Business Roundup: La Jolla welcomes clothing, therapy, coffee, surf and hair enterprises

From Bird Rock to UTC, business enterprises are opening or making changes in and around La Jolla. Here’s a look at what’s new.

Vuori

Touting clothes that are “uniquely created for the lifestyle of Southern California,” Vuori opened Feb. 11 at 7841 Girard Ave. in La Jolla.

Vuori (pronounced vee-or-ee) was founded in Encinitas in 2015. It offers functional and versatile men’s and women’s clothing that can be worn while exercising — or not.

“We understand people are working remotely and taking a break midday to exercise or take the kids to the park. So our pieces perform technically and look very polished and work into the wardrobe,” said Catherine Pike, Vuori’s vice president of retail. “They are also great for traveling and work. They are built to move, styled for life and focused on versatility.”

Jogger pants “put us on the map,” she said.

The La Jolla location joins 14 other stores nationwide. “We’re thrilled to be here,” Pike said. “I live in La Jolla, so I’m excited about this one.”

Learn more at vuoriclothing.com.

Field Trip Health

Combining the use of ketamine and conventional therapy, Field Trip Health recently opened in La Jolla to target treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ketamine is an injectable, short-acting “dissociative anesthetic” that makes users feel disconnected from pain and their environment.

Field Trip Health is at 8950 Villa La Jolla Drive.

(Courtesy of Lauren Cabaldon)

Field Trip Health clinic manager Lauren Cabaldon, a psychotherapist, said the use of ketamine is a “craze in the psychiatric world and is gaining a lot of momentum legally and in the medical field.” She said her clinic uses it to complement talk therapy.

“We are a sanctuary space to process trauma,” she said. During a typical session, patients receive an injection of ketamine from a nurse practitioner and then work with a therapist to process the feelings and thoughts that come up.

“Ketamine is not a traditional anti-depressant in that it doesn’t just boost serotonin,” Cabaldon said. “Ketamine can enhance our default mode network so we can take a step back and look at why I’m behaving or feeling a certain way. … It goes straight to that traumatic memory or painful self-talk and allows us to look at it differently. It allows inner healing to come up. It changes neuropathways in our brain in a way that is really lasting.”

The clinic opened Dec. 15 at 8950 Villa La Jolla Drive. Its services are partially covered by insurance.

Learn more at fieldtriphealth.com.

Blue Bottle Coffee

With most of its coffee certified organic and roasted in small batches, Blue Bottle Coffee opened in the Westfield UTC shopping center on Jan. 29.

Blue Bottle’s UTC cafe offers a rotating selection of blends and seasonally changing single-origin coffees, according to a news release. The culinary menu includes items such as Liège Wafels (a deep-pocketed Belgian waffle), ham and cheese sandwiches and avocado toast.

Learn more at bluebottlecoffee.com.

Hermosa Surf

Hermosa Surf opened in January at 5636 La Jolla Blvd. in Bird Rock.

The store, run by stepbrothers Benny Walter and Attila Betyar, offers Walter’s retro-looking but modern functioning surfboards and Betyar’s merchandise and screen-printed shirts, as well as smoothies, teas and acai bowls.

“We grew up three blocks away, so we have a lot of memories of this neighborhood,” Walter said. “We had been thinking about how to blend our skills, plus our surf and food backgrounds. We’re local and have been working in the field for the better part of a decade. We have a skill set and the knowledge to put something out there that fits with the community.”

The surfboards Walter makes are “unique in that we have asymmetrical designs and glass-on fins, which is more of a retro, old-school way of putting the fins on,” he said. “But the feel and ride of the board is more connected and seamless. ... We do some cool art and handpainted look. We do a fun little combo.”

Learn more at hermosasurfshop.com or (619) 505-0515.

Nicholas J. Vincent Salon

At the Nicholas J. Vincent hair salon in Bird Rock, customers are offered a cocktail or coffee at the start of service. Stylists even are considering adding hand massages.

“We create a nice environment, we strive to provide the best customer service we can,” said co-owner and La Jolla native Ana Batule. “We partnered with Nicholas Vincent, the head stylist and one of our partners, because he has a great reputation. He doesn’t do extensions, but he does pretty much everything else.”

Services include haircuts, Brazilian blowouts, keratin treatments, perms, highlights, balayage and all-over color, blond maintenance, root touch-ups and more.

“All of our products are natural and the companies whose products we carry strive for sustainability and clean products. We value that and we’re proud to carry those products,” Batule said.

The salon, which opened in October, is at 5707 La Jolla Blvd. Learn more at njvsalon.com or (858) 246-6021.

La Valencia Hotel

The La Valencia Hotel, La Jolla’s “pink lady” at 1132 Prospect St., is celebrating 95 years of operation and is now offering specialty cocktails, a new exhibit of archival photography memorializing La Valencia’s history, and in-person and online shopping for items featuring the limited-time 95th-anniversary logo.

Other events and activities will be announced throughout the year. Learn more at lavalencia.com.

Hotel La Jolla

Hotel La Jolla, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, is doing some facade work and painting the building in a project planned for completion by late March or early April, according to Leslie Mercado, director of sales and marketing.

“We’re holding off until the scaffolding comes down to start pushing out anniversary-related events,” Mercado said.

Hotel La Jolla is at 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive. Learn more at hilton.com/en/hotels/sancuqq-hotel-la-jolla. ◆