CATCHING THE BIG ONE
Orange Inn at Quiksilver Result of Surfing Ties
By JENNIFER BELLANTONIO
For Quiksilver Inc.’s Bob McKnight, there was,and still is,nothing better than the Orange Inn in Laguna Beach.
“It was always a great spot to go for after-surf lunches,” McKnight said of the beachside juice bar and eatery. “It was an icon.”
So when the chief executive of Orange County’s largest surf-wear maker was thinking of ways to perk up Quiksilver’s Hunting-ton Beach headquarters a couple of years ago, the Orange Inn came to mind.
Of course, McKnight was eating there at the time, alongside high school surfing buddy and Orange Inn owner John Bodrero.
“One day I was down at the Orange Inn and I say ‘Hey, John why don’t you put an Orange Inn inside our building,'” McKnight recalled. “We all laughed about it. And then we said, ‘Let’s really get serious about this.’ We lease him the real estate and he runs the business.”
The Orange Inn stand at the back of Quiksilver’s main building is a sign of how deep bonds run in the tight-knit surfwear industry.
Quiksilver and the Orange Inn are a perfect match, according to McKnight. The eatery offers fair prices and a healthy menu, he said. His favorite: an albacore and avocado sandwich, fresh-squeezed orange juice and smoothies.
The Orange Inn “fits in the scene with our beach culture,” McKnight said, and has turned into a gathering spot for workers who buy lunch and hang out at tables near the cafe.
“A lot of our really good ideas come from hanging out and talking among each other,” McKnight said.
The restaurant also caters Quiksilver’s in-house sales meetings and other events.
“I don’t pry into John’s numbers but I’m sure it’s working out just fine for him,” McKnight said. “And it’s working out great for Quiksilver.”
McKnight said he started eating at the Orange Inn in his teens and early 20s, having California date shakes and sandwiches after surfing with his buddies, including Tom Holbrook, Quiksilver’s executive vice president of sales.
The group would surf up and down the Southern California coast and found a hot spot just off the then-undeveloped coast of the Irvine Ranch.
The area, at the northern tip of Laguna Beach, was home to some of the best surfing, fishing and diving in the county. And it marked the original spot of the Orange Inn, a Pacific Coast Highway landmark for more than 50 years. It was said to be the only business amid miles of farmland and cattle.
“Everyone would come up after surfing and see us,” said Bodrero, who visited the spot as a kid and bought the restaurant in 1971. “We’ve been pretty connected with the beach for our entire existence.”
About 15 years ago, the Orange Inn moved to South Laguna Beach (it’s still on Pacific Coast Highway) after The Irvine Company began developing the eatery’s original spot.
Dating back to 1931, the Orange Inn is one of the county’s first juice bars and counts famous surfers such as Jeff Hackman as patrons. The restaurant, which has gained acclaim from local and national magazines, still draws throngs of locals and tourists.
