It looks like Westwood Village is getting a new sandwich shop. There’s window paper up at 901 Westwood Blvd in Westwood Village, formerly home to the UK grab-and-go sandwich chain Pret A Manger, announcing the arrival of Ghost Sando Shop. Ghost Sando Shop has a smattering of locations around LA (and one in Idaho) and offers a menu of proprietary sandwiches made with house-made specialty sauces.
(Photo credit: Barry Nelson Brams)
Yet another addition to the Westfield Century City Shopping Center food scene. There’s plywood up on a second floor space announcing the arrival of Hey Tea. Hey Tea began life in 2012 in Guangdong, China and offers a proprietary “New Style” of tea that uses “real milk, real fruits, real premium tea, and real cane sugar” with intriguing flavors such as “Longjing cheese milk tea“, “crisp grape boom“, and “supreme brown sugar bobo milk tea“.
There’s new window paper up on the space at 1348 3rd Street Promenade, previously home to a convenience store and Trimana before that. The new resident is BROT Doner Cafe Bakery. While I don’t yet have confirmation, there is another BROT in LA, on Hollywood Blvd., and I’m assuming that the two are related. The Hollywood BROT prides itself on the “authentic taste of Berlin street food”, and you can check out their menu here. This should be a welcome addition to Downtown Santa Monica’s rapidly evolving entertainment zone.
A fresh new drinks concept is landing in The Westfield Century City Shopping Center, and it’s brought to you by everyone’s favorite craveable fast food provider Taco Bell. There’s plywood up on one of the spaces in the food court announcing arrival of Live Más Café. And what pray tell is that? According to their website, Live Más Café serves the full Taco Bell menu, with the addition of specialty drinks served up by a “Bellrista”. Look for “Crave-worthy coffee, creamy chillers, light and fruity refreshers, bold energy drinks, and seasonal creations“. They are shooting for a Fall opening.
It looks like Westwood is getting a new bakery. There’s a banner hanging on the front of the old La Table de Sophie space at 1386 Westwood Blvd announcing the arrival of Tak Bakery. Tak Bakery has a location on Ventura Blvd in Tarzana and specializes in traditional Persian cakes, sweets, and coffee.
(Thanks B!)
If you’ve wondered about the construction at 523 Rose Avenue in Venice, most recently inhabited by Cinque Terre West, we now have answers. This will be the home of Sticky Rice according to their Instagram page. Billing itself as “your friendly neighborhood Thai kitchen”, Sticky Rice has four other LA-area locations and offers an extensive menu of classic curries, noodles, and rice dishes as well as signature dishes such as “crying tiger” (Grilled marinated skirt steak, papaya salad, sticky rice, and spicy jeaw sauce).
Ever since the implosion of erstwhile darling Umami Burger a while ago, the space at 235 Main St in Venice has sat empty. That’s about to change. A banner over the front of it lets us know that LA Urban Fitness is set to open a cafe and nutritional supplement shop. LA Urban Fitness used to occupy the nearby space at 3015 Main St in Santa Monica, just a few blocks away. If they follow their old model, we can expect a menu of smoothies, cold-pressed juices, Groundwork coffee, and snacks.
Recently, there has been a lot of activity in the old Overland Cafe location at 3601 S Overland in Palms. Construction has been fast and furious, and now we know what’s going on. Signs recently went up on the space with one stylishly lettered word: Starlings. As it turns out, this will be the home of the new Cafe Starlings. What is that? What Now has more information on the new eatery here.
There’s a giant banner hanging over the old Persian Gulf Restaurant space at 1389 Westwood Blvd in Westwood. It appears that a new venture, Vatan, is moving in. I can’t find a lot of information on the eatery, other that “modern Persian cuisine” will be on offer. If you have more info let me know…
Growing java chain Sana’a Cafe appears to be heading to Santa Monica. There’s a banner over the new build-out at 1302 Pico Blvd announcing the arrival. Yemen has a strong tradition of coffee, where it has been cultivated for over 500 years. Sana’a Cafe honors this heritage by “sourcing the finest organic beans from Yemeni highlands”. Sana’a Cafe has 7 other locations across California (and a new location coming to Westwood as well) and offers an extensive menu of Yemeni specialty drinks, espresso drinks, and teas.
(Thanks Rob!)
Cafe Zella quit their longtime location at 1531 Wilshire Blvd a few months back. Never a big splashy restaurant, the quiet little cafe served as a neighborhood breakfast and lunch staple, catering to the medical crowd on the other side of Wilshire. Now a new eatery is looking to fill in the gap. A window poster is announcing that Wellside Cafe is taking over the address. The poster is promising coffee, breakfast, and lunch, but you can get a much better idea of what is coming by checking out this Santa Monica Sun article.
(Thanks Sean!)
It looks like a new smoothie and tea purveyor is moving into the old Junbi location at 10967 Weyburn Ave. in Westwood Village. Specializing in ceremonial grade matcha, tea grown on their own plantation in Taiwan, and avocado and durian smoothies, Citeadrinks currently operates two other LA area locations, in Rowland Heights and San Gabriel. They are planning on an August grand opening.
A new Taiwan bubble Tea shop is opening up at 9607 S Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills. But not just any shop. Bright red window paper is announcing the arrival of Gong Cha. Gong Cha began in Taiwan in 1996 and have since spread to 2,100 stores worldwide, including a few in SoCal, with a vision “to serve a billion cups of happiness”.
Brentwood’s popular pie purveyor Flour Pizzeria is expanding to Beverly Hills. There’s window paper and construction at 243 S Beverly Dr, formerly home to Upper Crust Pizza, confirming the news. Flour Pizzeria promises “artisan-level” New York-style pies at “fast-food pricing” and certainly has become the spot in Brentwood to grab a crispy slice (or a whole pie).
SOCALO, the acclaimed restaurant from busy celebrity chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, closed in February citing fallout from COVID and industry strikes. But the location at 1920 Santa Monica Blvd isn’t staying empty for long. There are window posters up announcing the arrival of Metro Cafe. Metro Cafe has locations in Culver City and El Segundo and describe themeselves as “sustainable and locally sourced food with a friendly ambiance”.
(Thanks Carol!)
Last month I told you about hip lifestyle brand Cotti Coffee moving into a space on Lincoln Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica. The brand’s second Santa Monica location will be located at 1353 Third St Promenade. Cotti Coffi began in China in 2022 and has quickly risen to a presence in “33 countries with 18,000+ stores, [and is] ranked 3rd globally.” The menu offers innovative drinks, light meals, and merch.
There’s a new healthy option moving into 4325 Glencoe Ave Unit C1, in the Marina Marketplace shopping center. Organic Planet Deli has their signs up and they look close to opening. I couldn’t find a lot of information on the new deli, so if you know more, let me know…
Update: Organic Planet is now open. More info here….
It looks like a new South Asian concept is coming to Santa Monica. There’s a window poster up on the old Tumbi space at 115 Santa Monica Blvd. announcing the arrival of Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen. With two other SoCal locations and a Michelin nod, Khan Saab is a “bold, modern expression of South Asian cuisine” and offers a menu that is 100% halal, including a craft non-alcoholic bar. Expect steak, kabobs, a wide selection of curries, biryani, and street eats. Read more about this exciting new eatery, including the backstory of the chef and his association with the previous tenant Tumbi, here.
With the depressingly high number of vacant storefronts in Downtown Santa Monica, one glimmer of hope is that there appears to be a number of new eateries moving in. There is a small Coastal Commission pending application on the front of 1403 Third St. Promenade that gives us the name of Mezemex Mexican Grill as one of these new eateries. This space was previously the longtime home of a branch of Wetzel’s Pretzels. I can’t find much information on this business, so if you have info, let us know.
Toddrickallen 