It looks like La Rocco’s Pizzeria is taking over an old beauty salon at 8806 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Westchester. With one other location in Downtown Culver City, The pizzeria bills itself as “a slice of New York”. No word on an exact opening date, but while you’re waiting check out their menu of pasta, salads, sandwiches, and pizza here, and judging by the ABC license in the window, there will be beer and wine.
Begun in the 1970s in Camarillo, it appears that Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins is going into a choice location in the new development on the corner of Wilshire and LaBrea at 710 S. LaBrea Ave. The expanding Ventura-based West Coast chain offers a market of organic, low-processed foods and supplements, raw and gluten-free choices, as well as a “fresh organic deli, juices, and smoothies”. Not certain of an exact opening date, but they look fairly close. Until then, check out more here.
When God closes a Maria’s, he always opens another… About a year ago I told you about Maria’s Italian Kitchen opening at 3001 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. They had taken over the troubled space that had housed the sports bar South. This was to be their temporary pop-up while they remodeled their Brentwood location. And now all of you Brentwood citizens who had to drive past 328 other Italian restaurants and a city boundary to get to your beloved Maria’s can heave a collective sigh of relief: The Maria’s in Santa Monica has officially closed and the Brentwood location has reopened at 11723 Barrington Court.
Back in February, I told you about a new juice joint opening on the corner of Olympic and Westwood in West Los Angeles. Well, for all of you who have been waiting with bated breath, Pure Pressed Juice has thrown open its doors at 10844 West Olympic Blvd. Look for a menu of organic cold-pressed juices, almond milk, smoothies, and cleanses that you can read more about here.
Apparently the award-winning chocolate chip cookies baked by Jacqueline Kamin are very popular, even among Saudi Kings (I’m not kidding, read my original post here). While originally hailing from the East Coast, Jackie’s Cookie Connection has been shipping their cookies for quite some time, and last Fall, they opened a kiosk in Century City. Now banners are up announcing that they are moving into a storefront at 12901 Santa Monica Blvd. in the Plaza (corner of Bundy) in LA. And they’re not done yet: This will be their headquarters as they expand into Hollywood and Highland and The Village at Topanga. Read more about the rapidly expanding mini cookie empire and watch their trance-inducing countdown clock announcing when the next round of cookies pop out of the oven here.
A simple banner posted on the front of the building is announcing that a new restaurant will be replacing Brilliantshine at 522 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Eater reported back in Mid-April that the popular bar and restaurant closed due to a “partner split”. Not a lot of information out there yet, but it looks like the new bar and restaurant will be called The Wooded Hollow, but that’s about as much as I can find out….
Update: I got a gander at their chalkboard menu. Looks like classic bar food such as chicken quesadilla, mac & cheese balls, and pastrami sandwich. They appear to be open now and their hours are 6pm to 11pm nightly.
Well, I didn’t see this coming… It looks like the busy Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf located on the corner of Lincoln and Michigan in Santa Monica has permanently closed down. They’ve wasted no time papering the windows and scraping the name from the front of the building, and judging by the “for lease” signs on the space, there’s no replacement lined up. All those drowsy students at adjacent Samohi will just have to source their caffeine somewhere else…
LAX has been undergoing some impressive changes. The Tom Bradley International Terminal recently went from decrepid to stylish with a fairly good representation of the local food scene. And now it’s Terminal 2’s turn. Recently I had the opportunity to check out the terminal. Most everything is covered with plastic and construction is fast and furious, but I did get the opportunity to take note of what will be arriving soon. First of all, gone is the dusty old Wolfgang Puck’s Express, one of the very last of its kind. Besides a Starbucks and a sandwich kiosk (Plane Box Food Co.), the only place open right now is The Counter’s assembly line concept Built Custom Burgers. But at least three more restaurants are on their way: Barney’s Beanery, Sealegs Wine Bar, and Slapfish A Modern Seafood Shack. So hopefully in the near future, flying out of Terminal 2 won’t feel like a prison sentence…
Update: And while you’re at it, check out what’s coming to Terminal 6 as reported today by Eater…
According to their website and other sources, rapidly expanding grass-fed burger joint Burger Lounge will be opening a branch soon in Culver City. NMS@Culver City, the giant apartment and retail complex that Curbed has been tracking at 9901 Washington Blvd. (Palms adjacent) appears to be the future location. The entire complex is still under construction, so no word on an opening date.
It’s been a long time coming but it appears that the old Yankee Doodle space at 1410 Third St. Promenade in Santa Monica will finally get a new restaurant. Ever since the sports bar closed due to a fire back in 2013, the space has mostly sat vacant. Construction recently began and signs went up declaring that the cavernous space will be divided into two spaces; one will be a T-Mobile, and one will be a new restaurant. I don’t think they’ve settled exactly on which restaurant as there is still a commercial lease notice online, but I’ll keep my eyes on it…
Oh those glorious days back in 2011 when we all held such high hopes for the opening of The Market at Santa Monica Place, only to have those hopes dashed on the rocks shortly thereafter. With names such as Rockenwagner and Piero Salvaggio involved, all eyes were on the food hall that was frequently described as “Ferry Building style”. Well, after years of sputtering and losing tenants, The Market recently closed most of its space for a major re-do. Only four stores remain open: The Gourmandise School, The Curious Palate, Venokado, and Groundworks. No word on what they’re planning on doing, and the signs that are up only promise that “The Market is changing”, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Perhaps the new Arclight Cinemas and Cheesecake Factory will bring more foot traffic. Maybe we can start to get our hopes up again…
Lately on the Westside, it seems like you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a couple of cold-pressed juice joints. But soup? According to Soupure, soup is the new juice. A diminutive kiosk has sprung up in the Brentwood Town Center on the corner of 26th and San Vicente peddling a variety of hot and cold soups in plastic bottles meant to be drunk like… well, juice. Promising us that soup is “sexy”, they offer such choices as: pumpkin miso, asparagus leek, lentil chickpea, strawberry cashew, lemongrass consommé, and the au courant craze of the moment, bone broths. With one other location in Studio City they also do cleanses and home delivery. Check out their website here.
When BierBeisl vacated the space at 9669 Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills back in November of 2013, people were left scratching their heads wondering what was going to take over. Originally a pizza joint was scheduled to move in, but that fell through. Then in March of 2014, Eater LA uncovered an ABC license application suggesting that a Japanese restaurant was destined for the space, but that couldn’t be confirmed and the old license application has since disappeared. Shortly thereafter, a new ABC license was issued to Yazawa Meat Inc., and signs recently went up on the awning informing us all that the new restaurant will indeed be Yazawa. Whether or not this is the same Yazawa as the international chain, I can’t speak with any authority but it certainly looks possible…
Update: A reader sent me more information… Yes, this IS the same Yazawa as the international chain. Currently, they are having difficulties with the owners of the space which is holding up their progress. According to the reader, they are still far from opening…
It looks like Westwood’s popular Middle Eastern restaurant Sunnin Lebanese Café is expanding west into Santa Monica. A conditional use permit notice recently went up on the empty space just to the right of Philz Coffee at 525 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 120 announcing the impending arrival. According to the notice, the hours of the new café will be 11AM to 11PM Monday through Sunday, and there will be beer and wine. No word on a planned opening date, but I’ll keep watching…
The food scene is really taking off in this neck of the woods lately… A major build-out is underway on the corner space that used to house curry spot Indian Summer at 219 Main St. in El Segundo. According to the ABC application, the eatery will be named Sausal El Segundo and is brought to you by an entity called Soul Sauce Cantina LLC . A still-developing website describes the new restaurant’s menu as “nuevo rancho cuisine” and yes, there will be liquor… No word on an opening date, but it looks like they’ve got a way to go.
This Saturday, May 9th is the 24th annual Santa Monica Festival. Here’s the rundown of a few of the various food trucks and carts making a showing: Cousins Maine Lobster; Farmers Belly; Gastrobus; India Jones; Let’s Be Frank; Luckdish; Surfer Taco; The Urban Oven; Zugo Liquitarian; as well as others. Additionally, Farmer’s Market authority and KCRW personality Laura Avery will be emcee of the culinary stage where there’ll be demonstrations by local chefs throughout the day. Cost is free, hours are 11am to 6pm, and the festival is held at Clover Park at 2600 Ocean Park Blvd. Check out the entire list of activities and read more here.
You could be forgiven for not noticing anything different on the corner of Lincoln and Ocean Park in Santa Monica, but there has recently been a big change. As longtime LA resident grocery store chain Albertsons quietly slips off the scene, new arrivals are quickly filling in the gaps. After a closure of only two days, Haggen Food & Pharmacy opened a little over a week ago at 2627 Lincoln Boulevard, thereby unceremoniously taking out Santa Monica’s last Albertsons (the other location on Wilshire is now Bristol Farms). Founded in 1933 in Bellingham, Washington, Haggen has remained fairly local to the Pacific Northwest. But toward the end of 2014, the retail grocery chain purchased 146 West Coast branches of Albertsons and Safeway Inc.(Vons), so I think we can expect to see a great deal more Haggen outposts in the near future. Explore more about your new neighborhood grocery store here.
Another day, another juice bar in West LA. Apparently Westsiders can’t get enough. The latest? Rapidly expanding chain Juice Served Here is moving into the Westfield Century City Shopping Center as evidenced by the recently installed window announcements. Offering a menu that is cold-pressed, organic, and local, JSH is wasting no time moving across LA with many more upcoming locations including one at Wilshire and 6th in Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, and Studio City. Read more about the “never conventional” company and find a location near you here.
Back in November, I told you about the impending arrival of a new café to the then-empty former Crumbs space at 9465 South Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. On Thursday, Basanti Tea Bar held its official grand opening. Included in the festivities were free drinks, prizes, and yes, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. Not much to see on their still-developing website, but if your Spanish is good, you can find more info about the Mexico-based company here.
Boasting over 40 restaurants in California, Washington, and Illinois, Specialty’s Café & Bakery has recently thrown its hat into the ring of the burgeoning Manhattan Beach/El Segundo food scene by opening a branch at 2101 E. El Segundo Blvd., right on the corner of Continental Blvd. In case you’re unfamiliar, Specialty’s offers a menu of baked items, breakfasts, sandwiches, salads, and soups in a cheery and bright setting that includes a sizable outdoor patio. Check out their menu and online ordering option, and locate other locations here.
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