Thirty years ago — before coffee chains dotted South Bay streets — Rick Hankus took a chance and decided to open Java Man in a decades-old beach cottage in Hermosa Beach. Hankus and his staff at the ...

Rick Hankus, owner of Hermosa Beach’s Java Man coffee shop, who was known as a “humble hero,” “legend” and the “kindest person” who gave back to the South Bay community and beyond, died last month. He ...