The next Streets of Dreams with Marcus Lemonis brings the CNBC series right into my own backyard, as he visits Harbor Drive in San Diego.
The major term thrown around in this episode is “blue economy,” which comes up quite a bit. As Marcus explains, it refers to the businesses based on and around the water. It’s new to him and chances are it’ll be new to the viewer as well.
What’s also intriguing about this episode is that, unlike the previous three Streets of Dreams installments, this one plays out in a straight line, almost literally. Marcus starts at one end of Harbor Drive and works his way from San Diego up to Point Loma. That provides the story a different kind of structure than the ones which have come before.
He moves from the Navy, to the shipyards that build their ships, to the fish market to the fishermen and women whose products end up there. (That means this is the second time in two weeks CNBC viewers have gotten to see Marcus Lemonis on a boat.) Appropriately, the episode ends with a scene on the beach.
It might be the most talked-about of the series so far, because it also delves into environmental activism, albeit as protecting the oceans relates to economic impact on the San Diego community. This is the first episode that’s spotlighted a particular cause in addition to people’s general success stories, and that trend might continue since next week’s episode in Denver involves the marijuana industry.
This is also the first episode where it feels complete in the sense of telling one story, but also kind of like a jumping-off point for another. Marcus makes mention of the city’s tourism industry, and Streets of Dreams shows images of the San Diego Zoo and Sea World, but we don’t get to learn anything about how that works. Ostensibly, the producers want to showcase lesser-known businesses, and tourism doesn’t really fit into the “blue economy” narrative.
But it would have been nice to see a little bit about that, especially since Harbor Drive also runs right past the San Diego Convention Center, which hosts the massively popular and profitable San Diego Comic-Con. That event alone pumps thousands of dollars into the city from all around the world, so it feels like there’s an untapped subject there.
As Marcus points out, San Diego is overshadowed by Los Angeles and San Francisco when it comes to awareness on the national stage. The city has a lot more to offer than most people realize. That alone makes this worth a watch to see San Diego get more of the attention it deserves. Yet there’s a lot more than a 42-minute episode is able to cover, so maybe we’ll get a follow-up someday. But what is here, is a great showcase for an undervalued city.
Streets of Dreams with Marcus Lemonis airs Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CNBC. You can watch the first 10 minutes of this episode below.
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