Community Corner

Whole Foods' Mar Vista Mixer

Mar Vista Mom Sarah Auerswald, together with West L.A. Whole Foods' Marketing Manager Katina Stallworth, held an 'eat and greet' event for local community members at Whole Foods' new outdoor patio.

Around 50 invited local guests enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine Thursday, as they snacked on fresh summer fare at recently installed outdoor patio.

The event was a mixer designed to bring the community together and Whole Foods Chef Britt Englund laid out an incredible array of summer delicacies include burrata cheese with stone fruit, crostini with spicy mushrooms, heirloom tomato skewers, and fresh seafood platters.

Organized by 'Mar Vista Mom' Sarah Auerswald and Whole Foods' Marketing Manager Katina Stallworth, the casual get-together is something both women had been looking forward to for some time.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stallworth started her job at the West LA Whole Foods in October 2010 and told Patch her first order of business was to get to know the community and to create a warm, local atmosphere. She went online and discovered Auerswald's Mar Vista Mom blog and reached out to her.

"I just love Sarah," Stallworth enthused. "We met for coffee and and she was wonderful. She introduced me to people in the community and showed me all the cool stuff that was going on in Mar Vista."

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stallworth said both women wanted to work together to reach out to the community and bring everyone together and as soon as Whole Foods' new patio was installed last month, the timing was right to finally hold the mixer.

"This is now a wonderful community meeting space," Auerswald said of the comfy lime green sofas and wooden tables. "People can come here and get together - whether it's for community meetings or just having a coffee or smoothie with your girlfriends."

Plenty of community members did indeed turn out to the event, including  Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee Vice Chair (and Mar Vista Patch columnist) Jeanne Kuntz, MVCC Vice Chair Sharon Commins, and local eco-activist Christopher McKinnon.

Local business people including real estate agent Eric Haas and chiropractor Mike Isseks also ducked out of work a little early to attend the event. Also in attendance were representatives from P.S. Arts - Sara Straubel and Heather Myrick.

The mixer also brought out a couple of minor local celebrities  -- Alejandra Schrader and Tracy Kontos -- currently appearing on Fox's Master Chef with Gordon Ramsay. Now that the show is over (although the episodes will air through August), the pair are set to open a catering business together.

As people stood around schmoozing and eating, Auerswald said, "We just wanted to have people get a sense of how great [this space is] and to see it at it's best."

Be sure to follow Mar Vista Patch on Twitter and "Like" us on Facebook.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here