Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 2, No. 7 - February 13, 2020
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............4
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................7
Classifieds............................5
Hawthorne............................3
Hawthorne Hotspot............3
Huber’s Hiccups..................3
Lawndale..............................4
Inglewood.............................5
Legals.................................6,7
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
60˚/50˚
Saturday
Sunny
64˚/51˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
64˚/53˚
Lawndale Tribune
AND lAwNDAle News
Hawthorne Press Tribune
Featuring the Weekly Newspapers of Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lawndale
Blue Butterfly Gives Wings
to El Segundo’s Night Life
By Chase Maser
It’s Sunday morning, and across from the
Civic Center on Main St., Blue Butterfly
Coffee Co. has a line out the door.
On the weekends, it’s not an uncommon
sight. Whether it’s churchgoers leaving service
or college kids trying to cram for Monday’s
exam, the venue hosts a true community
of customers giving them a vibrant, cozy
place to visit.
According to BBCC’s operations manager,
Roy Langford, extending that same comfort
and safety to the evening was a huge priority.
“It’s for community reasons, really,” says
Langford. “We used to be open until 7 PM,
but right away, we realized that people still
needed a place to go and get work done.
Especially college and high school students.
A lot of the time, they work on school stuff
and projects long after 7 PM, so staying open
‘till 10 PM means we can welcome more
customers and help them feel like they have
a save place to go.”
Coming from a background of working at
the airport, Langford has been working at the
coffee shop for the past eight months. Aside
from community reasons, he feels that BBCC
“is the perfect environment” not only because
it has the best coffee, but it also gives patrons
a variety in their coffee shop experience.
For instance, BBCC also owns Smokey
Hollow Roasters on 118 Sierra St., which
offers a mellow vibe compared to the bustling
Main St. mania.
Jon Hanks—a barista at the Main. St. location—
explains that “Blue Butterfly is like a
coffee house/diner whereas Smokey Hollow
is a straight up coffee shop.”
“People can go there and do their work.
The pace is much slower—it’s a lot more
quiet and chill. On the weekends, they close
at 5 PM, and weekdays, they’re open until 6
PM. But here, we stay open much later. We
serve a full menu, there’s more action on the
street and there’s nothing else open in town
that runs late. It’s a good thing for the area.”
And the customers agree. On any given
night, you can find entrepreneurs taking business
calls, writers burning the semi-midnight
oil on a screenplay, and of course, the anxious
student writing an essay under the wire.
“I think the coolest thing about this shop,
specifically, is the vibe,” says Eric Ward, a
consultant from Manhattan Beach. “It’s trendy
and has an upbeat atmosphere that you just
don’t find at other coffee shops in the South
Bay. I come by myself to get work done on
certain nights. I bring my wife here, and we
just had a child, so now I bring my family
here, too. It really captures the emerging
presence in El Segundo—it’s a family place.”
Courtney Ciotch, a student at LMU, usually
comes on the weekends, but whenever she
comes in for a reading or study session, she
shares that “it’s always easy to get work done.”
“I read, I journal, I study—there’s a lot
going on all the time, which I like. No matter
what time of day it is, I feel safe and that
helps me stay focused.”
Building an atmosphere of relaxation and
ease is always something that BBCC owner,
Dale Ingraham, tries to instill.
“Coffee is his hobby,” says Langford. “He’s
a creative guy—he does voiceovers and stays
busy, and wants to give people a place where
they can express their work and lives.”
Ingraham and his wife launched BBCC
around 2013 and have cemented themselves
as a community partner ever since.
Along with multiple locations and extended
hours on Main St., Melvin Oliver—shift
lead—shares how BBCC also donates product
to local events and gatherings to let people
know they’re supported.
“Every Sunday, we donate two gallons
of dark roast and light roast coffee to The
Bridge church service at the high school. We
also give them an assortment of pastries and
bagels. We donate to lots of places because
you have to give back when you can—that’s
how people know you care.”
It’s a refreshing feeling. Nowadays, it’s
easy to head into a local cafe and feel isolated
amidst open laptops and smartphones,
but the patio and inside of BBCC provides
connection.
At 8 PM on weekdays, you’ll find students
playing chess. Before a high school football
game on Fridays, families crowd in for a
snack and hot beverage before cheering on
the home team.
If you don’t want to deal with 5 PM traffic
heading into Long Beach or you’re looking to
kill some time before driving to Hollywood,
stop in for a coffee.
Blue Butterfly Coffee Co. is open from 6
AM to 10 PM every day of the week. You
can find them at 351 Main St. •