Long Beach Heritage, a nonprofit aimed at preserving the city’s history, recently awarded J&L Fine Jewelry a Legacy Business Award — recognizing the shop’s historic contributions to the local community.
The award was presented during J&L Fine Jewelry’s annual Trunk Show on Saturday, Aug. 26.
J&L, a family-owned business, was opened at its current location, 1823 Ximeno Ave., in 1992 by Janis Krantz, according to LB Heritage’s website. Krantz, who was dubbed the “Queen of Kindness” by the Press-Telegram’s Rich Archbold, ran the shop until she died in 2022.
Now, Krantz’s widower, Mike, owns the store, her son, Josh, runs its day-to-day operations, and her daughter, Lauren, also works in the shop a couple of days a week — commuting all the way from San Diego, LB Heritage said.
“J&L’s friendly service has earned it the reputation as the friendliest store in Long Beach,” the website said. “Janis, and now Josh, make it a point to donate jewelry, cash and time to local charitable organizations and businesses across Long Beach.”
Several city officials and other community leaders were on hand during Saturday’s event to celebrate J&L Fine Jewelry — and its designation as a legacy business in Long Beach.
“Janis Krantz personified the sense of ‘community,’ and she truly embodied our district’s ‘Go Fourth!’ spirit,” Fourth District Councilmember Daryl Supernaw said. “Her legacy is being carried on by her son and daughter, Josh and Lauren.”
Sake Secret
The newly opened Sake Secret in downtown Long Beach is quickly becoming a hot spot for gourmands.
Owner Greg Beck spent years learning the art of sake. He studied Japanese in college and while working in Hiroshima, he parlayed his passion into a business.
Now, Beck’s customers can indulge in a sake glass or flight from an ever-changing, rotating menu, and they can even purchase take-home bottles of specialty imported sake.
Sake Secret has a series of special events at the new venue planned — including one tonight — in partnership with local cheese shop Oh La Vache.
Though Beck’s shop already offers mini charcuterie boxes with a sake flight, Thursday night’s event will feature a guided tasting, designed to offer the best pairings of sake and cheese.
In Sake Secret’s event room (where no shoes are permitted), attendees will sit on traditional Japanese tatami mats and absorb the fusion of Western charcuterie and Japanese tradition.
Tickets cost about $40. RSVP’s are required and more information is available on the event’s website, tinyurl.com/SakeSecretLB.
New Chamber of Commerce partnership
The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the California Restaurant Association have officially entered into a new partnership aimed at giving local businesses a voice, according to a recent announcement.
The CRA is a Sacramento-based advocacy group that works to promote the interests of the food service industry through lobbying, according to its website, alongside legislative monitoring, grassroots campaigns and political action committees.
“Through our collaboration with the California Restaurant Association,” chamber President and CEO Jeremy Harris said in the news release, “we extend our support by providing valuable benefits and a united voice to strengthen our members’ position in an ever-changing business landscape.”
With the new partnership, the release said, the CRA will notify the chamber when new legislation that could impact local businesses is under consideration.
They’ll also leverage the input of Long Beach business owners through CRA’s “Voter Voice Platform,” the announcement said, in an attempt to influence the outcome of legislation.
Chamber members will also now have access to a host of other benefits offered by the CRA, including worker’s compensation insurance, employee hiring and training tools, music streaming licenses and point-of-sale systems.