Breaking Bread

BREAKING BREAD… Squid had a lovely New Year’s Eve in the lair, but it was nothing fancy, just a dinner with friends and then a bowl of shrimp-flavored popcorn, a good book and some reflection on the year gone by.

One thing that made Squid smile was that on Dec. 14, Squid’s colleague crashed a party at the palatial home of Paul Bruno, head of local construction company Monterey Peninsula Engineering and vocal supporter of Cal Am, the investor-owned utility that serves water to the Peninsula’s taps. In fact, the party – which was ostensibly a Seaside Groundwater Basin Watermaster holiday affair – was co-sponsored by Bruno and Cal Am (both hold positions on the Watermaster board). There was valet parking, a wait staff serving hors d’oeuvres and Champagne, and two massive spreads of charcuterie and sushi.

Upon arriving uninvited, Squid’s colleague quickly ran into people they knew – dozens of them, elected and not – grazing and drinking and talking, across enemy lines.

For example, it was wild to see Rem Scherzinger, general manager of Marina Coast Water District, chopping it up with Kevin Tilden, head of Cal Am, while their respective employers are locked against each other in litigation.

Bruno explains the point of the party, a December tradition: To bring people together who may have different views but that are all part of this community, and to maybe find out that if you remove this issue or that, they may have more in common than not. That’s a vibe we all need to carry into 2024 – it’s gonna be a real one.

FOR RENT… Squid is no math whiz, but Squid knows basic arithmetic. And Squid knows that 70 percent is equivalent to a C – grade. It’s certainly not what Squid would call “exceptionally high,” but that didn’t stop the marketing team behind The Dunes shopping center in Marina from sending a year-end push announcing plans for The Promenade in 2024. “Demand Exceptionally High,” they boasted.

Exceptional, it turns out, means 70 percent of the retail space is accounted for – and that includes the Promenade’s anchor, the Cinemark Century Marina movie theater, already in operation at a massive 23,500 square feet. (Squid wore pink and went to see Barbie there on opening night in 2023.)

Beer is slated to arrive this year in The Brass Tap, at 3,200 square feet. And a mysterious grocery store – identified as a “well-known specialty grocer not yet named” – is expected in a 12,500-square-foot spot. “This leaves just 12 retail units remaining in five buildings,” the chipper announcement reads.

Just 12 units. That’s more businesses than Squid can run, even with 10 appendages to dip into the retail world.