Innovative coffee purveyor Go Get Em Tiger has abruptly closed its location at 930 Montana Ave in Santa Monica on Tuesday. Santa Monica’s other location on Main St. closed a while ago. GGET opened this location in 2022 with much excitement and an extended menu. I’m not sure what is happening with the chain, but their Culver City location, as well as other locations east of here are still open.
(Thanks Steve!)
While I’ve known this for months, I’ve held off on telling you as I didn’t have concrete proof. But now, so many people have written to tell me, I’m just passing it on as fact. If you’re tired of waiting in the perpetual line at Montana Avenue’s branch of crazy-popular La La Land Kind Cafe, a second nearby location may bring some relief. It appears that La La Land is moving into the old Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 11698 San Vicente Blvd in Brentwood. La La Land has six other locations across LA, with more in Texas, and offers “valuable support and opportunities for fostering youth and individuals in need“, as well as an excellent French Toast Latte.
Congratulations you lucky people of Westwood, epic sandwiches are on the way! With a nearby Montana Ave location that has constant lines, sandwich sensation Bread Head is opening a new location at 1136 Westwood Blvd in Westwood Village. Bread Head is the pet project of Alex Williams and Jordan Snyder, two chefs with Trois Mec pedigrees. They specialize in carefully crafted sandwiches on proprietary focaccia. They also have a new-ish Manhattan Beach location as well.
There hasn’t been a proper fast sushi concept on Santa Monica’s tony Montana Ave for a while now (I’m not counting the markets). But that’s about to change. Paper is up on the space at 1307 Montana announcing the arrival of ROLLD Sushi. Promising an Australian minimalist approach to hand rolls, ROLLD will offer a convenient and solid menu of rolls such as salmon, prawn, veggie, and chicken katsu. They are aiming to open soon.
Carbs are back with a bang. The evidence? The lines at new bagel shops are out the door on most days. Riding the wave, reliable Sam’s Bagels is opening a new Beverly Hills location at 191 S Beverly Dr.
There’s a new gourmet charmer in the neighborhood. O&V CA has recently thrown open their doors at 1109 Montana Ave. O&V CA is a band new business that features a carefully curated selection of fresh, extra-virgin olive oils that have been globally sourced. They also offer barrel-aged balsamic vinegars from Modena, locally made artisan ceramics, and other culinary treasures. They have tastings and classes to help you find the perfect olive oil or gift. We wish them the best of luck!
There is a lot of news coming out of Brentwood lately. I had been hearing that Beverly Grove’s crazy popular coffee shop Community Goods was opening in Brentwood, but I couldn’t find any proof. There’s nothing visible from the street. Thankfully, a sharp-eyed reader sent me the evidence. If you look carefully at the floorplan of the shopping center that is being remodeled on the corner of San Vicente and Montana Ave, the location is revealed. Community Goods in moving into a back space of The Lawn, at 11911 San Vicente. Expect a focused menu of coffee drinks and breakfast and lunch choices such as breakfast sliders, turkey or tuna sandwiches, toasts, and banana bread. Read this review to get a glimpse of what is coming. Watch this space for more Brentwood news soon…
Since I first told you about the new eatery Terratorry that’s moving into the old Art’s Table space at 1002 Montana in Santa Monica, people have been clamoring for more information. A sharp-eyed reader (Thanks Debra!) spotted a note on the front of the build-out giving us some clues. The note explains that the Midwestern chef’s “ethos revolves around our local Farmers’ Markets” with a focus on heritage cooking using the best of the West Coast, and, well, you can read the entire statement below….
Big changes coming to Santa Monica’s tony Montana Ave… Art’s Table, at 1002 Montana, abruptly closed recently and construction has begun on a new venture. An ABC application went up this week announcing the new eatery as Terra Torry. And Art’s sister restaurant M&D Margos Kitchen at 1534 Montana recently went dark with papered over windows. Hastily scrawled notes on the windows declare that they are “closed for remodel by owner”. Yelp is listing them as closed. I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
The Good People of Santa Monica love an outdoor cafe. Along Montana Ave., La La Land, Sogno Toscano, Bardonna, and M&D Margos are packed virtually all day long. Another success story is French charmer Le Cafe de la Plage, at 1301 Montana Ave. They recently expanded their outdoor seating area, and now it appears they are also taking over the adjacent storefront at 1303 Montana, most recently home to lauded raw seafood purveyor Savida.
I first caught wind a New York-based “high-quality mochi ice cream” shop was opening its first West Coast location back in May of 2023. It took a long time (this is Santa Monica after all), but Mochidoki finally threw open their doors at 1133 Montana Ave in August of last year. Sadly, after a little more than a year, it appears Mochidoki has closed up shop at this location. If you’ve become a fan, you can still find their icy treats at the locations listed s on the poster below.
Congratulations Good People of Malibu, healthy juices are heading your way! There’s a banner on the front of the Montana Ave branch of cleanse experts Kreation announcing an upcoming branch in Malibu Village, at 3836 Cross Creek Rd. According to the banner, this will be their 24th branch.
Ever since Marmalade Cafe closed up shop at its longtime location of 710 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, readers have been demanding answers as to what would take over the space. Construction began quickly and the speculation was wild. I’d been hearing whispers of the incoming tenant, but now we have proof. New York’s celebrated H&H Bagels is taking up residence at this location, as confirmed by their website. H&H began in New York in 1972 and uses the “artisanal water bagel method” that produces results for which fans go crazy and many consider to be the quintessential bagel. They are in the midst of a national expansion, and this will be their first West Coast store.
People have been wondering what’s going on since Margo’s Pizza Kitchen & Bar, at 1534 Montana, closed its doors. You may recall that last year Margo’s had a break-in that caused significant damage and loss. At that time, in an interview, a rep for Margo’s alluded to that incident being a “tipping point” that could cause the business to shutter. Shortly thereafter, Margo’s did indeed close down, ostensibly for a remodel. Since then, a new banner has been put up announcing a “new launch under new partnership”. It appears the new restaurant will be named Nana Margo’s, and cocktails and “dinning” will be on order. It will be interesting to see if the new eatery will continue with the plant-based concept. I’ll keep my eye on this….
The entire Westside heaved a sigh of relief when I reported that bakery darling Sweet Lady Jane had been saved from oblivion. (Read the story of how that happened here.) But, after a triumphant opening of some locations this week, Santa Monica’s newly opened branch has apparently hit a snag. There’s an LA County notice of closure affixed to the front door. There’s also an explanation from the current owner, who places the blame squarely on “ex-owners who didn’t request permits for their remodels”. They are apparently scrambling to make things right as soon as possible. The drama of the triple berry cake continues…
As I’ve been telling you, sleek Montana Ave in Santa Monca is becoming quite a food destination. New eateries are popping up all over the stylish street. Le Cafe de la Plage recently opened. Van Lueewen and Oakberry are on the way. Now it looks like the space right next to Oakberry will soon be home to a new bakery. Window paper is up on 709 Montana announcing the arrival of Fōnuts. The self-described “enlightened donut” purveyor has a location on West 3rd and a location in Studio City and offers a menu with a variety of healthy baked options that are gluten-free and vegan.
Despair no longer Good People of Santa Monica, Triple Berry Cakes may be returning! On a tip from a reader (Thanks Missy!), I went by the very empty former location of beloved bakery Sweet Lady Jane at 1631 Montana in Santa Monica. You may recall they recently abruptly pulled up stakes, much to the shock of fans. Sure enough, as you can see, there is a hopeful note attached to the front door that promises they will be “opening again soon”. I don’t have any information on the other locations. There’s obviously more to this story so I’ll keep watching this surprising development.
Update: Here’s the complete skinny on Eater.
Montana Ave, Santa Monica’s preeminent shopping/dining street, is becoming a sweet destination. Rori’s Artisanal Creamery, Pinkberry, and Frozen Fruit Company are just a few of the places to score a frozen treat. And now one more is on the way… Window paper is up on the space that used to be home to Erin Mckenna’s Bakery, at 1415 Montana, announcing another ice cream spot. Van Leeuwen, which started out in 2008 in New York as a food truck, will soon be bringing their signature artisan ice creams, vegan ice creams, sundaes, vegan chocolate chip cookies, and shakes to the tony neighborhood.
(Thanks Sara!)
Santa Monica is about to get its second branch of international acai experts Oakberry (the first location is on the corner of Berkeley and Wilshire). There’s window paper across two storefronts at 705 and 707 Montana Ave announcing the news. Oakberry offers acai that is 100% natural with no food coloring, artificial preservatives, or guarana syrup. They operate a number of locations in Brazil and continue an impressive international expansion.
It was back in September of last year that I told you about an exciting new sandwich shop taking over the old Greens Up! space at 912 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. The window paper has finally come down, and B&T’s Deli will officially soft-open on Saturday, February 3rd at 11am. While there’s no online menu quite yet, here’s a glimpse of the plant-based sandwich options listed on their menu boards. We wish them the best of luck…
Toddrickallen 