“Good things come to those who wait,” an old adage states. And that adage certainly holds true when it comes to veteran N2 Area Directors Rob and Christy Gallagher and their Corona del Mar community.

A number of years back, another N2 Area Director launched a neighborhood magazine that covered only a small portion of that affluent Newport Beach, Calif., community – the area running south of the Pacific Coast Highway to the ocean. Residents living on the opposite side of the highway were excluded.

Yet, the entire Corona del Mar community is united under one identity. Although it’s technically part of Newport Beach, Corona del Mar truly stands apart from the rest of the city. Need proof? It even boasts its own ZIP code.

“The people who live there, if you ask them, they will not say they live in Newport Beach,” Christy said. “They will say they live in Corona del Mar. It has its own infrastructure, library, chamber of commerce, and fire department.”

Like children not invited to a birthday party, the excluded residents were none too happy. And the Gallaghers heard them – loud and clear. The couple recognized a missed opportunity when they saw it.

So when the neighborhood publication’s prior Area Director decided to move out of the area and the publication became available, the Gallaghers began thinking about – and then, with the go-ahead from N2, planning – a larger launch. The aim was to include the entire Corona del Mar community.

“We let it sit for about six months, and then we went back out and told everyone what we were doing and how we were doing it,” Christy said. “Everybody was very excited because we were being so inclusive.”

Greet Corona del Mar officially made its debut in July 2021. The inaugural issue went to approximately 6,000 homes – about six times the number associated with the prior neighborhood publication. For the Gallaghers and Corona del Mar residents, it was well worth the wait.

“Everyone just really jumped on board with it and has been so supportive,” Christy said. “It’s been really, really fun.”

Working Together, Divvying up Duties

Well before their first Greet issue went to print, the Gallaghers had already revealed an incredible talent not only for launching magazines, but also for partnering with each other professionally. They’ve worked as a team in business for almost as long as they’ve known each other, in fact. In 1989, while they were dating, they started running a craft beer distributorship. Five years later, they sold the business and moved on to a liquor importing company.

Time and again, they proved their relationship could withstand the challenges of working together professionally, and that they both possess the drive to own and run successful businesses. Today, after eight years in print, their N2 operation is proving to be no exception.

Rob and Christy enjoy some beach time with Lucy, the rescue dog they adopted during the COVID-19 shutdown.

The Gallaghers’ first publication went to print in October of 2014. The neighborhood it covered was small, so when the couple pitched during ramp-up, business owners repeatedly suggested another area where affluent potential customers lived. With the support of these clients, Rob and Christy began ramping up their second publication just six months later.

Today, Rob and Christy run five publications. Four are Stroll magazines focusing on local Orange County, California neighborhoods. Greet Corona del Mar is the fifth – and the newest.

Although the Gallaghers continue to work as a team overall, they now split the day-to-day management of those magazines. Rob manages three of the Stroll magazines, while Christy handles the remaining Stroll publication and Greet Corona del Mar. And she is very, very excited about steering the Greet magazine. “It’s my favorite,” Christy pointed out.

Plenty of Support

From the beginning, the Corona del Mar community has been highly involved in the magazine. And it’s not just the individual residents; the local chamber of commerce, resident associations, and others have joined the party. “There’s room to do some bigger things in the community magazines,” Christy said. “We have so much more flexibility in what we can do with it.”

On the content front, many residents have been eager to put the pen to paper or capture the perfect shot. And that interest isn’t waning. In a recent issue, Christy included a call to action for writers and photographers. Almost a dozen residents responded. The result? Christy has content to spare.

“It’s nice that the community recognizes that they can use it as a tool to support each other and just to disseminate information about things going on, whether it’s charity stuff or just local events,” she said. “They’ve just really jumped on board with it and have been so supportive.

Christy and Rob pictured with their adult daughters (left to right), Samantha and Maggie.

The magazine also is “a great value proposition” for local businesses, so advertisers have been highly enthusiastic. In fact, the first renewal cycle this past summer was a smashing success.

Greet Corona del Mar counts most of the “heavy hitters” in the local real estate market as clients. The major area hospitals, including the City of Hope, a large local cancer center, are also major business partners. “They’ve got people who live in our neighborhood, so we can feature their people and get them involved in editorial,” Christy said. “So that’s been awesome.”

When it comes down to it, Greet Corona del Mar combines “the best of both worlds” – covering a universe that’s neither too small nor too large. The magazine takes the best of the earlier neighborhood publication and builds on it. “It’s not hard for the businesses to understand the impact they’re going to have getting in front of that many homes,” Christy stressed. “But it still has the feel of the neighborhood publications; it still feels super intimate.”