Newport Beach residents and visitors will have another healthy food option when Toastique makes its California debut in the community of Balboa Island.
The new location at 226 Marine Avenue is owned by Orange Seed LLC, which is made up of Lyndon Baptiste, Rhea Cayenne and Lesley and Anthony Capolino.
The company is a family affair; Lesley Capolino and Lyndon Baptiste are siblings.
“We were trying to find something to do together as a family, and my sister-in-law has always been interested in the food business,” Capolino told What Now Orange County. “We started doing some research. We wanted healthy options. We had noticed that this space on Balboa had been empty for years, where the old Starbucks used to be. We figured it would be great to bring something fresh and something new to Balboa Island.”
They are currently waiting on inspections and getting ready to start training, with plans to open in September.
And the people of Newport Beach seem to be excited for it; Capolino told What Now Orange County that people have been trying to open the door, thinking it’s open.
Founded in 2017 by Brianna Keefe in Washington D.C., Toastique is known for its gourmet toast, including the Avocado Smash (avocado with watermelon radish, marinated tomatoes, chili oil and microgreens on multigrain toast) and the Smoked Salmon (smoked pastrami salmon, herbed cream cheese spread, arugula, cucumber, pickled onion, capers, toasty seasoning, microgreens and lemon twist on sourdough toast).
Capolino said she enjoys the Tuscan Tuna (tuna with sundried tomatoes, capers, scallions, herb vinaigrette, balsamic glaze, kalamata olives, tomato, bibb lettuce and lemon twist on rustico toast).
Also on the menu are smoothies, juices and bowls, including the Black Mystique (activated charcoal, blueberry, strawberry, banana and coconut water topped with granola, kiwi, strawberries, coconut, Goji berries and honey drizzle).
Orange Seed LLC plans to open more Toastique locations along the coast.
“We want to get this baby up and running, get comfortable there,” Capolino said. “We would like to go into Huntington Beach, and maybe another location in Newport as well.”
Toastique currently has locations in D.C., Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah and Virginia.
