It appears that West LA’s branch of Ono Hawaii BBQ has gotten into a bit of hot water at 12115 Santa Monica Blvd. There’s a closure notice affixed to the front door from the Department of Public Health citing “live cockroaches”. Not sure what their path forward will be, but we wish them the best of luck.
Yikes! Ever since I first started telling you about the mass extinction of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf from the Westside, I’ve been hearing from horrified fans mourning the loss of even more neighborhood CBTLs. The Coffee Bean on the corner of Second and Santa Monica Blvd. is now gone. The CBTL on the corner of Wilshire and Federal has disappeared. And, while I haven’t checked it out personally, readers are telling me that The Coffee Bean on the corner of Lincoln and Manchester is now caput. Lots of you have been sending me theories on why this is happening, but if you have definite information, please let us know…
I’ve some sad news for the legions of gelato fans who trecked to Malibu for a taste of Italy… Grom Malibu appears to have vacated its long-held location at 3888 Cross Creek Rd. Not sure what happened, but the signage has been pulled down and paper is covering the windows. I’ll keep an eye on the space.
It looks like Beverly Hills’ branch of international chain ‘Lette Macarons has permanently shuttered its location at 9466 Charleville Blvd. Not sure what happened. I’ll keep my eyes on the space to see what may develop.
Times have most certainly not been good for coffee joints. If you’ve been reading this site, you know that The Coffee Bean has been hit particularly hard. But just recently, I noticed that Peet’s Coffee has quit its location at 258 S Beverly Dr. in Bevery Hills. I don’t think we’re done with this trend yet…
SoCal native Wahoo’s Fish Taco appears to be quiting their longtime address at 418 Wilshire Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica. A sharp-eyed reader (Thanks Trent!) spotted the for lease sign hanging on the front. Since their Brentwood location closed last year, there are currently no Westside location except in LAX. Not sure what happened, but I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
I’ve been reporting, with some alarm, on the mass extinction of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf from the Westside. The large location at 3150 Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica has also disappeared. Lots of you have some theories on why this is happening, but does anybody actually have the story? (Thanks Trent!)
Back in September of 2018 I told you about the opening of Alfred Tea Room at 11928 San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood. Recently, I heard from a reader (Thanks Jill!) that there was a for lease sign hanging on the front so I went by to have a look. Sure enough, the sign is there indicating that Alfred is vacating the space. I’ll keep watching to see what may develop.
I’ve been watching the mass extinction of The Westside’s beloved Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. It appears yet another one may have bitten the dust. The popular CBTL at 2901 Main St. in Santa Monica appears to be closed. While it doesn’t have the poster announcing the closure as the other ones have had, the windows are papered over and the equipment has been removed. What is going on?
Earlier this week, I told you about the permanent closure of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on S Beverly Dr. in Beverly Hills. I reader was quick to point out that the CBTL that anchors the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and S Beverly Glen Blvd. was also closing as of Sunday, May 17th. I went by the coffee shop and checked it out: A notice in the window confirms that this branch is now permanently closed. What’s going on with CBTL?
I’m not sure what the circumstances were, but it appears that the normally crowded Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 233 S Beverly Dr. in Beverly Hills has permanently closed. There’s a notice in the window thanking customers for their support. I’ll keep my eye on the space.
A victim of the challenging times? It was only back in October of 2018 that I noticed that sandwich chain Jimmy John’s was replacing the Subway at 3023 Wilshire Blvd. Sadly, Santa Monica’s only branch has closed up shop as evidenced by the large for lease sign on the front.
I’ve been hearing from horrified fans that, after 55 years, beloved pastry purveyor Stan’s Donuts has permanently closed in Westwood. A gracious note from Stan Berman on the front thanks patrons for their “support and friendship”. It appears the decision to close was in the works anyway, but COVID-19 sped things up.
Back in early February, I mentioned to you that I had heard a rumor that Starbucks was closing its location at 15th St. and Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. At the time, I had no proof. This week, a note went up on the door that they have permanently closed. Expensive rents on Montana Ave. are to blame, or so I’m told.
Sushi experts Wabi-Sabi have certainly survived their fair share of challenges. And now there’s a prominent “available” space hanging over the front. Does this mean the end?
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Three years ago, I first told you about a Josiah Citrin (Melisse, Charcoal) project moving into the old Santa Monica Electric Co. at 2428 Main St. Since then, furtive signs of work have continued on and off for Dave’s Doghouse, which led me to believe that the restaurant was still in progress. I know that many of you have been checking for updates on this project, but it appears it may have been abandonned. The review signs and ABC application have been taken down, and the space was being inhabited by a pop-up shop selling goods for an elephant charity prior to the shutdown. If you have any information, let me know…
We’re living with madness right now, and shops and restaurants are really feeling it. If you haven’t been out much, you may not have seen that stores have begun boarding over their windows. Sur La Table at Wilshire and Third is covered, and Williams Sonoma on Montana Ave. is also boarded. What they’re anticipating is anyone’s guess…
Kitchen Story burst onto the scene back in 2015, when it began serving its signature Korean food from its location at 2129 Sawtelle Blvd. A reader recently pointed out to me that they are now permanently closed, so I went by to check it out. A gracious note on the front door announces the closure and thanks its customers for the support. The closure actually happened in January and preceded the current state of affairs.
On a tip from a reader (Thanks Adrian!), I went by to check on the suspect state of affairs at 508 and 510 Santa Monica Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica. The reader had told me that next door neighbors Seasalt Fish Grill and Yogiyo Korean BBQ had closed down. Sure enough, both are locked tight. However, both also have exactly the same sign in the window saying that they will be “re-opening soon”. I don’t want to pronounce them permanently closed, but we’ve seen this before…
I’ve been hearing from panicked readers that their fave nostalgic Sawtelle Japantown institution Curry House Japanese Curry & Spaghetti had closed down so I went by to have a look. Sure enough, the restaurant at 2130 S Sawtelle, suite 200 has closed after over 30 years. But that’s not all: According to this article, ALL Curry House locations in California abruptly closed their doors on Monday. Employees apparently had no idea and showed up for work only to find they had no jobs. This is tragic news for its many fans, many of whom are telling me they celebrated milestones and had first dates at the local fixture.
Toddrickallen 