Blue Door Magazine members inspire with insights and insider info from their lives along the Orange County Coast
Photos by Brett Hillyard
Burkhart Brothers
A Q&A with Mark and Bryan Burkhart about their luxury custom home building business… and wine!
BLUE DOOR MAGAZINE: How did your success in the wine industry impact your construction business?
BURKHART BROTHERS: I look at building custom homes with the same passion I have for wine, art, history, and travel. In the wine industry, I dealt with hundreds of different wines and thousands of customers all over the country. The logistics of training, delivering the wine, and supporting the customer are enormous. Mark comes from the computer industry. The systems we put in place and the technology utilized are state of the art for residential construction.
BDM: What do your clients say are the reasons you earned the privilege to build their project?
BB:Transparency and technology. Our relationship with customers is built on trust, integrity, commitment, and excellence.
BDM: what makes a House a HOME?
BB:Making the home vibe with the client’s personality.
BDM: What’s your favorite wine region and your favorite style of home design?
BB:That’s like asking someone who their favorite kid is. Every region of the world has its own identity or terroir. When the wines are made correctly, they will reflect the region they are from. This is how the masters blind taste a wine and can tell you what it is, where it came from, and often the grapes and the vintage of the wine. Houses are very similar. When they are built correctly, the house’s quality will shine regardless of the genre. Modern, contemporary, Spanish, Craftsman, Cape Cod, Tudor—it makes no difference when they are well-built.
Burkhart Brothers Construction, Inc. | 130 McCormick Avenue, Suite 107, Costa Mesa | 949.375.6725 | burkhartbros.com
Joe Kramer
My last semester in college, I was running plans through the city of Los Angeles for a three-unit apartment project. I couldn’t wait to graduate and actually start building. Thirty years later, I have built 16 spec homes and completed an extensive amount of notable client work, including the first BONE Structure duplex in Orange County, which recently won an AIA award. Building for yourself makes you much more attentive to the process, and that same effort and sense of ownership are always extended to my clients’ projects as well.
J. Kramer Corp. | 2811 Ridge Drive, Laguna Beach | [email protected] | jkramercorp.com | 949.466.1533
Hanz Radlein
Growing up in Jamaica, I remember reading the magazines showcasing the stunning homes for sale in the U.S. Never did I imagine I would one day immigrate to the U.S. and have the pleasure of helping families acquire and sell homes similar to the ones I spent hours looking at. Helping families on the next step in their personal journey has been very fulfilling. There is so much to be grateful for: my family, great coworkers, and a warm community I call home. Here’s to the future, to living life to the fullest, and to never stop pushing.
Hanz Radlein | Compass | 30812 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach | 949.245.4470 | hanzradlein.com
Iconic Car Wash Celebrates 28 Years as a Laguna Beach Institution
I opened the car wash when I was 29 years old. I met my wife there, and we now have four kids. It’s my life. It’s our lives and I love it. So do our clients. They just keep on coming. It’s simple really. We clean cars by hand and make people happy! — Scott Thompson
Sweetwater Hand Car Wash | 1890 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach | 949.376.1706 | sweetwaterlb.com
