Gracey Van Der Mark talks business, Streamline Surf City at Huntington Beach mayor’s breakfast

Meridith Randall has been at Golden West College for about four years, and she was recently selected as the college’s president.

She found Thursday morning’s Mayor’s Breakfast, held at the Senior Center in Central Park and hosted by the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, quite to her liking.

“I wasn’t sure if I would fit in,” Randall told the attendees. “Then I came here this morning and there were cookies on the table for breakfast. And I said, ‘These are my people.’”

The program was mostly kept short and sweet, too, with Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark issuing remarks before a small business roundtable moderated by Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board Darrin Godin.

Van Der Mark talked about the importance of supporting business growth in the community, touting the opening of Main Street.

“While we were campaigning [for election to the City Council], we had several business owners who approached us saying they didn’t know if they could make it another month,” she said. “The second block was closed, so when people would drive up the first block, they’d have to go around the second block and completely bypass the third block altogether.”

Main Street ended up fully reopened after a split 4-3 vote by the council in January 2023, though some residents seemed to support the outdoor dining that was featured on the second block during the pandemic.

Van Der Mark noted that cleaning up Main Street in general was an important task, thanking the city’s Homeless Task Force and police and fire departments.

She also highlighted the new Streamline Surf City program, which helps provide support for business projects and is overseen by the city’s community development department.

“We have many more improvements coming, with the sole intent of making it easier for you to operate,” she said.

The new city website is also coming in the upcoming weeks, Van Der Mark said, adding that it will be more user-friendly and translated into dozens of different languages.

She also touched on the “Shop Local, Surf City” campaign.

“In the coming months, staff will be meeting with representatives from various H.B. businesses to gather feedback, with the goal of building out a comprehensive campaign that benefits you,” Van Der Mark said.

City officials at the breakfast also included Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns, Police Chief and interim City Manager Eric Parra and Fire Chief Scott Haberle.