Back in August of last year, I told you about a new treat shop landing in the old Blue Plate space at 1415 Montana Ave. You wouldn’t know it from the lack of signs, but Santa Monica’s branch of Erin McKenna’s Bakery opened over the weekend, joining locations in New York, Orlando, and on Larchmont. Look for a menu of donuts, muffins, cakes, and other sweets, as well as breakfast and lunch items that are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and kosher.
Downtown Santa Monica’s premier Food Hall The Gallery is hosting Pride events this weekend to correspond to the first ever SaMo PRIDE Festival. All this week we are promised “unicorn food specials”. On Friday (June 14), from 7pm-10pm on The Deck, there will be Drag Bingo hosted by Pandora Boxx with prizes and giveaways. And on Saturday, during PRIDE on The Promenade, The Gallery will have food and drink booths set up. Read more about the events here.
LA fine dining legend Melisse closed it doors at 1104 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica back in March with a vague promise of reopening soon. At the time, there were a lot of unanswered questions (including whether or not the name of the establishment would continue to be Melisse), and Chef Josiah Citrin wasn’t spilling the beans. But things appear to be moving forward. A note on their website promises a Fall 2019 opening and a “whole new menu and concept”. And late last week a new ABC application appeared, hidden in the front entrance, that continues to name the business as “Melisse“. I’ll keep watching…
Every once in while, one of my posts attracts a great deal of interest for reasons I can’t completely understand. That appears to be the case when I first told you about the closure of the Carl’s Jr. on the corner of Harvard and Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica. Ever since then, a great many of you have been checking for updates, and even though they completed their remodel a bit ago, a lot of you are still asking me questions. So here ya go… Carl’s Jr. is now open and dishing burgers and fried zucchini to the fast-food starved people of Santa Monica.
It was almost a year ago when I noticed that Spazio Caffe had vacated its space at 1511A Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. After an extensive build-out, window paper is announcing a new tenant. With locations in SoCal farmer’s markets, it appears that Breadblok is looking to get a brick-and-mortar. Expect a menu of Provence-inspired artisan breads, pastries, and tartines that are “organic, gluten-free, wheat-free, soy-free, gum-free, [and] refined sugar-free”.
It looks like they’ve figured out what to do with the last remaining open stalls in The Gallery Food Hall at 1350 Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. With such high-profile tenants as Dialogue, STRFSH, and Paperboy Pizza, I’m sure they chose carefully. At any rate, the still-undeveloped part of the first floor is now under plywood proudly declaring that Social Eats is moving in. Social Eats is a K2 project (STRFSH, Paperboy, Nighthawk), and will be a collection of five different eateries, or so I’m told. As you can see, expect beer and wine as well.
Update: More on Social Eats here.
Update 2: Social Eats opens July 19th, 11am.
I recently noticed a sign change at Santa Monica’s popular plant-based bastion Golden Mean Cafe, so I popped in to check out what was going on at their 1028 Wilshire Blvd space. New owners have taken over from Golden Mean and renamed it Viva Vegan. But besides the rebranding, I was assured that everything else will remain the same. And yes, you can still get the much-lauded “works” burger.
The Lord giveth French restaurants, and the Lord taketh away French restaurants… In sad news, it appears that after 25 years, quiet neighborhood charmer Le Petit Café will be closing their doors for good on May 11th. Here is their gracious good-bye note to their devoted fans:
“It is with sadness that we inform you that our last day of business will be Saturday, May 11th, 2109. After much deliberation, we have decided to close. This was not an easy decision by any means, as Le Petit Cafe is our second home, our loyal employees and customers are our second family. We have had the pleasure of serving you all for these last 25 years and they are 25 years we will forever hold close to our hearts. Thank you for your support.
Affectuesement.
Robert Bourget.”
We wish them the best of luck…
It looks like a new meal delivery shop is settling into the space at 2311 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica. Window displays are announcing the impending arrival of À La Couch to the diminutive spot. They describe themselves as a delivery restaurant group with “chef driven food concepts” which, if I understand, are separate restaurants with whom they partner such as MAC’D (a build-your-own macaroni and cheese restaurant with locations in San Francisco and Oregon), Holy Cluck (a specialty wing restaurant), and a bowl restaurant and a Keto Restaurant as well. Sounds interesting…
I first noticed that a new restaurant was coming to the erstwhile Cadet space at 2518 Wilshire Blvd. back in April of 2016. It took a while, but LDH Kitchen The Robata opened in the Summer of 2018. Known for their wild light displays, LDH Kitchen was a branch of massive Japanese lifestyle brand LDH (Love+Dream+Happiness). Sadly, in less than a year, it appears that the love may be gone. While I don’t have any confirmation that they’ve quit the location, I’ve noticed that the restaurant is dark in the evenings, and Yelp is listing as it as closed, so I think its safe to say that they have. I’ll keep watching to see what develops…
I LOVE a good tip… Ever since Panera disappeared from its space in the iconic building at 501 Wilshire Blvd., I’ve been hearing from mourning carb fans who are wondering what will take its place. A reader passed on the skinny: @retailroundrobin sent me a link to a real estate company Instagram post clearly showing that the space will soon be a branch of ever-poplar Shake Shack. See for yourself here.
And while we’re on the subject of P.F. Chang’s, here’s more bad news… A sharp-eyed reader (Thanks E.R.!) noticed that P.F. Chang’s building at 326 Wilshire Blvd. was listed as up for lease last week. There aren’t any obvious signs that it will be closing, and they certainly still seem busy, but if the if the LoopNet ad is to be believed, they’ll be out before July 1. I don’t know what’s going on at P.F. Chang’s, but this certainly doesn’t look good following the recent closure of their El Segundo location as well.
Café Crepe has long anchored the corner of Broadway and The Third St. Promenade, and was perpetually crowded with tourists. So it comes as a surprise that they have abruptly and unceremoniously closed up shop. A brief note on the door bids a quick Au Revoir, and mentions the Canadian company’s other LA location, at Union Station.
I’ve been receiving loads of messages from panicked Santa Monicans lamenting the demise of their beloved Panera Bread, in the landmark building at 501 Wilshire Blvd. that used to house Polly’s Pies. What’s more, a demolition notice now hangs in the window. Panera appears to be losing its presence on the Westside, with now-vacated locations in Westwood and Beverly Hills as well. I’m keeping an eye on all three to see what may develop…
Many of you were in shock when I first told you about the disappearance of beloved Japanese restaurant Musha at 424 Wilshire Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica. Now it looks like a new tenant is going to give the diminutive space a go. A new ABC application is posted on the front. It doesn’t give much information, just an applicant name of Office Luck USA. There is no business name listed. I can’t locate anything on Office Luck, likewise the officer named on the application doesn’t reveal any insight. If you have any more information, let me know…
Update: Indeed a reader did know more (Thanks Ryan!): The restaurant’s name will be Shirubē. It will be an izakaya style restaurant that appears to be past their projected opening date. Check out their Instagram page here.
Update: Eater has the full skinny here.
It was back in 2015 when I first told you about the buzzy arrival of Swedish pizza to the Santa Monica food scene. Reds Pizza has made a valiant four-year run of it at 707 Pico Blvd., but sadly it appears that they have thrown in the towel. I’m not quite sure when it happened, but the storefront is boarded over. There’s no clear indication of what may take over the space, but I’ll keep watching.
Santa Monica is about to get a whole lot sweeter… It wasn’t that long ago that I told you about the disappearance of Beach City Creamery (formerly Beachy Cream) from its address at 1209 Wilshire. Paper is now up on the windows telling us about another treat shop moving in. With one location in the Arts District Downtown, it looks like Broadway Baker is taking over the space. And what’s on offer? Known for their gift boxes, Broadway Baker prides itself on hand crafted, all natural premium baked good from three generations of family recipes, including their salted caramel brownies, once prominently featured in O, The Oprah Magazine.
Everyone’s fave grocery store Trader Joe’s is expanding its footprint on the Westside. I’ve been watching all the new construction along Admiralty in Marina del Rey to see what may develop. A large notice attached to the fence around the new building on the corner of Admiralty and Mindanao Way lets us know that this will soon be a branch of TJ’s. Don’t forget that there’s a brand new one going up on Wilshire and 23rd in Santa Monica as well. The Beach Communities will be spoiled for choice…
It was a sad day when, after a brave effort, the people behind Chou Chou French Patisserie decided to pull the plug at 313 Wilshire Blvd. Now a new tenant is poised to move in. With one location on Hollywood Blvd., it appears that Hollywood Burger will soon be delivering “gourmet-style burgers” to the good people of Santa Monica. 
And while we’re on the subject of openings… Ever since I first told you about popular salad chain Sweetgreen‘s expansion to Montana Ave. in Santa Monica back in July, a great many of you have been checking for updates. So here ya go: Sweetgreen officially throws open its doors today (Friday Feb. 22) at 1517 Montana Ave. You’re welcome.
Toddrickallen 