Bella Vista Social Club and Caffe sits atop the mesa of La Jolla, nestled in next to some of the world's premiere research institutes such as the Sanford Consortium, Salk Institute, and UCSD. It's no surprise then that the restaurant/bar/event space is a hub for scientists, professors, professionals, locals, and visitors from around the globe. With so many great creative minds coming together, it made sense to add another artistic element - live music. Since launching in 2014, Founders Amanda and Nico Caniglia have made Bella Vista a hot spot for local music with sunset shows (overlooking the cliffs of La Jolla) every Thursday and Friday. GigTown partnered up with Bella Vista early on and besides bringing local artists more gigs, the partnership has led to something more... love. Read on the hear the story of how the King Taylor Project was formed :)

One of my first jobs was waiting tables at a restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. My boss always treated her employees well - awesome family meals, an end-of-shift drink, and she always stood up for us when we had to deal with a rude customer. She always used to say "I treat my employees the way I want my customers treated." It's true. One could say the same about music venues. Coffee shops, family owned Italian restaurants, beach side bars - Establishments who support their local musicians, are not only good for their own customers, but for the cultural identity of the entire city.

As we've grown to know a number of venues around our own town of San Diego, we've decided to turn our attention to the ones making a conscious effort to promote local music.  We'd like to start this series with a very special venue in Encinitas, California called Le Papagayo. It is one of a few establishments in the entire county that hosts live music 7 days a week, and they seem to be doing everything right.