“The local high school’s sports teams are a huge part of what we do at Newport Rib Company. We’re really involved with Estancia High School and Costa Mesa High School athletics – we host big events for both programs throughout the year. Maybe eight, twelve, twenty events – it’s so many we lose count – and that’s for each of the schools.
“The most fun, by far, has got to be the Battle For The Bell. We host that every year. It’s the big Costa Mesa football rivalry, a game between Estancia and Costa Mesa. The winning football team gets to come here after the game and we lay out an all-you-can-eat rib feast. The kids in the stands will wear bibs that say, ‘Bring On The Ribs,’ and then they’ll come join us after the game and we just have fans taking over the whole restaurant. It’s great to be smack in the middle of the community for that one night a year.
“We also do the Hi-Time Charity Chili Cookoff, each year. We enter our chili and it’s a great time. The money from that event goes back to the Boys And Girls Club of Orange County – so it’s a great, local cause.
“Newport Rib also does other community events like the Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, Costa Mesa United Golf Tournament, we’ve done a couple of events for Girls Inc. Those are just a few I can think of off the top of my head, and a lot of those mentioned were done for free. That’s because we try, every day, to embody the spirit of giving back.
“This is our town. We grew up here. Our parents raised us with the understanding that this city has been really good to us and so, in turn, we should be good back to our city. We do the things we do for our love of Costa Mesa.”
– John Ursini, Newport Rib Company, Costa Mesa
