It looks like expanding “simple, seasonal, healthy” chain Sweetgreen is bringing its community building message to the grateful people of Marina Del Rey. Plywood is up around a space in the Waterside shopping center at 4700 Admiralty announcing the good news. Not sure when they’ll open, but I’ll keep watching…
I’ve been keeping a close eye on Manhattan Village, the shopping mall on the corner of Rosecrans and Sepulveda in Manhattan Beach. With stiff competition from many new shopping and multi-use complexes next door in El Segundo, Manhattan Village is currently getting a much-needed redo. Here’s the latest progress: A new Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is under construction in a brand new part of the mall at the farthest southern point on the property, and just to the right is the new See’s Candies. Check out an artist’s rendering of the flashy new mall here, and in the mean time, I’ll keep watching as details emerge…
The last remaining tenant of the failed Market at Santa Monica Place is pulling out. Culinary educators The Gourmandise School are moving to a new third floor location in the mall, just to the right of the recently moved The Curious Palate. What’s next for The Market? I’ve heard whispers that it will be turned into a multi-use space, but I cannot confirm that, so we’ll just have to wait and see…
Ahhh poke, will we never tire of you? Just when you think that there couldn’t possibly be room for one more raw fish shop, one pops up. It looks like the hungry students at UCLA have yet another choice when it comes to the Hawaiian specialty. The Poke is now in grand opening at their 935 Broxton Ave. location in Westwood. In addition to poke, they also feature “hot plates”, bowls, fried rice, and tempura on their menu that you can read more about here.
This was a surprise. After 22 years, Santa Monica institution and local fave DiDio’s Italian Ices has abruptly quit their location at 1305 Montana Ave. as of last week. A gracious goodbye note affixed to the front of the shop explains that they intend on focusing on their expanding wholesale operation. I’ll keep my eye on the space to see what may move in…
I noticed recent activity at the in-store restaurant on the third floor of Santa Monica Place’s outpost of Nordstrom. It appears that what was formerly Blue Stove is transforming into a “casually sophisticated” bistro, Bazille. It looks like they’re not too far from opening, but until then, you can compare menus here.
It wasn’t that long ago that The Little Door Santa Monica turned into L’Ami in their sunny location at 246 26th St. in Santa Monica. Well, I don’t know what happened, or exactly when it happened, but I recently noticed that they have pulled up stakes entirely. The website says that they are closed for renovations, but that is all too frequently code for “permanently closed”, which is precisely what Opentable says. I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
I’ve been watching the space at 1128 Wilshire Blvd. that used to house a Polish deli to see what would develop. Paper recently went up in the window informing us that First Spoonful is moving in. First Spoonful is currently operating as a home meal delivery system designed with busy parents in mind. In their first retail location, you’ll be able to find meals, snacks, and take cooking classes with your kids. They’re shooting for a Fall opening.
The other day I noticed an interesting sign recently installed on the upstairs space in The Gallery at 1315 3rd Street Promenade where Subway used to reside. Still covered with plastic, the sign resembles a license plate and bears an inscrutable jumble of consonants that appear to say “starfish”. It also bears a very famous name, Voltaggio. After much online searching, I was able to uncover only one single clue: On page 35 of the Downtown Santa Monica Annual Report (you’re welcome for searching this document, it’s written on the very last page.), you’ll see this single sentence, “Two new and exciting chef-driven concepts will follow, James Beard Award winner Dave Beran’s Dialogue and STRFSH by the Voltaggio Brothers.” And that’s as much as I can find…
Update: Eater has more details here.
Further Update: Voltaggio STRFSH is now open.
It looks like a new contender is vying for the attention of hungry lunchtime workers in the busy food scene of El Segundo. Il Romanista recently opened in the space at 829 N. Douglas St. that used to be the home of ZPizza. The new restaurant claims that it is the first to bring Roman-style pizza al taglio to Los Angeles. Pizza al taglio is baked in large rectangular pans and cut into squares with large scissors that you can see in the photo below. Read more about them and check out their menu here.
This is one of those times that I vastly underestimated the excitement over a story… Ever since I told you about Little Asia’s impending return to Hawthorne, the interest has been astonishing. You may recall that the beloved purveyor of Asian food closed down on the corner of El Segundo and Hawthorne after a devastating fire some three years ago, and most thought that was the end of the popular restaurant. Then back in March of this year, I noticed that they appeared to be behind a new build out at 4624 W. Imperial Highway in Hawthorne, a stone’s throw from the old location. So, for all of you who have been carefully checking for details and demanding answers, I have this happy news: Little Asia is now open at their new location. An ABC application in the window means you’ll soon be able to toast their exultant return with beer and wine.
I recently saw a notice at the construction site at 2800 Wilshire Blvd. (corner of Harvard) in Santa Monica that lets us know a branch of natural foods grocer Erewhon in intent on inhabiting the new building. This will be their fourth location. I’ll keep checking their progress, but as you can see, it looks like they’ve got a ways to go before opening.
Toddrickallen 