Jenni and Gustavo López are active realtors in Scripps Ranch who occasionally host gatherings to connect residents and promote local businesses. (photos by John Gregory)
‘Keepin’ it Scripps’
A small crowd gathered near the edge of Jerabek Park on the morning of March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, to warm themselves with coffee and hot chocolate, visit with neighbors and snack on croissants from the French Oven Bakery. This was one of the special neighborhood events hosted and organized by a friendly Scripps Ranch couple: Gustavo and Jenni López, along with Gail Faber, a local mortgage loan officer with EverBank.
These two run The López Group at eXp Realty.
“We just enjoy living here and love taking part in different activities with a lot of the friends and families that we meet,” Gustavo said. “So, through real estate we have met a lot of people who have become good friends, not just clients. We enjoy doing a lot of things to give back and keep people aware of what’s going on here in Scripps Ranch.”
On this March morning, this couple set up a canopy near the street and offered anyone coffee, hot chocolate, 200 free croissants, water and some games for children. They also held a raffle for a $50 gift certificate to the French Oven Bakery and a $50 certificate to Yanni’s Bar & Grill.
The López Group likes to help locals connect with one another and help promote local businesses such as the French Oven and Scripps Ranch resident Gail Faber, who helped publicize the event. Faber is a tireless volunteer with local schools and serves as the president of Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School’s Academic Fundraising Partnership.
“We just wanted to get local people together and have some fun,” Jenni explained, adding that they were just “keepin’ it Scripps.”
“We do two to three client events a year and a lot of it started out with previous clients and a few close friends,” Gustavo said. “Now, it’s graduated into something a little bit more. We figured that we’ve met so many great people, we’d like to make work feel a little more social, so we’ll have a few impromptu gatherings like this.”
Gustavo and Jenni are involved with local Scripps Ranch schools, the Scripps Ranch Soccer Club, Girl Scouts, the Scripps Ranch Old Pros and the Scripps Ranch Unit of Rady Children’s Hospital Auxiliary.
“I grew up here back in the ’70s,” Gustavo said. “There were a lot of dirt roads (back then).”
Following college, he worked for a few corporations, including Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey.
“San Diego was always a draw to come back,” he said. “We’re here and it’s been great. … We just always missed home and we’re back.”
Gustavo started out in the real estate business as a single agent 12 years ago. He and Jenni eventually formed their own group and his corporate experience has come in handy as the two developed their business, he said.
“We really try and just focus on being the best advocates for our clients, whether they’re buying or selling, and really doing things correctly,” Gustavo said.
“It’s kind of a boutique service,” Jenni explained. “(We) maybe just go above and beyond a little bit more for people.”
Visit lopezgrouprealestate.com or join the López Group Scripps Connect on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/181810479211938/.