Wave mural, empanada shop adds surf feel to downtown San Clemente – Orange County Register

Sitting in front of the small empanada shop on Avenida Del Mar in San Clemente, artist Joshua Paskowitz confesss to the massive, colorful sunset mural of the city’s famous pier and the waves he started a few weeks back before could have been done now.

But he simply enjoys the process too much, sitting out in the sun, talking surfing with passersby while painting and seeing old friends again.

“I’m milking it, it’s hard,” he said with a shy smile.

“This is a tribute to San Clemente and the wealth of the past and all the great families that have had their children here and taken them to the beach and have great legacies in San Clemente.” , Paskowitz talks about the long mural of the building he is creating .

It’s the same vision Real Empanada co-owner Marcelo Nonaca, who commissioned Paskowitz to do the project, has his surf mural and new business – an easy take-out option for families who love to go to the beach create their own memories.

Paskowitz is the son of famous surfer Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, one of the earliest settlers of San Onofre, who raised nine children in a 29-foot-tall camper, long before the Live truck becomes trendy.

Paskowitz didn’t want to just paint any sunset surfer images. He wanted it to tell a story.

The piece – about 43 feet long by 8 feet high – is called “Four Generations of Surfing in San Clemente” and is a tribute to surfing’s past, showcasing the people who have shaped the culture in the town. Surfing rich town.

The final finishing touches on the painting will take place over the next few weeks, with the ribbon cutting scheduled for March 11.

Riding three of the waves will be local legends, the first being Preston “Pete” Peterson, an early water athlete who has won the Pacific Coast Surfing Championship multiple times in 1930s. He was a friend and mentor to Paskowitz’s father, who ran the first mainland surf camp from the family camp, just south of San Clemente at San Onofre State Beach.

For the ’60s era, he’ll draw John Severson, founder of Surfer Magazine, who was “a powerful influence in the art and media of surfing.”

Fast-forward to the ’80s and you’ll find San Clemente legend Matt Archbold, described by Paskowitz as the “James Dean of surfing”, who represents “the spirit of individualism, style and commitment. ” of the town.

“There are so many great characters in San Clemente, it’s easy to get overwhelmed,” he said of narrowing down his options.

The last wave represented will be the wave of the future – a passerby on the spot “capable” can stop and snap a selfie in front of the surf in high spirits.

With surfing becoming mainstream, Paskowitz said he worries the stories of those who have shaped the culture – like his father – will be lost, so he dedicates himself to sharing the that story. He currently has an exhibit at the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum.

He loves telling stories to curious passersby while he paints.

Nonaca also envisioned a mural that embraces the surfer vibe of the town, fitting in with why he and his cousin, Kenny Porter, opened the empanada. The businessman and artist was instantly successful with their shared love of surfing and strong family ties.

Nonaca grew up in Los Angeles, but said as a child he frequented South America’s Orange County to visit an uncle, who would take him to T Street, where he learned to ride the waves.

As a teenager, he moved to Argentina and attended college, fueled throughout those years by savory pastries found in small shops around the country.

Twenty years ago, when deciding where to live when he returned to the United States, Nonaca said he thought about those nostalgic years as a kid riding the waves in San Clemente.

But something was missing in this town he loved. There seem to be few options for quick meals for families going to the beach, he said.

So he said he told his cousin, “Let’s create something of a lifestyle. A healthier way to live, be active, surf and beach. Let’s rebrand. empanadas for lifestyle.

“We wanted to represent something that is beach-friendly food,” he says.

So they renovated an old insurance business to set up shop in the middle of a pandemic and opened a few months ago, using a recipe Nonaca learned in Argentina, a baked version of savory buns as opposed to savory. fried foods found in other South American countries. .