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The Del Marks a Century Of Lights for the Holidays

Someone phoned last week pretending to be Santa Claus.

I listened, pretending to be interested. I get calls like this every now and then. People saying they’ve invented perpetual motion machines and the like.

“I’m going to be at the Hotel del Coronado on December 1 for the 100th anniversary of the lighting of the outdoor Christmas tree,” he said.

“Umm,” I replied. “And I suppose you were there at the first lighting ceremony back in 1904.”

“Of course,” he said. “It was the first time anyone had thought of putting electric lights on an outdoor tree.

“And by the way, that tree, a Norfolk Island pine, was planted in 1888, the year the hotel opened. As I recall, it stood about 50 feet tall that Christmas in 1904. But now it’s about three times that size.”

He continued telling me that it took awhile before the rest of the country caught on to the idea. Pasadena was next to have a community Christmas tree with electric lights in 1909. Then New York and Boston followed suit in 1912, and Philadelphia in 1913.

The East Coast probably lagged behind California until someone invented the technology to keep the lights from bursting in freezing weather and snow, I thought.

“Listen Mr. Claus, if you’re trying to sell me Christmas lights, you’re wasting your time,” I said. “I have an ample supply left over from last year. And besides, I really need to go now. I have a column to write.

“But just in case I’m in Coronado doing a little shopping that day, where can I find you?”

He told me if I was interested in a photo op and light refreshments, he’d be on the hotel’s sun deck after the “Lighting of the Del” ceremony, which runs from 4-5:30 p.m.

“So if I happen to tug on your beard, it won’t come off, right?”

Absolutely not, he assured me.

“But it would hurt,” he added.

The annual lighting ceremony kicks off a series of holiday events and festivities, including surrey/sleigh rides, elf tuck-ins for guests’ children, cookie decorating and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner.

The production of “An American Christmas,” performed by the Lamb’s Players Theatre, runs at the hotel from Dec. 19-24 and resumes from Dec. 26-29.

For information and tickets, contact the Lamb’s Players box office at (619) 437-0600.

– – –

Nothing Fishy Here: Carlsbad-based Rubio’s Restaurants Inc. reported a 70.7 percent increase in net income to reach a record $1.4 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 26, compared with $836,000 in the like quarter last year.

Earnings per share rose 67 percent to a record 15 cents per diluted share, compared with 0.09 cents a share in the third quarter of 2003. Revenue rose 10.7 percent to $36.2 million vs. $32.7 million.

Comparable store sales were up 4.1 percent, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of positive comparable store sales growth.

For the year-to-date ending in September, net income was $3.2 million compared with a net loss of $2.3 million for the first three quarters of 2003.

Rubio’s operates, licenses or franchises more than 150 restaurants in California, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.

In a press release, Chief Operating Officer Sheri Miksa stated that the results “were driven by our team’s continued strong execution of our operations, marketing and menu initiatives.”

Traded as RUBO on the over-the-counter bulletin board, Rubio’s stock sold at $10.35 a share at the close of trading Nov. 8, up 35 cents from Nov. 5.


Send tourism and hospitality news to Connie Lewis via fax at (858) 571-3628 or by e-mail to clewis@sdbj.com. She may also be reached at (858) 277-6359.

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