A great many of you have been carefully checking for information ever since I first told you about Santa Monica’s upcoming branch of North Italia, taking over the erstwhile Buca Di Beppo space at 1442 2nd St. in Downtown Santa Monica. You’ll be pleased to know that according to the notice on the door, North Italia will officially throw open its doors on May 30th. We wish them the best of luck.
It appears that popular expanding fish bowl chain Mainland Poke has secured their location in Beverly Hills. Paper covering the windows at 130 S. Beverly Dr., right next to Blue Bottle Coffee, is announcing their impending arrival. And according to Eater, this branch will be serving beer and wine.
It was back in February that I first noticed the plywood covering the old Seaside Grill space at 109 Broadway in Downtown Santa Monica. I was lucky enough to run into the owner, Marc Moubarak, who informed me that the name of the new restaurant was going to be Air Food, and the menu would be French. Air Food will officially open its doors on Wednesday, May 24th. Last Saturday night, I had an opportunity to have a look around during Air Food’s “VIP soft opening celebration”. The menu, designed by Chef Thierry, was still being finalized, but what was on offer on Saturday was decidedly French with some Asian influences. Scroll down on their Yelp page to read more information about the promising new restaurant. We wish them the best of luck.
It wasn’t that long ago that I told you about a branch of the rapidly expanding build-your-own Mediterranean restaurant Cava Grill was going to land in Downtown Santa Monica. Now they’re ready to open. And to celebrate, they’re giving away free lunches this Tuesday (5/23) from 12pm to 2pm at their new 1318 2nd Street location. Thank you Cava Grill!
Back in 2010, I first noticed that a new eatery was landing in the space at 11906 W. Wilshire Blvd in LA. Sadly, after an almost 7 year run, Layla Café has pulled up stakes. And what’s on the horizon? A sign in the window informs us that something called Marsa will soon be making itself at home. Not much information out there yet on Marsa, but the notice in the window promises us “Mediterranean cuisine”.
Santa Monica’s popular purveyor of all things salad appears to be moving to a bigger location. There’s a sign up on the empty space at 912 Montana indicating that Greens Up! is vacating their old diminutive space near the corner of 7th and Montana and taking over the larger locale. And while the sign says “coming soon”, don’t expect the change to be overnight: I was told the move could take up to a year…
Thanks to a tip from a reader, I went to check out what’s happening on the corner of Pico and Lincoln in Santa Monica. A banner is up announcing that something called Nico’s Tacos is moving into the space at 801 Pico #5 that used to be home to a branch of Domino’s Pizza. There’s not much out there yet on Nico’s Tacos, but as always, I’ll keep watching…
Following up on a tip from a reader (Thanks Jeremy!), I went to check out what was going on in the old Open Oven Pizza location at 1131 Westwood Blvd. in Westwood. I declared Open Oven closed last year, but was later told that the owners were working on a new concept. That appears to have changed, as ‘now hiring’ signs are up on the front declaring that the sunny purveyors of milk tea/boba/juice/snacks Lollicup Fresh are intending on making themselves right at home in the space.
A bit ago, I told you about the for lease sign pasted on the front of A Real Treat Candy Boutique at 2724 Main in Santa Monica portending doom for the natural confectionary. Wasting no time, it appears that Simples has moved in. And what precisely is Simples? “A line of hand prepared, plant based tonics” that you can read more about here.
I recently came across ‘now hiring’ notices posted on the papered-over windows of the erstwhile ShopHouse locations at 1401 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica and at 1059 Broxton Ave. in Westwood. The notices announce that both locations will be brand spanking new branches of Korean food chain Bibibop Asian Grill, headquartered in Columbus Ohio. According to LABJ, they intend on taking over all the old ShopHouse locations, including The Point in El Segundo, and West Hollywood’s branch as well.
I recently noticed the papered-over windows on the space at 9632 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills, just to the right of Le Pain Quotidien, announcing yet another juice store arriving soon… Except, it isn’t just another juice store. It’s an outpost of übercool international lifestyle/juice brand Joe & The Juice. Hailing from Denmark, the brand is apparently known for hiring hunky guys and promoting “bro culture” (at least according to Business Insider, and trust me, you’re gonna want to read this article).
Neighborhood hangout spot N.Y.&C. Pizzeria & Bar appears to have closed at 1120 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Paper covers the windows and the signs are coming down, though here does seem to be a lot of activity behind the paper. I’ll keep watching to see what develops…
Downtown Santa Monica is a flurry of restaurant activity right now: Wally’s is on the way, as is a new North Italia, and Carlo’s Bake Shop. Add to that list a new “All Day Eatery” going into a defunct jewelry shop at 331 Wilshire Blvd. There’s not much out there yet on The Gables, just an undeveloped website and Facebook page. It looks like they’re shooting for a Fall opening.
Update: The Gables opens Wednesday, August 22. Read Eater’s story here.
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