With locations in Beverly Hills and LA, it looks like purveyors of healthy, organic Mediterranean food Soom Soom are living up to their website’s promise to expand “across Los Angeles and beyond”. Paper is covering the window at 11704 South Barrington Court announcing their impending arrival. I’m not sure how far along their progress is, but I’ll keep watching.
Since I first told you about the mysterious ABC application pasted to the front of the old Lladró space at 408 N. Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills, a great many of you have been checking for updates. I can now report that Napa Valley’s St. Supéry Tasting Salon officially opened over the weekend. Expect white and red wine tasting flights, glasses of wine, and bottles from St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery served in a “modern French parlor complimented by Napa Valley chic”. The tasting salon will remain open until August of next year.
Recently, I noticed a hastily written note posted on the front door of fledgling B.H. Poke at 9527 Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills, situated in a block that has seen a great deal of turn over recently. As you can see, the note states that they are “taking a little break” due to “unforeseen circumstances”. According to a photo on Yelp, the note has been up since early last month. It looks like no one has set foot in the shop for quite a while. I tried to call and inquire, but their phone line no longer works. So, I can’t confirm if they’re planning on reopening or not, but things don’t look good.
Well that didn’t take long… It was only a couple of weeks ago that I told you about the sad disappearance of Santa Monica’s beloved gelato shop DiDio’s at 1305 Montana Ave. Wasting no time in trying to fill the icy treat void, a new tenant is quickly moving into the spot. A notice on the window informs us that Gelato-Go is on its way. Billing itself as “the best gelato in Miami”, the new contender is looking to make inroads into Los Angeles. According to the now hiring sign, they are also opening a second location at 252 S. Beverly Dr. in Beverly Hills.
Well that certainly didn’t take long… It was only just a couple of weeks ago that I told you about the disappearance of short-lived Couscous A Gogo at 9533 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Wasting no time whatsoever, a branch of LA’s Soom Soom Fresh Mediterranean has taken up residence and is currently in soft opening. Expect a menu of falafel, shawarma, kebob, and hummus plates.
International lifestyle brand Joe & The Juice continues its inexorable conquest of the hip juice scene in LA. First came news back in April that a location was landing on Melrose. Then I noticed window paper in Beverly Hills. And recently, yet more window paper has popped up on the corner spot of San Vicente and Montana in Brentwood, right next to Alfred Coffee at 11906 San Vicente Blvd., announcing the Danish company’s impending arrival. When will the “hunky guys” start pouring? We’ll have to watch and see…
It wasn’t that long age that I first told you about a new North African-influenced restaurant going into the space at 9533 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Lasting a little over a year, it sadly appears that Couscous A Gogo has vacated the location. The awnings have been pulled down, their phone number no longer works, and the space is being gutted. This is a tough stretch of Santa Monica Blvd: puffy meringue people Bo Nuage recently quit their space, and remember Beverly Hills Beignet? I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
Since I first told you about the mysterious ABC license posted on the tony space at 408 N. Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills, a great many of you have been checking for details, so here you go… I recently heard from a spokesperson from the Napa Valley winery listed on the application, St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery. She informed me that the winery is opening an elegant tasting salon at this location that will showcase their white and red varietals of Bordeaux. I’m told the space will evoke a “modern French parlor complimented by Napa Valley chic” with bistro tables, a palette of black, gold, and white, and a custom bar that will serve flights, glasses, and bottles of wine. They’ll be running their salon through August of next year. Look for the opening soon. You’re welcome.
In oenophile news… You could be forgiven if you didn’t expect to see an ABC license application posted to the front of one of the big flashy storefronts on tony Rodeo Dr. in Beverly Hills. Yet there one is taped to the door at 408 Rodeo, a cavernous space that used to house luxury porcelain maker Lladró . The location has sat empty for a while, but according to the application, it will soon be the SoCal home of Napa Valley’s St. Supery Winery. The license application is a “02 Winegrower“, which means a non-retail type, so I’m not certain what’s going on here. I guess we’ll just have to keep watching…
Edouardo Baldi, Chef/owner of popular Industry power spot e. baldi in Beverly Hills has quietly launched a new take away joint directly behind his eponymous restaurant on Canon Dr. Simply titled Edo, the coffee bar recently slipped into the unassuming space at 9406 Brighton Way. On offer are an array of pizzette, focaccine, crostine, desserts, and other Italian faves.
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.
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).
Back in March of last year, I noticed a small pending development permit taped to the front of the old Hennessy+Ingalls bookshop at 214 Wilshire Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica. The permit listed the applicant as Santa Monica Farmhouse. Recently a teaser ad went up on the front the space taunting us with, “You will never guess what’s coming soon.” Last week, the ABC applications were on display spilling the beans. The future occupant will be another branch of the ridiculously popular oenophile paradise Wally’s Wine and Spirits. Wally’s expansion into Santa Monica came onto Eater’s radar back in late March, but no details were revealed. Because there are two applications, one for ‘on sale’ and one for ‘off sale’, I think its safe to assume that this Wally’s will be similar in design to the one in Beverly Hills.
LA continues its love affair with raw fish… Recently “molecular creamery” Ice-Cream Lab closed its chilly doors at 9461 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. And wasting no time, signs are now up to let us know that expanding Hawaiian restaurant North Shore Poke Co. will soon be moving in. To read more and view an unnervingly close photo of their product, click here.
I didn’t see this coming… As evidenced by the note attached to the front door and the removal of signs, it appears that Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar has thrown in the towel at its location at 252 N. Beverly Dr. in Beverly Hills. No word on a replacement, but I’ll keep watching.
As you probably already know, legendary watering hole Nic’s Beverly Hills closed after a long run on Jan 31st. And what will be taking over its space at 453 N. Canon Dr? An ABC application appeared in the window this week announcing that something called Tatel LA will soon be moving in. Could this be a branch of the highly anticipated Spanish restaurant coming soon to Miami? We’ll have to wait and see…
Paper covering the windows at 9887 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills informs us that we can expect a new French café, Merci Clement to open soon. Not much out there yet, just an undeveloped website and Facebook page. According to the notices on the door, we can look for a menu of specialty coffee, salads, sandwiches, crepes, chocolates, “petit cakes”, and gelato. It looks like they’re planning on opening some time this year…
It wasn’t that long ago that I told you about Beverly Hills Beignet taking over the old Papa Jake’s Sub Shop at 9527 Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. They opened about six months ago, but closed recently after a bit of a kerfuffle. Wasting no time whatsoever, it appears that a newcomer is quickly taking over the vacant space. Beverly Hills Poke will soon be dishing raw fish to the good people of The Golden Triangle. According to a worker at the site, they are hoping to be up and running in about a week and a half. Not much out there on BHP, just a Craigslist ad, so I’ll keep watching…
Chicago coffee experts Bow Truss vied for the attention of fickle LA coffee drinkers back in 2015. Things may not have worked out as they had hoped… Two notices have been taped to the front door of their tiny boite at 340 N Camden Dr. One handwritten notice indicates that they are now “closed until further notice”. The other explains perhaps why: It is an official three day notice to pay rent or quit. I’m not sure if the closure is permanent, but things don’t look good. I’ll keep watching…
I didn’t see this coming… It appears that Beverly Hills’ long-standing purveyor of Southeast Asian food has pulled up stakes. A for lease has gone up on the front of cleverly named 9021Pho indicating that they are vacating their location at 490 N. Beverly Dr. Yelp confirms that they are indeed closed. No word on what happened or what may be taking their place, but I’ll keep watching…
