CHULA VISTA – Cris Liang and Joon Lee of JCL Investments and L&A Restaurant Group have been wanting to open a Korean barbecue joint for nearly a decade, and the longtime South Bay residents are finally seeing those plans come to fruition. The team behind the Common Theory Public House craft beer gastropubs and other ..read more

SAN DIEGO COUNTY – San Diego Foundation’s announcement earlier this month that it launched an Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Fund to support leadership in and the visibility of the local AANHPI community deeply resonates with local business owner Elvin Lai. Lai is a fourth-generation owner-operator of the 71-room Ocean Park Inn hotel in ..read more

SAN DIEGO – CEDARst Companies, in partnership Bridge Investment Group, has finished construction and started leasing a $74 million apartment tower on the border of North Park and University Heights. At seven stories, The Nash at 4135 Park Blvd. has 190 apartments, ranging from 400 square feet to 800 square feet, in a mix of ..read more

SAN DIEGO – Nancy Sasaki has been President and CEO of United Way of San Diego County since 2018. A single mother and member of the AANHPI community, Sasaki worked in Austin, Texas, San Diego, Hawaii and then Los Angeles before returning to San Diego, which she called “great for my professional journey.” Sasaki grew ..read more

SAN DIEGO – What do doughnuts, noodles and whiskey have in common? Hint: Think Ocean Beach. The answer is the multi-generationally successful Yeng family – employees-turned-owners of OB Donuts that paved the way for Ocean Beach entrepreneurial restaurateurs and a renowned peanut butter whiskey inventor. Southeast Asia natives Yao Yeng and Siv Yeng, a married ..read more

CARLSBAD – The financial technology company AppTech Payments Corp. is preparing to launch InstaCash, an app that could compete with Venmo and Western Union while allowing cash transfers with greatly reduced fees. The Carlsbad-based specialty payments company built the app’s back end and is a minority stakeholder in InstaCash, AppTech CEO Luke D’Angelo said, adding ..read more

SOLANA BEACH – The cannabis industry is growing nationwide, but legal restrictions and financing hurdles are still obstacles for many businesses, especially those seeking loans. FundCanna hopes to help dispensaries and related businesses navigate those obstacles, and the Solana Beach-based capital provider has just announced its latest partnership to expand its services. The company’s new ..read more

SAN DIEGO – Artificial Intelligence has made commerce easier in many ways, but it also can cause costly and embarrassing mistakes when things go wrong. San Diego startup Log10 is focused at making AI more accurate to avoid those mistakes, and it recently got a boost by raising $7.2 million in seed funding to expand ..read more

CARLSBAD – A Carlsbad construction company that started as a two-person operation more than 40 years ago has become one of the primary builders of affordable housing in San Diego County. John Ahlswede founded Sun Country Builders in 1979 after getting his start in the construction industry as a laborer pouring concrete, a job he ..read more

SAN DIEGO — After 25 years, Biocom California President and CEO Joe Panetta is passing the torch. Biocom announced today that Panetta will begin a new chapter as President Emeritus effective Jan. 1, 2025. Biocom also announced Panetta’s successor, Tim Scott – a longtime Biocom board member who has served as board chair since 2022 ..read more