SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsNoor makes SLO a Jewelry DestinationTuesday, May 23, 2006The owner of Blazing Blenders Juice Bar has opened a jewelry store in its place at 1108 Broad St. across the street from Big Sky Cafe. The juice bar will reopen at a larger location on Higuera Street early next year.Noor Jewelry, which opened May 11, is the latest effort of Alexander Raissipour, owner of Blazing Blenders, and Adrian Bray, a local independent financial manager. While neither has a background in jewelry, Raissipour said they're turning their "layman’s interest" into a business. They plan to offer artistic and high-end jewelry at reasonable prices and do custom-design work. The store showcases work by local artist Ron Wilson of Morro Bay. Raissipour said that he's not concerned about the concentration of jewelry businesses in downtown San Luis Obispo, and instead sees it as a boon for all of the stores. "We hope to make downtown more of a jewelry destination. The more of us there are, the better for everybody." The partners selected the name Noor, which means light in Farsi, because of its connection to two of the world's largest diamonds. The Koh-i-noor, a 105-carat diamond, belongs to the English crown jewels collection, and the Darya-ye Noor, a pale pink 182-carat diamond, is part of the Iranian crown jewels. Tags: San Luis Obispo Central Coast Shopping Visit the Village!Saturday, May 06, 2006Needless to say, I enjoy a glass of wine on occasions while visiting friends or going out to dinner. I've visited many places and try to visit wine tasting rooms when time allows. Most wine connoisseurs and novices alike know of Napa Valley but now there is a second wine region that is rapidly becoming just as famous.The locals refer to it as the Central Coast and it is comprised of several wine regions including, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley, (where the movie 'Sideways' was filmed), Santa Maria Valley, Arroyo Grande, Edna Valley, and Paso Robles. Out of these, Arroyo Grande was my favorite to visit. Arroyo Grande has a unique Old Western Village that is quaint and charming with restaurants and shopping. Part of the old stage coach route from the 1800's Arroyo Grande hangs on to its rural roots. Some of my favorite places to eat were Klondike's Pizza, Gina's Italian, Taco Loco, F. McLintocks steak and saloon, and Village Café. You can see some of the attractions online at www.arroyograndevillage.org . One in particular event that gets a lot of attention is the annual Memorial Day weekend Strawberry Festival. There are many local and national vendors, rides, music, and of course, lots of strawberries to be eaten. Just outside of town are several wineries and tasting rooms, sporting some of the world's finest wines. For travelers coming from the south on the 101, there is a great place to find luggage and accessories called Luggage Base right off the freeway. They are normally an online retailer, but they do have a show room and you can get great deals on luggage. If you're traveling from the nouth on the 101, you've got to visit Simply Scrappin', the Central Coast's best selection of scrapbook albums and supplies! Lots of women visit the store while on vacation along the Central Coast and scrapbook while their husbands are out playing golf. Just to the west 3 miles of Arroyo Grande is Pismo Beach for you who enjoy the beach. And to the east 10 miles is Lopez Lake and campgrounds. Besides the great beauty, the weather is always great in this region, usually 60-75 F all year round. There are few places left that give you that small town western feeling, Arroyo Grande still has it. I do recommend a weekend visit and for longer stays you can venture 10 miles north to San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach. Read More
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