Mother’s Market & Kitchen is hosting three hiring events in the weeks ahead as it prepares to open in Dana Point.
The store, which should open by spring at the Monarch Beach Promenade, will chat with prospective employees from noon to 2 p.m. March 11, March 18 and April 8.
The Dana Point location is replacing Monarch Beach Market. It will be the 12th store for the Costa Mesa-based chain.
Available jobs run the gamut of typical grocery store roles: department managers, supervisors, clerks, kitchen prep, hot foods chef, cashiers, juice bar server and vitamin care clerk.
Hourly wages start at $17 and go as high as $30 per hour. An assistant store management role was listed with an annual salary as high as $75,000.
To apply ahead of the events, go to bit.ly/dana-point-jobs.
Address: 24040 Camino Del Avion
Mountain climbers open ice cream shop at SoCo
JoJo and Matt Ichikawa are in “soft open” mode at Climb Ice Cream at South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa.
The Ichikawas are using their years climbing mountains and craggy cliffs all over the world to guide their signature concoctions.
“The ingredients used are everything, as you can imagine,” she said. “If you ever tasted ice cream churned from milk derived from cows that morning, you would taste the obvious difference, and that is what I am striving for. I have experienced this in Sweden, Nebraska, and places around the world and that is my gold standard.”
Climb Ice Cream features flavors named after terms familiar to climbers, such as pRappel (ube chocolate chip), K2 (spicy apple pie), Mount Matcha, v3 (vanilla), chocolate crux and more.
JoJo Ichikawa says all the milk used to make the ice cream will be sourced from local dairy farms. Special ingredients — like the green tea powder Matcha — are imported from around the world.
The shop also sells vegan, non-dairy frozen flavors (white chocolate raspberry and chocolate moulin). Ice cream toppings and milkshakes also are available.
SoCo address: 3303-3323 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa
Target debuting Baby Boutique
Target is launching this month its own Baby Boutique, a shop-in-shop space the retailer promises to stock with some 2,000 products.
The boutiques — envision the Magnolia Home decor space only loaded with baby clothing and merchandise — are coming to several Southern California Target stores including the Tustin and Rancho Santa Margarita locations. Others are coming to Woodland Hills, Whittier, Diamond Bar, Granada Hills, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Oxnard, Encinitas, Chula Vista and Vista.
UPPAbaby, known for its premium strollers, is joining Target for the first time. Other baby gear brands in the boutique include Bugaboo, Stokke and Doona.
For online shoppers, the baby merchandise also will be available through Target’s app and website.
Additionally, Target is expanding its free concierge system for baby products (think: baby registries). The system is appointment-based and aimed at guiding parents through its boutique, both online and in stores.
Brands you can expect to see: Joie, Nanit, Amara, Tubby Todd and Little Spoon, the Los Angeles-based brand Freestyle, Cloud Island and Good & Gather.
Coming up
The fifth annual RX3 Foundation charity flag football tournament takes place March 21 at Saddleback College Stadium in Mission Viejo.
The event brings together NFL stars including RX3 co-founder Aaron Rodgers, Carson Palmer and Bryce Young, celebrities and everyday athletes in a game that raises money for a good cause.
Since its inception, tournament organizers say the event has raised $8.7 million supporting more than 90 charities.
Spectators can expect a flag football game featuring NFL quarterbacks and celebrity players, food trucks, a halftime performance and a kids fun zone.
The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The RX3 Foundation, the charitable arm of the private equity firm RX3 Growth Partners, is sponsored by the Edward Charles Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit (tax ID 26-4245043).
For more information, go to feverup.com/m/464073
Address: 28000 Marguerite Pkwy.
On board
The Onco-Ballet Foundation, a women-led nonprofit providing free and low-cost ballet classes to those affected by cancer, recently appointed Diana Mendoza as vice president of its board of directors and Michelle Maasz Brouwer as a new board member. Mendoza is a two-time breast cancer survivor and the founder of Never Alone Candles in Irvine. Maasz Brouwer is director of Programming at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Founded three years ago by Anna Wassman-Cox, a former professional ballerina and two-time breast cancer survivor, the Irvine-based nonprofit has helped 2,000 participants in California, New York and Seattle.
Chad Lefteris, president and chief executive of UCI Health, has been appointed as a California state delegate to American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 9. He will advise on national health policy development, advocating for patients and the community. The nonprofit AHA represents and serves hospitals and healthcare networks.
Gubernatorial appointments
Cypress resident Melinda McRae recently was appointed deputy director of the Office of Communications at the California Department of Public Health where she has worked as assistant deputy director since 2022. From 2016 to 2022, McRae was acting division chief of the Office of Public Affairs at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and was the assistant director of Communications of the Office of Public Affairs at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery from 2013 to 2016. This position does not require Senate confirmation; compensation is $168,588 annually. McRae is registered without party preference.
Good works
Bio-medical students from Century High School in Santa Ana recently visited Amgen’s campus in Thousand Oaks to learn more about the company and the work it does in biotechnology. During their visit, some 25 students got a firsthand look at the scientific and operational processes, providing them an inside look at possible careers in biotechnology. Amgen develops and sells drugs for a wide range of illnesses and diseases.
Status Update is compiled and written by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.