Return to Java Point

 

Huntington Beach Cafe is Surfers' Fav Spot

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

One of SurfWriter Girls earliest blog posts is still a favorite story of ours. And the place we wrote about - Java Point Cafe - is a fav spot with Huntington Beach surfers. Especially the ones on dawn patrol, who head out  to catch the early waves. That's because the cafe opens at 6:00 a.m., or even earlier.

 

Java Point isn't just any cafe. It's inside Huntington Surf & Sport (HSS), the popular surf shop on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, just steps from the iconic HB Pier.

You wouldn't expect to find a full-service cafe in a surf shop, but there it is, a beckoning port of tranquility. HSS says that, by opening early and providing food, it shows surfers "We're here for you." 

Picking out surf gear, new sunglasses or sandals, while munching on a baked treat and getting a jolt of caffeine, is the ultimate in convenience.

 

When you're here, as SurfWriter Girls learned on our initial visit to Java Point in 2012, count on getting a big smile, expert equipment advice or updates on how the waves are breaking from Mark Reeder, who manages the HSS Surf Team. When we talked to Mark that first day he was eager to help out with board and wetsuit selections...or anything else we needed. 

 

On our return visit, Mark was still here helping people. Soon we were all catching up on what we had been doing, as if only a few days had gone by. Mark told us that he had quadruple by-pass surgery a few months ago and had just recently come back to work. He was glad to be back. As he had told us before, "It's a real family here. A pit stop for everyone"

 

Mark can't wait to get back to surfing. His doctors said that will be in August. For now he's in the next best place, at HSS where he's in the middle of the surfing action. "I see all the kids coming up competing," he said. "This is where everyone stops. From the owners of surfing brands to boardshapers to the groms starting out." 

 

HSS is the kind of place where people drop by when they're at the beach, not just to buy something, but to talk and hang out. In addition to all the surf merchandise and the cafe, it's the location of the Surfers' Hall of Fame that showcases hand and feet imprints of surf legends in cement.

 

Aaron Pai, the owner of HSS, modeled the cement walkways in and around the store after Hollywood Boulevard's famed Chinese Theatre forecourt of celebrity prints.    

 

HSS truly is at the heart of Huntington Beach and SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti are glad to know that there's always a warm greeting and a cup of Joe waiting for us at Java Point.  

     

 

 SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.