King & Queen Cantina appears to be on a mission to spread their signature brand of bawdy fun to Westside. It was last year when I told you that they were bringing a branch of the San Diego party chain to Santa Monica (it has since opened). Now they have their sites on West Hollywood. Signs are already up on the former Tortilla Republic space at 616 N Robertson announcing their impending arrival. Expect a “party, out of the box” with “Latin flavors” set in Dia de los Muertos decor.
I first told you about Kindred Spirit back in June, when I noticed help wanted flyers on the former ISno Cafe and Monsieur Marcel space at 1260 Third Street Promenade. KS opened back in August, but is hosting a Grand Opening event this weekend. The good folks at Kindred Spirit reached out to me and asked me to pass this along to you:
The Gallery, at 1325 Third St. Promenade, managed to survive the Pandemic lock downs but mysteriously closed a while ago, prompting readers to pepper me with questions about its status. The Gallery had gone through a major redo not that long ago and was home to such eateries as Voltaggio STRFSH, Paperboy Pizza, Dialoque, and others. Then it went dark. But now we know what’s coming… There’s a notice up on the front that names the new eating hall as Kitchen United MIX. And what is that? It appears to be a chain of food halls that describes itself as, “the nation’s first ‘Multi-Restaurant Ordering’ to-go experience” that “allows foodie fans who love variety to order meals from 10+ restaurants, all on the same bill.” Kitchen United MIX has a few locations across the US and are planning on a major expansion. There are upcoming locations on the books for Westwood and Torrance as well. This location is aiming for an October opening. 
I’ve been keeping my eye on what has been happening at the former home of longtime iconic Indian standard Dhaba at 2104 Main St. The location has been a hive of activity recently with construction and upgrades… And now we know what’s going on. A new sign has gone up announcing the arrival of Cobi’s at Dhaba, which soft-opened last night and is opening to the public on Thursday. Cobi’s used to operate a restaurant at 8422 W 3rd St. that closed earlier this year. This is a fresh start for the Southeast Asian eatery that is being described to me as “a new creation with ‘partial honors’ to the old Dhabba”. Check out their menu here. Reservations can now be found on Resy. We wish them the best of luck.
It was in late August when I told you about the devastating closure of local hang-out spot Treats Frozen Yogurt at 1700 Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica. But thankfully, the neighborhood is getting a new frozen treat shop. A banner is up on the front of Treats‘ former location announcing a branch of Yoga-urt. Yoga-urt has two other locations (Glendale and Echo Park) and offers a menu of plant-based soft serve, smoothies, and shakes “made from scratch, starting with hand squeezed almond milk with all organic and dairy free ingredients and added probiotics”.
Don’t count out plucky Everytable… The nobly inspired concept chain aimed to bring fresh, nutritious, made-from-scratch meals to a fast food world at price points based on what a community could afford. Then they ran into a spot of trouble a while ago and closed various outlets. But hope springs eternal. There’s window paper covering the prominent space at 11049 Santa Monica Blvd Suite A in West LA (former site of a CBTL) announcing that they are opening a new branch at this location… and just about everywhere else as well. Check out this impressive list of upcoming Everytables, including Long Beach, Van Nuys, and Torrance. This branch is planning on a November 5th opening.
Santa Monica’s branch of Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern disappeared during the pandemic restaurant closures, leaving a gaping hole at 1733 Ocean Ave. But a new contender is stepping forward to give the space a go. There’s a banner off to the side of the patio announcing the impending arrival of Sol-Agave. This will be the fourth location for the Mexican chain that started out as a food truck in in 2014 in San Juan Capistrano. According to their website, it appears that they are also planning on a location at 800 W Olympic #A130, near STAPLES Center. We wish them the best of luck.
Were you wondering what was going on in the tiny space at 321 Santa Monica Blvd? The location has been a number of different incarnations over the years from coffee shops to, most recently, a boba spot. Now it has transformed into something called the Pink Daisy Cafe. As it turns out, Pink Daisy is a sister restaurant to Santa Monica’s perennially favorite brunch eatery Blue Daisy. Now you know…
The Venice Whaler has been the go-to destination in Venice since 1944. Now they are bringing their beachy vibes and fish tacos to the Good People of Santa Monica. Ma’Kai, on the corner of Broadway. and Ocean Ave. in Downtown, closed up shop during the pandemic. A number of months ago plywood went up on the front, and eventually a help wanted notice hinted at what the new bar/eatery was going to be. But now it’s official: Recently installed signs declare that this will indeed be a new outpost of the legendary Beach party spot, The Santa Monica Whaler.
There’s a new ABC application up on the front of the diminutive space at 530 Wilshire Blvd., formerly home to any number of nondescript cafes, that should bring hope to all Santa Monicans. With three other locations across LA, self-described “Neighborhood Lobster Joint” Lobster And Beer is expanding to Downtown Santa Monica. What more do you need to know?
I’m sure you’ve noticed that Santa Monica Blvd. on the Westside has been undergoing a major gentrification of late. An indication of this is the new Starbucks that is coming to the corner of Purdue and SMB, at 11401 W Santa Monica Blvd. This would normally be unremarkable news, except that this will only be the third stand alone branch of the coffee chain on the Boulevard between the 405 and The Beach (the others being at 26th and Bundy), and that is a little remarkable for this neck of the woods.
I heard from a concerned reader (Thanks Justin!) who was lamenting the closure of Treats Frozen Yogurt at 1700 Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica. The icy confection shop was a neighborhood gathering spot and much beloved by locals. A gracious hand-written note on the front door thanks “family and friends” for a “decade of fun”. Sad.
I’ve been out of town for a few days and returned home to a stuffed inbox with messages from perplexed and shocked locals lamenting the quick and unceremonious disappearance of Santa Monica’s branch of Asian-ish eatery and longtime corner of 4th and Wilshire anchor P.F. Chang’s. All signs have been ripped down, and as you can see, the front is boarded over. Disheartened die-hard fans are seeking answers, so if you have more information, let me know…
A big “coming soon” banner has recently gone up on the front of the former BurgerIM space at 1237 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica. And pasted to the front of that is a smaller banner announcing something called Chick It Out and promising hot chicken. Apparently this has been in the works for a while now, and What Now Los Angeles has a lot more on this story which you can read here.
You know the old saying; When the Lord closes an ice cream shop, somewhere he opens another. People were devastated by the recent closure of Santa Monica’s longstanding and beloved branch of popular icy treat brand Ben & Jerry’s. But from out of nowhere, a brand new location has opened at 253 S Beverly Dr. (formerly home to Creamistry). You’re welcome.
I’ve known for a little while that this was going down, but I wasn’t at liberty to tell you. Now I can officially announce that the space at 1008 Montana Ave., formerly home to a branch of Maria’s Italian Kitchen, will be the future Westside home to Woodland Hills’ Brothers Sushi. An ABC application appeared this week on the front of the location confirming the news. The Brothers Sushi is the much-lauded and wildly popular “high-end” sushi spot that offers seasonal “Omakase Chefs courses or Ala Carte options”. This is indeed exciting news for the burgeoning SaMo restaurant scene.
Before the pandemic, window displays went up on the space at 313 Wilshire Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica announcing that Hollywood Burger would be moving in… and nothing happened. But that arrangement seems to have changed. There’s a new banner over the troubled location letting us know that Papi Tacos & Churros is on the way. Papi’s has a location on Jefferson Blvd. in LA that appears to be “temporarily closed”. I’m not sure if this is a second location or a total move, but in the mean time you can check out their current menu of “authentic Mexican street food” here.
The space at 235 Main St. in Venice has sat vacant ever since Komodo moved out. But that’s about to change… Window paper is covering the location announcing a new branch of Umami Burger. Umami caused quite a stir when it burst onto the scene at its flagship LA spot in 2009 and has since spread to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, The Bahamas, and Japan. And they are offering “free burger days” when they eventually open, so you may want to keep a look out.
Good people of Santa Monica, (more) carbs are heading your way! Main Street’s Sam’s Bagels has their sign up at 1305 Montana Ave. announcing the good news. Sam’s is replacing an earstwhile Gelato-Go at this location.
Readers have been asking me about Jonah’s Kitchen + Bar ever since I fist mentioned them back in September of last year. You may recall that Johah’s is replacing the short-lived LDH Kitchen The Robata at 2518 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Their website indicates that Jonah’s is still a part of the massive Japanese lifestyle brand LDH, otherwise there is little out there on the new eatery. The still-developing website gives clues: In a video, a bearded chef is preparing steaks with chimichurri over over a wood fire. We’ll find out more soon as paper over the front windows is now proudly announcing that the new restaurant will throw open their doors on Thursday June 24th.
Toddrickallen 