John Secretan, the “now-former owner” of Zinc Cafe & Market, talked with me Thursday to set the record straight on the rumors going around about the recent sale of his unique restaurant concept to Korean-based SPC.Thank you for reading Best of Laguna Beach.
Agree completely with NFennel - the salad bar was a differentiator - I haven't eaten there since, both because of the change in concept and the change in vibe - it lost its friendliness and uniqueness and beachy small business vibe. It felt strained and unhappy and corporate on my last visit, and I left without purchasing anything.
Darned shame that the CDM restaurant did change completely. My colleagues and I would go there just for the market salad bar. Once it was gone, so was the only unique quality of Zinc, to us. Now it's just another sandwich place and no longer in our rotation.
And that IS a damned shame. John really built such a beautiful brand in Zinc.
Agree completely with NFennel - the salad bar was a differentiator - I haven't eaten there since, both because of the change in concept and the change in vibe - it lost its friendliness and uniqueness and beachy small business vibe. It felt strained and unhappy and corporate on my last visit, and I left without purchasing anything.
Darned shame that the CDM restaurant did change completely. My colleagues and I would go there just for the market salad bar. Once it was gone, so was the only unique quality of Zinc, to us. Now it's just another sandwich place and no longer in our rotation.