Having just secured the most awesome-ist ticket to the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Tennis Open, I figure at least a few hundred readers out there might also have tennis on the mind. Time to tune up, get your new 2014 gear, and start babbling statistics about every participating great in the upcoming March show.
Now, we all know that I prefer to focus on the best retailers, restaurants and happenings in our 5.88 miles of Laguna Beach, but I DO occasionally stray outside the geographic lines for really, really special entities.
STRING Tennis, the shop at the top west end of Dana Point, is one of those special entities. Owner Tony Krogius has been a longtime tennis pro, coach and tennis shop owner in L.A. and Orange County. Between Tony and his wife, Stephanie (who actually toured with the USTA), you have a classic, neighborly shop that does everything tennis-centric in retail sales to stringing/restringing of racquets and outfitting a multitude of teams, clubs and schools. They offer a great variety in clothing, shoes and racquets, and their sales are lively events. They live, eat and breathe tennis, and are as infinitely patient and friendly to newbies as they are to pros and coaches.
The news this weekend is that STRING Tennis is moving a couple blocks into Dana Point proper to the northwest corner of Violet Lantern and Coast Highway (just west of the infamous red Harbor House restaurant). Actual address is now 34155 Pacific Coast Highway, and you’ll find plenty of parking behind the shop. The move happens today (Sunday), and they’ll be open for business in their new location on Monday, Feb. 17th. Given that STRING Tennis is just 3 miles from the South Laguna Beach border, it’s well worth the drop-in.