Business Roundup: Wellness offerings ‘from the inside out’ open in La Jolla
Also new in town are The Hive speakeasy and financial advice from Van Whiting.
Businesses covering everything from wellness to the wallet are arriving in La Jolla. Here’s a look at recent and planned openings.
Skyn Alchemy
As the only hydrafacial master-trained studio in La Jolla, Skyn Alchemy has a number of tricks up its skin-care sleeve. The studio, which opened this spring at 7454 Girard Ave., offers a variety of types of facials and skin treatment technology.
“We want to make sure we don’t damage the skin and help it get proper care,” said owner Lindsey MacGrath. “I feel like the [aesthetician] field is heading toward creating awareness about the skin and how it reacts to different treatments. We don’t go to the gym once and expect perfect abs for two years. … The same thing goes for the skin. Like our muscles respond to repetition and nutrition, so does the skin.”
To that end, Skyn Alchemy offers hydrafacials, oxygen facials, peels, hair removal and more.
“We have some of the newest machines and techniques available,” MacGrath said. “A lot of people like coming to us because we don’t upsell to Botox or something. I hear from clients often that people love our space and our aesthetic. I’m proud of what I created.”
To learn more, call (619) 323-1721or visit skynalchemylajolla.com.
VitaLab Wellness Med Spa
After 20 years in naturopathic medicine and 10 years in La Jolla, Dr. Erica Oberg recently opened the VitaLab Wellness Med Spa to offer clients “all the tools in my toolbox” for regenerative health and wellness.
“I want people to walk out feeling better than when they walked in,” she said.
Options include intravenous therapy, injectable vitamins, anti-aging and aesthetic treatments such as Botox and hair restoration, body contouring and weight loss, coaching and support and more.
Clients can choose from a menu of services but also can “sit down with us and map out their treatment plan and what that might look like for a more holistic approach,” Oberg said. “We can offer lab testing and medical services and weave in other services as well.”
She said many of her clients come to her for anti-aging “from the inside out,” which can mean supplementing nutritional deficiencies or hormones and creating an exercise program, coupled with surface changes.
VitaLab is at 8861 Villa La Jolla Drive. Learn more at (858) 999-0159 or vitalabwellness.com.
Easy Way to Live Well
Looking to treat the body and mind at the same time to relieve various ailments, Easy Way to Live Well was opened this spring by La Jolla resident Leticia Oliveira to offer hypnosis with a holistic health and nutrition practice.
Oliveira said she offers “customized coaching for each individual based on their lifestyle and needs, such as dietary needs, how much time they have and their goals.”
“Whatever we feel in our body starts in the mind,” she said, so she uses hypnosis to try to unlock the root cause of an issue.
Oliveira also creates a nutrition education program for clients and teaches them how to better understand what is going into their bodies and how it affects their ailments.
“You get relief in your body and start feeling better,” she said. “It’s a comprehensive mind and body transformation.”
To help patients become more comfortable with hypnosis, Oliveira said she offers a free 60-minute consultation to explain the process and create a plan. She said she also integrates existing care such as medications or other treatment plans if needed.
“It’s about finding long-lasting solutions,” she said.
To learn more, call or text (973) 856-4012 or visit easywaytolivewell.com.
Juice Cafe La Jolla
Joining the local lineup of coffee shops and juice bars, Juice Cafe La Jolla plans to open this week at 1122 Wall St. to offer some of both — with a twist.
The shop’s offerings include Hawaiian coffee and cold coffee drinks, pressed juices, smoothies and teas, plus boba (tapioca pearls).
The La Jolla location, owned and operated by husband and wife Carlos and Marilyn Pulliam, is the second San Diego-area Juice Cafe franchise; the other is in El Cajon.
“We like to have fun little things you can add to your drinks with the boba,” Carlos Pulliam said.
The La Jolla shop will not serve food for the first month, but it intends to eventually offer sandwiches, salads and pastries. A website is being developed.
“I also want to do protein shakes because I am a fitness freak,” Pulliam said. “I’ve been playing with recipes so we have a variety. And we plan to offer organic and gluten-free options at the La Jolla location.”
The couple wanted to open in La Jolla because they would spend many of their days there while growing up in San Diego.
“La Jolla speaks for itself; it is such a beautiful place,” Pulliam said. “We have been talking about this place for a few years now, so when it came to locations, we knew we wanted La Jolla.”
The Hive
A speakeasy known as The Hive officially opened June 20, tucked within the Beeside Balcony Mediterranean restaurant at 1025 Prospect St.
The Hive offers an array of handcrafted cocktails “that pay tribute to the iconic libations of the 1920s,” according to a news release. A bar menu of food also is available, and there is live entertainment on select evenings.
Being a speakeasy, The Hive is accessed via a hidden door at Beeside Balcony. Guests need to know the password to enter. To find it, follow @thehivelajolla on Instagram.
“We wanted to create an immersive experience that captures the essence of the Prohibition era, offering our guests a chance to step into a world of clandestine charm and extraordinary entertainment,” said Beeside Balcony owner and chef Christophe Cevasco.
For more information, visit beesidebalcony.com.
Van Whiting financial advice
For those who have various people handling their money, former La Jolla resident and registered investment adviser Van Whiting wants to bring everyone to the table.
“Most people already have a Realtor or an estate planning attorney, an accountant, a stockbroker or somebody that does their taxes,” he said. “But those people don’t talk to each other and they often don’t know what the other ones do. That’s what I do.”
Beginning with an opening planned for Monday, July 10, at 7449 Girard Ave., Whiting plans to offer financial advice, lectures and workshops, plus family mediation and guidance “about everything with a dollar sign on it.”
“I’m not an attorney, so I don’t draw up wills and trusts, but I read them and I make suggestions on what they should ask their attorney,” he said. “A lot of people have somebody to prepare their taxes, but are they getting every tax advantage? I don’t prepare the return, but I make sure they’re getting what they should.”
After decades of teaching economics and politics, Whiting started teaching international investment at UC San Diego in La Jolla. After realizing the impact the course had on his students, he switched to the private sector.
“One of my boys went to La Jolla Elementary [School] ... so I know the area well and found this really nice space and am happy to be here,” he said.
To learn more or schedule an appointment, call or text (858) 232-2524. ◆
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