these paintball tournaments because I was into paintball at the time, and that was kind of fun. They had a bunch of netting set up, and you would see like these courses, and you would see these teams kind of compete against each other, and it was just like crazy big net like paintball tournament, and they would have booze set up, and people would be selling their paintball guns or their paint and equipment and looking at the newest and latest and greatest stuff. But that was happening uh every year for a few years there. And I actually enjoyed going and watching the NPPL7 paintball tournament. So I definitely missed that as far as um Huntington Beach is concerned.

Bullwinkle's And Ruby's

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Now I'm gonna combine a few of these because I it's more than just five things, and I know there's more than five things. So if there's something that I miss, please put it in the comments. This isn't really Huntington Beach either, it's just on the outside of Huntington Beach. If you guys remember Bullwinkles that ended up becoming boomers, but Bullwinkles was a place that we would have birthday parties all the time. And when you think Bullwinkle, yes, Rocky and Bullwinkle, those cartoon characters there. It was kind of like a mini Chuck E. Cheese where you have like an arcade there, you'd have a party room, you'd have the characters that would come out, there'd be shows. It was the perfect spot, at least for us when we were growing up, to have birthday parties there and invite all of our friends. And I used to love Rocky and Bullwinkle. So I remember the Bullwinkles that was there, and then it became Boomers and Boomers was still fun. But I definitely remember having uh some really fun birthday parties and going to some birthday parties at Bullwinkle. So Bullwinkle's definitely missed. Now, speaking of birthday parties, I've actually had several birthday parties, and I know a lot of locals in Ninja Beach have had birthday parties here as well. And that's Ruby's at the end of the pier. Ruby's at the end of the pier is definitely missed. It was fun to have berg birthday parties, especially upstairs on the second floor. Everyone gets hats. You celebrate happy birthday, you have an incredible view off the off the deck in the ocean. They make incredible shakes. Uh, Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier. Uh, I loved it. Uh, definitely gonna be missed. A lot of memories that uh we had at Ruby's at the end

Ruby Palace Favorite

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of the pier. Now, when I think of Ruby's, and and here's how I'm tying it in at the end of the pier, I also think of Ruby Palace, another restaurant that is missed on my list. It was some of the best, if not the best, Chinese food here in Huntington Beach. And the owners were so nice, they were so friendly. It was right there on beach in between Ellis and Talbot. And we used to go probably once a week. We loved their food there, and we had a great time. Then one of the servers, his name was William, he actually bought it from the previous owner, Domingo, and he revamped it and he turned it into his own style, his own restaurant, still served really good Chinese food. It had a similar menu, but it just never ended up being the same, and it didn't really last as long as Ruby's Palace Ruby Palace did. And Ruby Palace is definitely missed. But those are some of the items on my list that I always remember and love about Huntington Beach and some of the stuff that I wish that were still wish that was still here for our beloved city of Surf City. But again, what are some things that you're missing? Like I'm thinking of uh there was a big sushi restaurant on Beach Florida. I think it was called Toda, and and it was like an all-you-can-eat sushi place. Like there are so many things that aren't here anymore over the years that it's definitely missed. But I want to hear your your list. So leave that in the comments uh below.

What's Coming Soon

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But now let's go back to what is coming soon to Huntington Beach. There's a lot of things that are missed, but now there's a lot of things that are that we can look forward to as far as what's coming soon. And we're gonna spot start off

Champagnes Kitchen Preview

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with spot number one. It's Champagne's Kitchen that's coming in May. So basically, really soon after you hear this recording, it'll should be here. And I if you see some of their posts on their social medias, you can see see that they're getting really, really close. But it's a longtime Newport staple and it's expanding into HB and taking over the old IHOP location on Maine and Olive. Uh, so they're gonna have breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus a full bar espresso program. Um, and then they're gonna do moon goat beans, which we're gonna get to moon goat a little bit later here, too. It's a fast, it's fast casual during the day and then full service at night. Now, one of the things that uh I remember about the IHOP location is if you had a long night out and you're at one o'clock, one thirty, two o'clock in the morning, and you're kind of stumbling a little bit, there was really a real no better place to go to get some uh get a little short stack, a little uh rootie-tootie fresh and fruity at IHOP and then get some bacon and kind of get the greasy stuff in there and get yourself feeling better. But maybe uh Champagne's Kitchen will stay open at 1:30, 2 o'clock and get you some of that hangover drunk food. But um uh I think it's something to look forward to. I know they do really good in Newport. Really excited to have them. They seem like it's gonna be a really good fit for that area. So excited to check out Champagne's Kitchen coming in May.

California Cabana Events

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Um, spot number two is called California Cabana. That's coming in June. This one's a little bit different. So this one is gonna be located on Brookhurst and PCH, and it's designed for weddings, concerts, and large full gatherings. So they're gonna have Mediterranean style customizable space with full in-house catering. And it's actually really unique. Like we don't have, I don't think, too many that I can think of, large event spaces here in Huntington Beach. So the fact that you can find another place for your wedding that might not be the Newland barn or something for like a mini concert or a large gathering, and it's customizable and it's a really good location. I mean, think about it, Brookherson PCH. That is something now to add to the list of places to check out for these larger events. So looking forward to seeing what California Cabana is all about come June. All right, and on

Lighthouse Live Music

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to spot number three. Spot number three is called the Lighthouse, and this one's really cool. It's coming this summer and it's taking over the old um old crow location over in Pacific City. It is a legendary jazz venue from Hermosa Beach. I think live music, ocean views, comfort food, full bar. And you know what? I'm happy that that space remained a live music space because uh there have been some really good times that I've been to at Old Crow in that space for live music. And I really enjoy good live music. And they have a right, like a wide variety of performances that are going to be there. And it brings this like legacy venue that have had really legendary bands. If you look at the history of uh this lighthouse uh over there in Hermosa Beach, hopefully they bring in some really good up-and-coming bands or some really good established bands and performers because you think of things like when I said it at the at the beginning here about the Golden Bear, when you think of things of what Huntington Beach used to have, they used to have some incredible music venues like the Golden Bear that brought in some really known performances. So hopefully uh this lighthouse here over at Pacific City uh can bring some really cool things that they did in Hermosa down to Huntington Beach. So looking forward to that. Uh moving on to spot number four,

Huntington's On Pier

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it's called Huntington's on the pier. That's coming fall 2026. It's a full reimagining of an iconic pier destination built by locals for locals. You think when you're on the pier, you're gonna have 360-degree ocean view, surf views, sunset, live music here as well. And it's all aiming to bring back that classic HB style and energy. Uh, so when I was talking about nostalgia, and I was talking about some of the things that I'm missing in Huntington Beach, these guys are aiming to bring that back to Huntington's on the pier, and that's coming in fall 2026. If you've heard anything about Huntington's on the pier, uh leave it in the comments. What have you heard and are you excited for it?

Subculture Downtown Expansion

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And then finally, spot number five, uh, Subculture coming to downtown Huntington Beach. This is their next location. Now, Subculture, you can think of their sandwich spot on Beach and Warner. When I think of Subculture, this is that's the first sandwich I ever had on Dutch Crunch Bread. To me, I thought like that I they might not be the inventors of Dutch Crunch, but they're the ones that I put Dutch Crunch on the map for me. And I absolutely love their sandwiches. They're large. And I know I've seen some of the comments that it's an expensive sandwich. But let me just combat this with the fact that this sandwich can last you like two or three meals. It they they pack it full of meat and goodness. It's big. You don't have to eat it all in one bite or one sitting. You can have it in two different sittings, and then if you break it down in two different sittings, then it's like it's cheap, right? So, but subculture is coming to downtown Huntington Beach. It's right off PCH, it's opening soon. It's still early, but it's definitely one to watch if you want to get a really good sandwich.

Newly Open Spots

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All right, now we're gonna uh talk about the first we we started with the nostalgia, then we went to what's coming soon. Now let's talk about what's recently open, what's newer, and what's

Surf City Escape Rooms

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open. And we're gonna start with Surf City Escapes. There's a new escape room in Huntington Beach, and that's over in uh Pacific City as well. And they're gonna have some really incredible. I've already seen some of the videos online. They're actually very active on social media, so follow them on social media, but they have some really cool escape rooms. I love escape rooms. I used to go to the one over in Wild Goose, I believe it's what it's called, over across from the Bellatera. And we've taken the team there, and I know I'm taking my team there before. We already talked about it. Um, but we're gonna be checking out this new escape room over at Pacific City. So check it out, check out their socials. They're doing some really cool things. All

Graze Craze Boards

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right, spot number two, Grays Craze. Now, when you think of graze or grazing boards, what do you think of? You think of charcuterie, right? So that's exactly what this is. This is elevated charcuterie boards, a no prep, no cleanup. You show up with this and instantly look like you have your life together, is what they say here on the thing. But guess what? Like, who doesn't like a good charcuterie board? Who doesn't like a good grazing board? Uh, something with a nice glass of wine sounds really great. So the fact that Graze Craze is making it easy to have this elevated charcuterie experience, something to really look forward to there. So check out Graze Craze.

Focaccia House Sandwiches

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Spot number three, the Facaccia House. Now, this is really cool. Facascia Facaca Bread, Facaca House, Facaccia Sandwich. They're authentic Italian sandwiches right on Main Street. I believe it's the same owners as Zero Zero Pizza, which have been making incredible pizza for a lot of years and really authentic Italian style pizzas. And now you know they're gonna make really good sandwiches. I haven't had a chance to visit this one yet, but I was looking at the menu, I was looking at the photos, I was looking at the prices, all extremely reasonable, by the way. When you think of the location, when you think of the size of the sandwiches that they were displaying on the photos, when you think of the quality of the bread and the quality of that they bring to Zero Zero Pizza, the fact that you can get a really good sandwich for basically the same price of a foot long as Subway, that is seems really incredible to me. And uh the times that we've driven by and walked by this location, there's been lines out the door. So there's a reason why there's lines out the door. So if you haven't heard about this spot yet,

Atelier Sushi Bar

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check it out. The Fakasha House over there in downtown Honey to Beach off Main Street. Uh, there's a new Japanese sushi place coming, and it's called, uh, I don't really want to butcher this, but Adelir, I believe is what it's called. A T-E L-I-E-R. Sorry if I'm butchering it. Uh but this one is for people that take sushi seriously. They have truly authentic style sushi from chefs that are trained in Japan. They do strict sourcing, precision level craft, and you can really tell the difference. I mean, they take it from like their their, I believe the vinegar they use in their rice is actually authentically sourced from Japan. So if you want true Japanese sushi by trained chefs in Japan, then you want to check out this uh Japanese sushi alter.

Rise Pokey Shack

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Spot number five, I know they've been getting a lot of credit on social media, and I'm excited to check this out. But it's Rice Pokey Shack. It's a husband and wife team. They have strong Hawaiian roots, legitimately from Hawaii, and they built a brand around Aloha First, Aloha First mindset. And it's more than just food, it is a cultural experience. So if you have spent time in Hawaii and you've had truly fresh, delicious pokey, and it goes beyond just like the fish, too. It's like the sauces and the way they mix it and the way that they uh the way they make the rice and all this the whole package put together for your pokeyball, and you miss something about the the vibes that you get in Hawaii, then rice Poke Shack, I'm told, is what's bringing it right now because they are truly authentic, truly from Hawaii, bringing delicious pokey bowls. And there's another reason why they are so popular right now on with their lines, so popular on social media. If you have good food, good vibes, and you do it the right way, the people will come. So I'm really excited for what Rice Poke Shack's been doing, and I'm excited to check it out myself. So welcome and thanks for coming to Honey to Beach Rice Poke Shack.

Top Five Coffee Shops

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All right, now we're gonna talk about quickly our uh top five coffee shops. Top five coffee shops. This is where people get you know really passionate because there's a lot of coffee lovers out there. And so if there was one that's missed, or if there is one that I you feel like I left off the list, let me know. But here are the top five. If you know, you know coffee lab, Phil's Coffee, Coffee Nature, succulent coffee roasters, and moon goat coffee. Now remember, we were talking about Champagne's kitchen over there that's opening up, they're using moon goat beans. So I really like that a lot of these newer restaurants and these restaurants that are coming are using locally uh local um beans from our local roasters here um in Huntington Beach. But those are some top five coffee spots.

Recap And Sign Off

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And there you have it for a lot of the top fives. So let's recap. We talked about top five places that I miss in Huntington Beach, top five places that are coming soon, top five places that have recently opened, and top five coffee shops. But I know everybody has different tastes. You don't have to trust mine, but I do think I'm a self-proclaimed foodie, by the way. But if there's something that you feel like was missed or something you feel like that should be recognized, please leave that in the comments wherever you're listening or watching this. All of the links for the places that we are announcing are going to be in the show notes as well. And there's a lot of opportunity to be able to follow us. So if you're watching us, you're probably gonna be watching us on YouTube. Make sure you like and subscribe to the YouTube channel at UnlockingHB, at unlocking Huntington Beach, so that way you never miss another episode. Because in addition to announcing news and top fives, we do some really cool interviews with some local business owners as well. So you don't want to miss one of those. So make sure you've liked and subscribed the channel. And then on social media, make sure you're following us on Instagram at unlockinghb or you can see me at Lane in OC for my personal Instagram and for Orange County news as well. But I always leave you with this, and I'm gonna do so again today. Do good, honey to beach deserves it, and I'll see you on the next one.