San Diego stores: New ethical marketplace, one-day Starbucks discount, La Jolla eatery’s rotating menu

Shopping local and with ethics in mind

A new ethical online marketplace called Purposer is connecting ethically minded buyers with ethically sourced products from San Diego and beyond.

The company, based in La Jolla, was founded by Joline Mann, a lover of travel, shopping, entrepreneurship and social impact. She launched Purposer to combine all four.

Her goal: create “an online marketplace where we could support all these amazing brands with purpose and give online shoppers everywhere an opportunity to discover products that change the world,” Mann writes on the website.

Local brands selling items on Purposer include The Cottage (with granola), The Wave Collection Jewelry (selling handcrafted, sustainable items), Shore Buddies Sustainable Stuffed Toys (made from recycled water bottles) and Kind Life Goods (which sells candles with a cause) and Faro Board Bags (which makes sustainable surf gear).

Friday: $6 treat day

This is not a new deal, but ICYMI: This Friday at participating Vons with in-store Starbucks cafes, you can pick up any 16-ounce drink — a size known as a “grande” at this chain — plus any pastry for $6. The promo price is valid all day.

This special, which surfaces on occasional Fridays, has been around for a while, though its price has changed. Its formal name is Friday Love, but digital breadcrumbs reveal it used to be referred to as $5 Fridays.

A promotion at some Starbucks inside some Vons features $6 drinks and pastries on some Fridays.

(Roxana Popescu/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

New weekly global menu in La Jolla Shores

La Jolla’s THE CORNER Mercantile & Eatery is trying something new: a happy hour on Tuesdays and weekly chef dinners on Wednesdays.

Last week, the restaurant and market inaugurated a “Tasting Tuesday” promotion with discounts on drinks and rolled tacos from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

“Unwind on our patio in the heart of La Jolla Shores with our Tuesday Night Tasting, featuring selections from top breweries and wineries. After you have a taste, we invite you (to) keep the good times rolling with $2 off additional drinks,” its website says.

The menus on Wednesday feature food from around the world. March 6 was Hungarian cuisine and last week was Korean. Maori food is this week and March 27 will be Egyptian. To reserve, call (858) 246-6294 or stop by in advance at 8080 La Jolla Shores Drive.

Dinner prices aren’t listed online, and someone from the restaurant did not immediately respond to an interview request.

One door closes, another opens

One way to tell this story: Coop’s West Texas BBQ restaurant has grilled its last rack of ribs. The venerated Lemon Grove barbecue joint closed its doors Sunday after more than a decade.

One more way to tell that story: In an act of resilience and resourcefulness, Coop’s owner said he’s shifting from a restaurant to a catering and pop-up business model.

In a candid live Instagram post, Brad Cooper, aka Coop, talked with visible emotion about how business slowed during the pandemic and didn’t recover — due to factors including rising gas and food prices — which led to a reliance on loans and a recent crowdsourcing campaign.

The COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 business climate “has taken a strain on a lot of small businesses. Coop’s West Texas Barbecue has been no exception, folks.”

While challenges started years ago, a few months ago “I started to feel the walls closing in on us,” he said.

Cooper thanked the building’s landlord for being “a blessing to me and my family.”

Here’s the good news for lovers of his brisket and cornbread: Coop’s food will be back in circulation though continued catering and new pop-ups.

“I still have a lot of hope in Coop’s,” Cooper said.

One big hope is collaborating with local breweries. “If you guys hear this, message us,” he said on Instagram.

He closed with a plea.

“Support your local small businesses,” he said. “A lot of them won’t tell you because of pride, but I know. I know. Everybody I talk to says, ‘Man, it’s been rough.’ Support your small businesses.”

Do you know any stores or eateries that are opening or closing? Do you have a tip about San Diego shopping deals or news? Send me the scoop: roxana.popescu@sduniontribune.com.