Well that didn’t take long… A remarkable thing in red-tape Santa Monica. It was only back in September that I noticed that longstanding local fixture DiDio’s Italian Ices had given up the ghost at 1305 Montana Ave. Then in October, a small now hiring sign was placed in the window informing us that Miami’s Gelato-Go was soon on the way. Wasting no time whatsoever, as of this week, Gelato-Go is now open and dishing icy treats to the good people of Santa Monica.
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.
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…
Well this was a bit of a surprise… After 20 years, consistently popular Blue Plate has quit their busy location at 1415 Montana Ave. as of last week. Not sure what happened, but nearby Blue Plate Taco and Blue Plate Oysterette remain open. Read their goodbye message here, and I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
A solid year ago, I told you about a new French pastry shop moving into a corner space on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica that used to house French fragrance folks L’Occitane. I’m not sure what took so long, but Le Macaron is now open and offering sublime creative confections from their charming spot at 1301 Montana Ave. With locations throughout the US, this is the first LA area shop for the Florida based chain. Besides macarons, look for a selection of pastries, breads, chocolates, and coffees.
I’ve been watching the space that used to house Orchard Flats Juicery at 705 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica to see what would move in. Signs are now up confirming that branch of Burbank’s Rawkin Juice will be moving in. Rawkin Juice was recently purchased by Miami’s Hip Cuisine, which intends on expanding the mini chain. If you check out their Facebook page, you can see they’ve had designs on the Santa Monica location for a while. Popular with the studio/star set, look for a menu of raw/vegan/cold-pressed/organic/you get the picture…
Santa Monica’s popular purveyor of all things salad appears to be moving to a bigger location. There’s a sign up on the empty space at 912 Montana indicating that Greens Up! is vacating their old diminutive space near the corner of 7th and Montana and taking over the larger locale. And while the sign says “coming soon”, don’t expect the change to be overnight: I was told the move could take up to a year…
A while ago, cult shoe store Kicks LA closed down at 1603 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Wasting little time, it appears that the wildly popular Montana fixture Bardonna has expanded into the next door location. They’ve knocked out the wall between the two shops and installed a new dining room complete with a large communal table.
It was only back in September that I told you that clandestine celeb fave Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano at 714 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica was going to be taken over by a newcomer. I’d known for a while that hard-working restaurateur Vincenzo Nicoletta was looking to move on. Now it’s official: Osteria Bigoli has thrown open its doors and is now serving pasta to the good people of NoMa. Even though I’m hearing from readers who are lamenting the loss of their old favorite dishes from Vincenzo, check out what the new restaurant offers here.
Popular neighborhood restaurant Spumoni, at 713 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, ran into a spot of trouble a little over a year ago when a car crashed into the next door Café de Paris and sparked a fire that shut the Italian eatery down. Rising from the ashes, Spumoni threw open its doors last night (Tuesday) for the first time since the fire. Having taken over the Café de Paris space, the plucky always-crowded café is now larger with an extensive remodel. The feel is still cozy and friendly, with a dining room bedecked in warm wood paneling. You’ll continue to find many of the classics on the menu, but if you haven’t thought about Spumoni as a destination in a while, it might be time to reconsider. They built a spiffy wood-fired pizza oven brought from Napoli and flew in a pizza expert, Pizzaiolo Massimo Caso to serve some the crispest (perhaps best) Neapolitan-style pies anywhere in this neck of the woods. We wish them the best of luck.
I’ve long heard whispers that a change was coming to secret celeb hideaway Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano, that has inhabited the small space at 714 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Apparently, hard-working and gregarious Chef Vincenzo Nicoletta has decided it’s time to move on. Recently plywood has covered the front, and a change of ownership ABC license application is letting us know that the name of the new restaurant will be Osteria Bigoli. Tortano LLC and the name on the application indicate that perhaps Osteria Bigoli will have some relationship with a restaurant in Covina called Osteria Pane e Vino. In the mean time, Vincenzo remains open. I’ll keep following this for more details.
A sign recently went up in the window of artisan coffee purveyor Caffe Luxxe at 925 Montana Ave. indicating that they are seeking to expand to much stronger stuff. The notice posted in the window informs us that they are requesting an ABC license, and that the City of Santa Monica is currently reviewing their request. But before you get excited about the prospects of a glass of cab with your cappuccino and croissant, the license they are requesting is an ABC type 20, meaning the beer and wine will only be “off-sale”, or purchasable to be consumed off the premises.
Neighborhood artisanal hand-crafted coffee and espresso expert Caffe Luxxe is turning 10 years old. To celebrate, they’ve created a special 10th Anniversary Blend, that you can sample for free starting today (Wednesday). And according to their website, tomorrow (August 4th) they will be handing out “FREE drinks all day” at all three locations in Santa Monica and Brentwood.
Just what you need as the temperature continues to climb… Back in September of last year, I first noticed that a new shop offering a frozen alternative to yogurt was moving into the space at 729 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. After what seems like a long time, the Frozen Fruit Company is now up and running. Originally hailing from the UK, FFC offers a soft serve made entirely from fruit in flavors such as pineapple & passion fruit, mango & strawberry, raspberry & orange that you can read more about here.
You could be forgiven for not realizing that Montana Ave. local fave Ox & Son didn’t previously have a full bar. They have only carried wine and beer. But all that is about to change. They have applied to have their license extended to include liquor. Expect the cocktails to commence soon.
It’s been a week of juice news. I recently noticed that Santa Monica’s branch of healthy drink provider Orchard Flats Cold Pressed Juicery has closed its doors at 705 Montana Ave. And their other locations in Burbank, Studio City, La Canada Flintridge, and on Melrose have closed as well, according to Yelp. So it looks like this is the end of yet another juice shop. Could this be a trend? Hmmm…
Well that didn’t take long… It was only back in mid-August that I first noticed that the LA area was about to get its first branch of Santa Barbara’s popular ice cream shop Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. And now, only about two months later (a miracle in Santa Monica), they appear ready to throw open their doors at 910 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Rori’s Artisanal Creamery will have its grand opening this Saturday, October 17th at 11:00am according to their Facebook page and the flyers that have blanketed the city.
It looks like Montana Ave. in Santa Monica is about to get not just one, but two icy treat shops soon. Recently, I told you about the impending arrival of Santa Barbara’s Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. A little over a block away, signs have gone up in the window of 908 Montana that used to house a scent store (yes, it did exist) announcing that Frozen Fruit Co. will soon be inhabiting the space. According to the window display, FFC specializes in “frozen fruit swirls”. I can’t seem to locate a great deal of information, and their website is still being built, but you can follow their progress on Twitter here.
With locations in Santa Barbara, it appears that popular ice cream shop Rori’s Artisanal Creamery is expanding south. Signs recently went up in the windows indicating that the LA area’s first Rori’s will be located at 910 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. No word on when the organic icy treats will be first available, and it looks like they’ve still got a way to go, but I’ll keep watching…
Back in December of 2012, I told you about a new healthy café that had just arrived at 1426 Montana Ave. #5 in Santa Monica. Since then, Pulse Café had made quite a sensation among the yoga crowd with its signature hot smoothies and organic boba. Sadly however, it appears that Pulse Café has given up the ghost, possibly due to stiff competition from nearby Beaming, Kye’s, and any number of other juice joints that crowd the street. The space has been cleared out and there are prominent “for lease” signs in the window. I’ll keep my eye out for replacements…
Toddrickallen 