Telepeer

How to get free Dave’s Hot Chicken on Drake’s birthday on Tuesday, Oct. 24

Some of O.C.’s best Texas-style barbecue can be found inside this liquor store

Scientists know why billions of snow crabs around Alaska went missing

Gladstones on PCH to remain open under new management

Pasadena Panda Express tests Dim Sum Bites and Boba Black Tea Ice Cream

Orange County Register

Ducks coach Greg Cronin has Arizona on his mind, not Boston

October 20, 2023

The fragrant aromas of lobster tails and clam chowder might waft through the arena Sunday as the Ducks and their New England-made coach Greg Cronin take on the Boston Bruins at Honda Center as part of a back-to-back set of games this weekend.

Cronin was born in Arlington, Mass., a few miles outside Boston’s center, and he played his college hockey in Maine at Colby (where his brother also played). He started his coaching career there as well and later had multiple stints with the University of Maine, including one season when Ducks legend Paul Kariya played for the Black Bears.

Cronin returned to Boston to coach Northeastern University, where his father, uncle and cousin had all played hockey. The Huskies went from a three-win season in his first year at the helm to playing in two Beanpot finals in three years under Cronin, including a 25-victory campaign in 2009.

Now, in his first NHL head coaching job after stretches as an assistant with the Maple Leafs and Islanders, Cronin is also being tasked with a similar turnaround, that of a Ducks team that subjected its goalies to a historically high workload and whose defensive numbers played out accordingly last season.

So far, they looked respectable on a trip to play defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas on Saturday, much-improved in their 6-3 home victory over Carolina on Sunday and then formidable in defeat after a 3-2 near miss against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

With their second back-to-back set of the young campaign upcoming – the Ducks will travel to Arizona to face the Coyotes, who beat them 7-1 in their final preseason game, on Saturday – Cronin eschewed any and all sentimentality about his hometown Bruins or Sunday’s game in general.

“I’m aware they’re coming into town, but honestly I’m already thinking about Arizona. They booted us pretty hard in the last exhibition game,” Cronin said.

Former Bruin and East Longmeadow, Mass., native Frank Vatrano and his mates on the second line pumped voltage into the Ducks for two games. The newly formed top grouping of one-time Boston University freshman Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson scored both goals in a hard-luck loss to Dallas on Thursday. Carlsson, who missed the Ducks’ first two contests with a minor injury, ebbed and flowed a bit emotionally during his debut, but was outwardly composed and ultimately effective.

“His hair could be on fire and you wouldn’t know it. He’s just a very calm kid, very confident,” Cronin said. “He’s a hard guy to read – like Frank Vatrano is a very animated guy and Leo is very even-keel – but he’s obviously a very confident guy.”

While the Coyotes will be bereft of native New Englanders on Saturday in Tempe when they host the Ducks, they’ve got one of the most exhilarating young players in the NHL. Logan Cooley torched the Ducks for three goals and five points in three preseason meetings and has four points in four games since the regular season began. Cooley averaged two points per game with the U.S. junior national team last year and nearly replicated that pace at the NCAA level with Minnesota.

The Bruins themselves feature a pair of Massachusetts natives (Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie Coyle, both of whom are also former Boston University Terriers) on the roster as well as players with NCAA connections to New England. They include another Boston University alumnus, top defenseman Charlie McAvoy, and one-time New Hampshire Wildcat James van Riemsdyk, who has three goals in three games after signing as a free agent for just $1 million. Also among them is Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University), who, like Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm, is a former Duck.

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Ducks’ Leo Carlsson expected to make NHL debut against Stars

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Frank Vatrano leads Ducks past Hurricanes in home opener of 30th anniversary season

Ducks’ 21st man is their toughest fighter yet

DUCKS AT ARIZONA

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Where: Mullett Arena, Tempe

How to watch: Bally Sports SoCal

BOSTON AT DUCKS

When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, 5:30 p.m.

Where: Honda Center

How to watch: Bally Sports SoCal

Orange County Register

No. 18 USC hosts No. 14 Utah with all eyes on Utes QB Cameron Rising

October 20, 2023

USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch sees Cameron Rising’s name on the depth chart, just like you.

He is Utah’s 24-year-old boogeyman looming over USC’s rapidly shrinking hopes for a College Football Playoff, clock ticking down on the quarterback’s recovery from a torn ACL in last year’s Rose Bowl – and meniscus, MPFL and MCL, as he revealed on an ESPN 700 show a couple weeks ago. Over the summer, Rising came back to his high school stomping grounds at Newbury Park to train, coach Joe Wyatt said, and was “hobbling pretty good.”

Within nine months, since the knee injury in January, Rising has progressed so rapidly that the No. 14 Utes (5-1, 2-1) are just “waiting week after week for a thumbs-up,” as coach Kyle Whittingham said this week.

“He’s bought all in to gettin’ back on the field,” Wyatt said, “that’s for sure.”

And Rising’s name has remained perched at the top of Utah’s depth chart at quarterback, even without taking a single snap in 2023. Backups Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes, in splitting time, have largely struggled to generate consistent offense to support one of the best defensive units in the country.

So the senior is an agile, dart-throwing X-factor for No. 18 USC (6-1, 4-0) on Saturday, earning so much respect after two dynamite performances in wins over the Trojans last year that defensive coordinator Grinch said “he’s one of those guys you circle going into the year.”

“You kinda assume, at some point, he’s going to be out there,” Grinch said Tuesday. “If it’s this Saturday, I don’t know.”

The fate of not only Utah’s season, but USC’s as well, may rest on Rising’s knee. If he magically suits up at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a clean bill of health, he’ll instantly make Utah favorites against a Trojans secondary that held strong against Notre Dame but has been depleted by injuries. One more loss and USC’s preseason hopes for a College Football Playoff are washed away, along with a thin silver lining of an undefeated Pac-12 record.

“One big win against a really good football team here next week,” Riley said after USC’s 48-20 loss to Notre Dame, “and this whole thing feels different.”

If Rising continues to man the sidelines, though – opening up the possibility of a medical redshirt, which Whittingham acknowledged this week – Johnson or Barnes will have to try to keep pace against a fiery Caleb Williams, the memory of a career-worst performance against Notre Dame still fresh.

“We took our first loss – a lot of it being on me and things like that – that I for sure use as motivation,” Williams said Wednesday.

When Utah has the ball

Expect weirdness.

In Utah’s 34-14 victory over Cal last week, after Johnson at times had been used significantly in the Utes’ run game, Whittingham and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig turned to safety Sione Vaki often out of a Wildcat formation – and watched him run for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

“Any way you can manufacture production,” Whittingham said this week, “then you gotta take a look at it.”

USC has had trouble, at times, containing scrambling quarterbacks – to make no mention of a safety-turned-running back put in strange formations. If Vaki gets a few carries again, or Johnson’s used as a designed runner, Saturday will be a test of the Trojans’ preparation under Grinch.

When USC has the ball

Williams’ explanation for Notre Dame was simple, and repeated: “A couple throws I always make, didn’t make.”

There’s ample evidence building, though, that those throws haven’t connected quite as often in a generally sterling 2023 campaign. In 2022, Williams averaged 8.6 yards per attempt and threw for 14 touchdowns against zero interceptions when under pressure, per Pro Football Focus. In 2023, with the same criteria, he’s down to 7 YPA and seven touchdowns against four interceptions.

No. 18 USC vs. No. 14 Utah: Who has the edge?

How USC’s Caleb Williams is bouncing back: ‘Lions don’t worry about that’

Few men are safe on USC’s floundering offensive line

Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch’s trust in Tackett Curtis finally pays off

USC-Notre Dame takeaways: Lincoln Riley says team has to ignore the noise

The type of pressure Williams faced against Notre Dame, simply put, was too overwhelming for the Houdini escapes he often pulls. And containing Utah is an even more daunting task for USC’s defensive line; the Utes are tied for fifth in the FBS in team sacks thanks largely to the breakout of junior defensive end Jonah Elliss.

Utah’s secondary has largely been stout, too, as cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn has been targeted 28 times and allowed just 13 catches. After no pass against Notre Dame went for longer than 21 yards, USC needs a receiver – possibly Brenden Rice, possibly Tahj Washington – to be a consistently vertical threat to stretch the field.

No. 14 Utah (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) at No. 18 USC (6-1, 4-0)

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV/Radio: FOX/790 AM

Orange County Register

Oliver Jeffers hopes to change minds. That’s why ‘Begin Again’ includes an essay

October 20, 2023

We need better stories, says Oliver Jeffers.

“Human beings are a story-driven species. We are all just a collection of stories,” he says. “You can change the story.”

The Belfast-born Jeffers and I were meeting for coffee at Traxx inside Union Station Los Angeles as midday sunlight streamed through the station’s tall windows. He’d just arrived on Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner from San Diego, where he’d had an event the night before. Jeffers is on a book tour for “Begin Again,” a new work filled with his signature visual style, wry humor and – as has been the case of his more recent books – deep concerns about the state of the planet.

“This is a difficult book to put out in the world, not because it was difficult to make, but because nobody knows what to do with it,” he says. “Its message is simple: How do we change the way that we think to a way that’s more constructive to our existence?”

Dealing with things like climate change in a piecemeal, country-by-country way is “laughably futile,” he says, comparing its effectiveness to “a non-smoking section on an airplane.”

“We have to stop thinking in that fragmented way,” says Jeffers. “Otherwise we’re done for.”

Unusual for a picture book – even one thoughtful enough to make the case for the survival of our grandchildren’s grandchildren (and generations beyond) – there’s an essay at the end where Jeffers writes, “What is this book exactly? I think it is a visual history, current review, and suggested trajectory for the human story.”

Like our conversation – which touches on climate change, income inequality, national borders and more – the essay is intelligent, passionate and, yes, funny.

“I think that took almost as long to write as the book,” he says.

Author and artist Oliver Jeffers, whose latest book is “Begin Again,” stands in Union Station on Oct. 11, 2023. (Photo by Erik Pedersen/SCNG)

Story time

When Jeffers says we need better stories, he’s not talking about what’s streaming on TV or topping the bestseller list. Having grown up Catholic in Northern Ireland – and recently moved his family back there – he’s attuned to the tales we tell ourselves, which can do everything from inspire our noblest aspirations to justify violence or hate.

“One of the things that spurred this book on was I met an old lady in Belfast once we got back just before lockdown,” he says. “I asked her, ‘Do you think we’re going to be in lockdown for a long time?’ and she goes, ‘I do. I thought this was going to be like [World War II] … but it’s not, because back then everybody tried to see how they could help. But look around, everybody’s just trying to see what they can get away with.’”

Jeffers, whose work has grown more complex after he and wife Suzanne started a family, says parenthood made him more attuned to the narratives we share.

“When our son was born, I just suddenly was aware of how bitter and angry and divided the world really seemed. That’s not the story I wanted to tell him. So I was looking at the simple beauty of being alive on earth and how easy it is to dismiss that,” says Jeffers. “It’s easy to get angry and it’s easy to feel dismayed, but there is a lot that’s going well.”

He credits Suzanne’s skills as a mother for teaching him “the most important geopolitical lessons I’ve learned in my life,” which include, “You’ll never get anybody to change their mind by telling them they’re wrong,” he says.

Books by Oliver Jeffers. (Courtesy of Philomel)

Books and music

Nearly two decades since his first picture book was published, Jeffers has become a cultural force. He’s created artwork for U2, including for its “Ordinary Love” single and “Innocence + Experience” concert tour, and designed slippers for the company FEIT. He’s given a TED talk, heard Meryl Streep narrate his book “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth” in a screen adaption and been asked to write more essays (and gotten editing help from Roxane Gay).

But Jeffers is best known to countless children and parents for his remarkable picture books, which include “Lost & Found,” “How to Catch a Star” and “Stuck,” as well as collaborations “The Day the Crayons Came Home” with Drew Daywalt and “A Child of Books” with Sam Winston. (Jeffers told me that he and Winston are at work on another collaboration.)

I ask Jeffers about “Stuck,” which is a hilarious story of a boy whose kite gets caught in a tree, and about humor in general.

“[Humor]’s a sort of sneaky technique to get past people’s defenses. It’s easy to make people cry, but it’s really hard to make them laugh. And if you can get in there, there’s a degree of trust, I think, established,” says Jeffers who credits his three brothers and life in Northern Ireland for honing his sense of what’s funny. “We find humor in everything. Nothing is sacred.”

As for “Stuck,” Jeffers says it was inspired by a real-life misadventure in Rhode Island with an expensive runaway kite. Since he can tell it’s a favorite of mine, he reveals something about the book’s conclusion (which I won’t spoil for you if you haven’t read it) and its inspiration (which I’ll share). As Jeffers was struggling to finish the book, he sat down to watch the 1969 heist film “The Italian Job” with his brother and nephews and suddenly everything clicked – and so Jeffers slipped a nod to that film and its star covertly into the book.

“So the fireman says on the very last page of ‘Stuck,’ ‘Hang on a minute, lads, I’ve got a great idea’ – that’s Michael Caine’s last line” in “The Italian Job,” he says. (The ending is hysterical whether you know that or not.)

Nor could I let the opportunity pass without asking about U2. He’d just spent time with the band in Las Vegas to see its Sphere show.

“They were terrific,” says Jeffers. “They’re just constantly pushing themselves.”

He describes his time working with the band as a total pleasure. “I was treated as a collaborator, not hired help,” he says, and laughs at how he would sometimes be there while they were making music. “I would be sometimes in band meetings … and then they’ll be asking my opinion on things like, What do you think of that guitar riff? And then I realize I’m giving them notes! What the [heck] do I know? But they were listening.”

Author and artist Oliver Jeffers, whose latest book is “Begin Again,” in Los Angeles’ Union Station on Oct. 11, 2023. (Photo by Erik Pedersen/SCNG/Cover courtesy of Philomel)

Hope for the future

Jeffers, whose characters have looked to the skies or traveled in space, draws inspiration from the overview effect – the understanding of Earth as a single, united place, which astronauts have reported feeling when viewing the planet from above.

“Frank White, he was one of the engineers at NASA, said, ‘We’re going to have to start acting as one species with one destiny; we’re not going to survive if we don’t start doing that,’” says Jeffers.

But he remains hopeful, attributing that sense of what’s possible to his late mother. “People do ask me, How do you remain optimistic?” he says.

“My mother had MS [multiple sclerosis] for my whole life; she died 20 years ago and I have no memory of her walking. And yet when we asked her how she was she would smile and say, ‘Great,’ and mean it. Because she had shifted her priorities. She was like, ‘You know what, I get to see the sunrise another day; I get to look at my four boys walking around, safe and healthy.’ And she meant it,” he says.

“Remembering just the sheer fragility and incredibleness of being alive,” he says. “It all helps.”

If you can take a longer view, Jeffers says, it’s possible to see all the ways that life has improved over the centuries.

“Things have been going better,” he says. “I do think that we have forgotten how much has gone well for us.”

Read any good books lately that you want to tell people about? Email me at [email protected] with “ERIK’S BOOK PAGES” in the subject line and I may include your comments in an upcoming newsletter.

And if you enjoy this free newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone who likes books or getting a digital subscription to support local coverage.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

‘Do Tell’ author Lindsay Lynch on achieving a life goal

Lindsay Lynch is the author of “Do Tell.” (Photo by Heidi Ross / Courtesy of Doubleday)

Lindsay Lynch’s debut novel, “Do Tell,” takes place in Hollywood and follows Edie O’Dare, a character actress who is also a source for a notorious gossip columnist. Lynch immersed herself (virtually) in sunny Los Angeles for the novel, which was a pick for a book club at Parnassus Books in Nashville where Lynch works as a book buyer (alongside her dog, Barnabus). She spoke with Michael Schaub about the book and here responds to the Book Pages questions about books, reading and more.

Q: Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

What good is having a job at a bookstore if you can’t bully people into reading your favorite books! At Parnassus, one of my long-time favorite handsells is Tove Jansson’s “The Summer Book.” It’s one of those books that works as a universal donor, you can give it every kind of reader. It follows a young girl and her grandmother spending a summer on a Finnish island — it’s short, charming, witty, and has the bonus of illustrations from the great Tove Jansson.

Q: How do you decide what to read next?

I have to strike a balance between my job at the store and my job as a writer when it comes to my reading habits. As a book buyer, I have to stay up on new releases and trends, but as a writer, I mostly want to be reading backlist and books by dead people. I tend to trade off between the two, unless I’m in the thick of book research, then I’m usually heavy on obscure nonfiction — I’m hoping someday I’ll get the balance right!

Q: Do you have any favorite book covers?

The covers for Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet always make me swoon—I’m a little more partial to the U.K. editions (because who can resist a David Hockney painting?) but the U.S. ones are perfection as well.

Q: Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend?

For whatever reason, I can’t follow fiction on audio, so if I’m listening to an audiobook, it’s probably nonfiction. I’m listening to Michael Finkel’s “The Art Thief” right now and I’m hooked!

Q: Which books do you plan, or hope, to read next?

I put up a big stink to the bookstore’s sales reps about getting a galley for Lauren Groff’s “The Vaster Wilds,” but I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t had the mental bandwidth to read it yet. For me, reading a new Lauren Groff is something akin to a spiritual experience, so I’m anxiously waiting until I can give it my full attention. I adored “Matrix” and was so happy when I heard she was writing more historical fiction.

Q: Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?

I recently achieved what I assume is the life goal of any novelist, which is receiving a note from your favorite high school English teacher. I had the greatest teacher my senior year. She was such a passionate and empathetic reader. She’d get emotional talking about characters from the classics — anything from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison — and it was an incredible reminder of how vulnerable it is to read and respond to novels with other people.

Q: What do you find the most appealing in a book: the plot, the language, the cover, a recommendation? Do you have any examples?

I’m a bit of a softie for a good love story at the heart of my books. I don’t necessarily mean it in the romantic sense, I’ll take platonic love, self-love, love of an idea. That being said, I do love a good literary romance — I reread A.S. Byatt’s “Possession” and Dodie Smith’s “I Capture the Castle” whenever I need a healthy dose of yearning.

More books, authors and bestsellers

These frightening books from 2023 are perfect to get you ready for Halloween.(Courtesy of the publishers Dutton, Little Brown, Berkeley, Hogarth, Del Rey, Tor Nightfire, Gallery/Saga, Random House & G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)

2023’s scariest books

Check out these 20 terrifying books and horror novels to read this Halloween. READ MORE

• • •

Biographer Laurence Leamer’s new book, “Hitchcock’s Blondes: The Unforgettable Women Behind the Legendary Directgor’s Dark Obsession,” looks at the filmmaker’s work through the lens of eight actresses such as Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, and Tippi Hedren, who starred in some Hitchcock’s biggest hits. (Photo by Jacek Gancarz, book image courtesy of Putnam)

Blonde ambitions

‘Hitchcock’s Blondes’ explores the director’s films with Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman. READ MORE

• • •

Long Beach’s Liwanag Literary Festival (courtesy photo of the Long Beach Public Library)

Liwanag Literary Festival

Long Beach Library will host the Filipino-American literary festival on Saturday. READ MORE

• • •

“Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life” by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the top-selling nonfiction release at Southern California’s independent bookstores. (Courtesy of Penguin Press)

The week’s bestsellers

The top-selling books at your local independent bookstores. READ MORE

• • •

Bookish (SCNG)

What’s next on ‘Bookish’

The next installment is today, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m., as Amy Ferris and Chuck Palahniuk join host Sandra Tsing Loh and Samantha Dunn to talk about their new books. Sign up for free now.

And if you missed it (or just want to relive it), watch the previous Bookish with Lee and Tod Goldberg and Jesus Trejo.

• • •

Orange County Register

How to get free Dave’s Hot Chicken on Drake’s birthday on Tuesday, Oct. 24

October 20, 2023

Dave’s Hot Chicken will be giving away a free chicken tender or slider to its app users 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, to mark the birthday of the rapper Drake.

Drake, who is an investor in the Pasadena-based chain, will turn 36 on that date. He is currently riding high on Billboard charts thanks to his new album “For All The Dogs.”

The offer is only available to in-person guests who visit a participating location and scan their app at the register, according to an Instagram post.

The chain was founded by Dave Kopushyan and a group of friends in Los Angeles in 2017 and has been rapidly growing through franchising. There are now more than 140 locations, according to representatives.

The menu is mostly sliders and tenders, which can be customized with seven levels of heat, as well as slaw, fries and mac and cheese.

Information: daveshotchicken.com

Some of O.C.’s best Texas-style barbecue can be found inside this liquor store

Scientists know why billions of snow crabs around Alaska went missing

Gladstones on PCH to remain open under new management

Pasadena Panda Express tests Dim Sum Bites and Boba Black Tea Ice Cream

Where to find the fluffiest souffle pancakes in O.C.

Orange County Register

Orange County Soccer Club rides enthusiasm into USL Championship playoffs

October 20, 2023

Orange County Soccer Club has experienced some ups and downs recently and this season has been no different.

In its 10-year anniversary season, OCSC fired its coach early in the campaign and had doubts about its future.

However, earlier this month, a new deal was reached with the city of Irvine to keep the club at Championship Stadium at Orange County’s Great Park for the next 10 years.

Five months prior, Morten Karlsen took over as interim coach, replacing Richard Chaplow in May. Karlsen led OCSC from a 1-4-3 record (9 points) to a 17-11-6 mark (57 points) and a second-place finish in the Western Conference.

OCSC will host El Paso Locomotive FC in Saturday’s first round (7:30 p.m., ESPN+) of the USL Championship playoffs.

“For any fan supporting a team, it is a roller coaster,” OCSC president of business relations Dan Rutstein said. “In 2021, we embarked on an incredible run to win (the championship) and last year, we followed that up by finishing at the bottom of the league.

“This year, we turned things around, our coach has done a remarkable job and we finished with the No. 2 seed, guaranteed of playing at home (for the first two rounds).”

The club also revealed an investment program allowing fans to buy a piece of ownership stake in the club, starting at a minimum investment of $100 up to $25,000.

“Orange County residents can’t own a piece of the Ducks or Angels, but you can own a piece of your local soccer club,” Rutstein said. “Soccer is growing quickly and we’re part of that growth. We’ve had more sellouts than ever before. We’ve sold two more players to Europe.

“There’s so much happening and we’re excited to see who wants to be part of the ownership group.”

Fans in Europe will also get an opportunity to buy an ownership stake. Orange County has partnerships with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and Feyenoord of the Dutch Eredivisie.

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Swanson: Angel City FC makes NWSL postseason with Hollywood grit

How Angel City FC found success with interim coach Becki Tweed

Angel City FC’s Alyssa Thompson, M.A. Vignola will join USWNT for friendlies

Gio Reyna scores twice in Americans’ rout of Ghana

El Paso won the first meeting against Orange County 1-0 on April 8. The second one ended in a scoreless draw Sept. 9.

If Orange County wins Saturday, it would host the winner of the San Diego Loyal SC-Phoenix Rising FC game in the second round.

“We’re hoping to have a deep run and eventually get a second start on our chest,” Rutstein said.

Orange County Register

Some of O.C.’s best Texas-style barbecue can be found inside this liquor store

October 20, 2023

Located inside a nondescript liquor store just off the 73 at the border of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, Jeff Hayes spends his Saturdays smoking and serving slow-cooked Central Texas-style barbecue from the shop’s corner deli section.

“Everybody that comes here really enjoys it,” says Hayes, founder and pitmaster of JW Hayes BBQ. “We don’t have a lot of good barbecue in Orange County, so what I wanted to do was try to stimulate some excitement for barbecue.”

Hungry? Sign up for The Eat Index, our weekly food newsletter, and find out where to eat and get the latest restaurant happenings in Orange County. Subscribe here.

Hayes started learning the ins-and-outs of proper barbecue in 2013. Soon thereafter, he entered competitions to show off his skills, which also helped him hone his craft. But the rigors of competitive cooking had him yearning to open up his own place where he could both connect with customers and focus more on his culinary prowess minus the competitive angle.

“I ended up getting burned out on doing competitions and had a hankering to get my own commercial smoker,” he says. After putting in an order request for the highly sought-after Moberg Smoker, which is prized among pitmasters in Texas and beyond, he received two 500-gallon smokers from the Texas-based manufacturer. Since February of this year, Hayes, along with the assistance of his son, Kyle Hayes, and family friend Brayden Burke, have worked at Minute King Deli serving brisket, chicken, ribs and more from the liquor store’s deli counter.

“We do it all on-site too with the smokers just outside the back of the store,” he says.

The pared-down menu keeps it simple: beef brisket, pork ribs, pork butt pulled pork, turkey, and chicken are regularly featured each week, with specials like BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, brisket burgers and tri tip making frequent appearances. Smoked mac and cheese, smoked pinto beans with jalapeños, and coleslaw sides are also available.

A tri-tip beef roast is sliced for a customer on Saturday, October 14, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

Hayes says he draws inspiration primarily from Central Texas style barbecue, but also from two lauded spots here in Southern California — Moo’s Craft Barbecue in Los Angeles and Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano, two acclaimed barbecue purveyors that also started out underground and gained traction by word of mouth.

A contractor by day, which has been his full-time job for the past 37 years, Hayes says he hopes to go full-time in the next two to three years. “I also want to add a Sunday service at some point in the near future,” he says.

Until his vision of a brick-and-mortar space become a reality, barbecue fans can line up at JW Hayes BBQ on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Find it: JW Hayes BBQ at Minute King Market, 3530 Irvine Ave. (at Bristol St.), Newport Beach; instagram.com/jwhayesbbq

Some of OC’s best bbq can be found inside The Minute King liquor store where Jeff Hayes prepares Texas-style BBQ in Newport Beach. Customer Chante Lasane picks up a bunch of pork ribs and some beef brisket on Saturday, October 14, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

How to get free Dave’s Hot Chicken on Drake’s birthday on Tuesday, Oct. 24

Gladstones on PCH to remain open under new management

Where to find the fluffiest souffle pancakes in O.C.

Ramen burgers, shaved ice, ube rolls coming to OC Japan Fair 2023

Fire temporarily closes Vine in San Clemente

Orange County Register

Ozempic threatens profits at food and beverage makers worldwide

October 20, 2023

By Bailey Lipschultz, Katrina Compoli and Angel Adegbesan | Bloomberg

A new class of weight-loss drugs has rattled global equity markets, sending shares of everything from food and beverage companies to medical-device makers tumbling. As earnings season kicks into high gear, firms are expected to reveal if consumer behaviors are being altered by the likes of Ozempic.

So far, fear has driven investors to sell consumer-exposed stocks. A basket of such companies — including Oreo cookies maker Mondelez International Inc. and Modelo beer producer Constellation Brand Inc. — is down nearly 9% since early August with losses roughly double those of the S&P 500 Index, while makers of things like insulin pumps have wiped out close to a third of their value over the same stretch amid concerns that fewer people will need their products.

Also see: Ozempic for weight loss is disrupting companies’ business model

Commentary from food company Nestle SA and alcohol purveyor Pernod Ricard SA, along with surgical-robot maker Intuitive Surgical Inc., will shed more light on the impact of Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic on consumers’ appetite and overall health Thursday.

These weight-loss drugs — known as GLP-1s — are expected to dominate corporate earnings calls. References to the injections — including Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy — have risen in recent quarters.

PepsiCo Inc. set the tone last week, saying the appetite-suppressing drugs aren’t affecting it. The soda and snack giant raised its 2023 earnings forecast as consumers splurged on higher-priced snacks. Rival Coca-Cola Co. is next to report results on Oct. 24, followed by Hershey Co. and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. next week.

“It’s going to get addressed on every one of their calls,” said Jeff Doerfler, senior lead equity analyst at Huntington Private Bank.

Broader adoption of the weight-loss drugs that cut food and beverage volumes by 1% to 2% could be detrimental to snack wrapper makers, according to Citigroup analyst Anthony Pettinari, who cut price targets on Ardagh Metal Packaging SA and Crown Holdings Inc.

Also see: Oprah Winfrey has entered the Ozempic chat

“It might represent half or more of packagers’ trend volume growth,” the analyst wrote in a note. Crown and Packaging Corp of America are among those set to commence earnings for the group on Monday.

Similarly, restaurant investors are fearing the worst, according to BTIG analyst Peter Saleh. The majority of the S&P Composite 1500 Restaurants Index has spiraled in the past two months, nearing a 12-month low last week before rebounding.

Investors will need to wait until the end of the month for results from McDonald’s Corp. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Saleh expects the drugs to have limited negative implications for food operators’ earnings. Meanwhile, Nestle SA said GLP-1 drugs haven’t had an impact on sales after the company reported that revenue growth decelerated to the weakest pace in almost three years.

“This is not the only fear impacting restaurant sentiment right now, recent consumer malaise and industry sales softness are also top of mind, but we feel the impact from weight loss drugs is overblown,” he wrote.

For health-care companies, management teams will need to assure investors that Ozempic will have little influence on profit expectations. Abbott Laboratories provided some relief Wednesday morning, reporting quarterly results that revealed growth for its medical devices across heart disease and diabetes, shaking off concerns that GLP-1s would hurt business.

“We’re not guessing anymore in terms of what the impact is or is not,” said Jared Holz, a managing director at Mizuho, adding that whether investors will believe what they hear remains to be seen.

With the market for GLP-1s possibly reaching $100 billion by 2030, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the drugs will continue to captivate investors and analysts across all sectors. Just this week, some frenzied equity investors looking to find potential winners were burned when a Chinese company apologized for misleading investors after talking up ties to the weight-loss treatments.

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