Costa Mesa Community, Businesses Come Together During The Coronavirus Crisis

The Westin South Coast Plaza shares its love for the community during Coronavirus outbreak. (All images and information courtesy Travel Costa Mesa)

Costa Mesa‘s community of large and small businesses are trying to make a difference to their fellow residents. Together, they have donated thousands of pounds of food, helped feed families that have been laid off or furloughed during this health crisis and are raising funds to support and give back to frontline workers in healthcare and law enforcement while getting through the COVID-19 crisis together. With many businesses having to shutter during this time, others are doing whatever they can to stay in business, raise funds and help each other. Following are a few Costa Mesa stories of businesses giving back, and locals helping locals. 

Blue Bowl Superfoods

Small businesses and restaurants get creative with ways to keep business going and give back to the community
·       After opening their doors for the first time in Orange County on March 17, Café Sevilla closed temporarily the next day to get through the Coronavirus crisis, and in the meantime help give back to the community. They donated more than 2,000 pounds of food to local non-profit food banks, including Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and Share Our Selves in Costa Mesa. This week they made paella for their employees and their families.

• Chef John Park at Toast Kitchen + Bakery is not only providing pick-up/to-go options, he’s also begun making batches of his very own Beef Bone Broth, which is packed with nutrients. Making healthy dinners for the family can be a challenge, especially right now with limited ingredients available. Chef Park is offering a quart of frozen broth, as well as soy pickled radish and three recipe cards, for diners to make their own healthy meals for just $12.
• Social Kitchen & Craft Bar launched an initiative to “Serve Those Who Serve Us” and has begun feeding to-go meals Thursday - Saturday to frontline workers in the hospitality industry who have lost their job or have been furloughed. Their famous Drive-Thru burger is available for order and comes with fries, a healthy side of honey butter Brussels sprouts, water, and even a roll of coveted toilet paper.  Social owners Andrew and Raquel Dorsey has also set up a Go Fund Me page to help collect donations to continue to support this effort until the crisis is over, and to keep their own employees and restaurant open.

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue grocery delivery

• Dough & Arrow, famed for their cookie dough, fresh-baked cookies and handcrafted beverages, is seeking support to help them serve treats to the local healthcare workers and first responders who are working daily to help keep our communities safe and healthy.  For a $100 donation, Dough & Arrow will provide enough fresh-baked treats for 50 people or for $50, enough for 25 people. They have already made deliveries to some local healthcare workers.

·       Costa Mesa United  - a non-profit organization that raises funds to support athletic facilities and teams in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach  – purchased 15,000 dollars in gift cards from local restaurants to help support their ongoing business during the Coronavirus crisis and those gift cards will be used to help sell for fundraisers by the sports teams in the future.

• Blue Bowl – a veteran-owned acai bowl shop – is maintaining a level of business to keep employees working while also helping frontline healthcare workers at the same time.  The team recently came up with a solution that supports both initiatives – a GoFundMe page where every $10 raised will go directly towards providing a nutrient-rich superfood bowl to the health care staff at Children’s Hospital Orange County (CHOC), St. Joseph Hospital, and UCI Medical Center. The GoFundMe page has already generated a great amount of support, but the team needs more help to meet their $50,000 goal.  

Dough & Arrow Cookie Delivery

The community rallies around its own during these incredible times  
·       Bertha Ramirez, a retired Costa Mesa resident, is helping her family salon earn a bit of money during this time by sewing cloth masks for locals in need. 

• Members of the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue team recently joined forces with the Costa Mesa Senior Center staff to deliver grocery boxes to disabled homebound seniors who have little-to-no support, as part of Costa Mesa’s COVID-19 community outreach efforts.

·       Residents in one Costa Mesa neighborhood opened a food pantry to share or exchange products with other.
·       A Costa Mesa Smart ‘n Final employee assisted a local resident with shopping and delivery of essential groceries when she was unable to leave the house on her own and couldn’t find another store to deliver groceries for her.

• Residents in the Westside Costa Mesa neighborhood are sharing messages on sidewalks, hanging messages in windows and banners around the area with positive messages for the community like “One day at a time,” and “Keep smiling.”

Located in the heart of Orange County in Southern California with a population of approximately 113,000, Travel Costa Mesa offers virtual experiences so you visit Costa Mesa from home as well as a new video featuring the Costa Mesa Art Walk.

Toast Kitchen & Bakery Bone Broth