It looks like change is afoot at sushi bar Tkyo House at 2901 Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica. A goodbye letter posted on the door states that they have closed as of yesterday. But the notice also promises that a restaurant with new management will reopen later in the week. And the bill of fare? Apparently ramen. I’ll keep watching…
This is a bit surprising… Even though you’d think that they had a captive audience from the Best Western Hotel, the International House of Pancakes, or IHOP, has flipped its last pancake on the corner of 20th and Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica. No word on what may replace it, but I’ll keep watching.
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.
Recently, I saw that there was a notice of pending design review taped to the inside of the window of the erstwhile Santa Monica Electric Co. at 2428 Main St. in Santa Monica. Immediately, long-time LA restaurateur Josiah Citrin’s (Melisse, Charcoal) name stood out. Upon closer inspection, the notice’s artist’s rendering lets us know that this humble building will soon be the home of a branch of hotdog specialists Dave’s Doghouse. The ABC application confirms it.
It was about four years ago when I noticed that “fresh & healthy Mediterranean” restaurant Z Garden had opened a second branch at 313 Wilshire Blvd. in Downtown Santa Monica. I’m not sure what happened, but it appears that they have vacated this location. And wasting no time whatsoever, a hastily hung banner announces that Chou Chou French Pastries & Cafe have quietly slipped in. I’m not certain who’s behind this and there’s not a lot of information out there yet. If you’re missing Z Garden, their other location is still open on Pico.
Update: Read the comment below for more information…
I’ve known for a while now that something was moving into the old Poquito Mas space at 2025 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica: The for lease sign came down a while ago. But now we know what it is… It looks like the former Mexican restaurant will be taken over by another, Chipotle Mexican Grill.
The mystery continues… Back in June of 2015 renovation began on the shabby old food court The Gallery at 1315 Third St. Promenade in Santa Monica. Excitement heightened when it reopened and restaurants started trickling in. And then something went wrong. The restaurants that had opened moved out and The Gallery sat empty. Then, last week, the windows were papered over and a required construction sign has appeared in the window. If anyone has any information, let me know as this story has been keenly followed by a great number of you…
Sadly, it looks like retail shoe store Lorin is going out of business at 1354 3rd St. Promenade in Downtown Santa Monica. Why am I telling you this? Because if you look at the storefront carefully, you’ll see a notice of pending design review in the lower right corner. The notice informs us that “a new bakery” will be taking over. If we look closely at the artist’s rendering, the name of the new bakery will be Carlo’s Bake Shop. Apparently Carlo’s Bake Shop is another name for none other than New Jersey’s Carlo’s Bakery of TLC’s Cake Boss fame. This would be the chain’s first West Coast location.
It wasn’t that long ago that I told you that Buca Di Beppo had closed its doors at 1442 2nd St, sparking a conversation about the viability of any restaurant in the pricey and complicated Santa Monica and LA market. Now it looks like another national Italian brand is going to give it a try. A sign is up on the construction plywood at the old Buca space announcing that it will soon be the home of a branch of North Italia. There’s reason to hope that they will have a better run than their predecessor: They know a thing or two about Downtown Santa Monica. Within a block in either direction are two other restaurants from North Italia’s parent company Fox Restaurant Concepts, Flower Child and True Food Kitchen. We wish them the best of luck.
A Real Treat Candy Boutique caused a sensation when it first opened as a pop-up in 2013, and later landed in Santa Monica. Offering “better” candy options that were free from artificial junk, they were lauded by LA Weekly in 2016. Sadly, it appears that things have gone sour, as a large for lease sign is now tacked to the front of their brick and mortar at 2724 Main St. I’ll keep my eye on the space to see what moves in…
Walking around Downtown Santa Monica recently, I noticed plywood covering the front of the space at 109 Broadway that used to house defunct Middle Eastern restaurant Seaside Grill. I was lucky enough to catch one of the owners of the new establishment who informed me that the upcoming eatery will intriguingly be called Air Food, and the menu will be “French”, otherwise I don’t have any more information than that. They’re shooting for a mid-April opening, and this being Santa Monica I wish them the best of luck with that.
About a year ago, I told you about the expansion of a decadently rich yogurt shop to the tony space at 1431 Ocean Ave. (in the Pacific Plaza building) in Santa Monica. It took a while, but Go Greek Yogurteria recently opened and is dishing dairy to the good people of Santa Monica. Read more about their fresh yogurt bar and self-serve frozen yogurt here.
Almost exactly one year ago, I told you about an ABC license posting on the old La Cachette Bistro space at 1733 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica announcing that a branch of popular West Coast watering hole Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern would soon inhabit the address. It took a while, but they are now up and serving lunch, dinner, and brunch. Check out their menu of “artisanal regional American classics” here.
It appears that wine and gift shop Venokado has given up the ghost in The Market at Santa Monica Place. And The Curious Palate will be jumping ship from its Market space to across the way, just to the right of the ArcLight. That means that soon, the only soldier left standing will be La Gourmandise School. But we’ve been promised that something new will be coming…
Back in December of 2015, I told you about the impending arrival of KC Chocolatier to 1431B 2nd St. in Downtown Santa Monica, right next to the new Espresso Cielo. After what seems like a very long time, they are now up and running, serving chocolates, ice cream, and hot chocolate flown in from Belgium. KC Chocolatier has a shop in Chicago, and is an offshoot of Kim’s Chocolates from Tienen, Belgium, which according to their website, is the “number 1 chocolate exporter to Canada and the United States”.
After an extensive renovation, the formerly dusty Gallery Food Hall, at 1315 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica, reopened with a fresh new design and look back in Spring of 2016. Subway was open, and previous occupant McDonald’s moved back in, and expectations rose… then began to sink. McDonald’s soon pulled up stakes. And recently, on a tip from a reader, I dropped by to discover that the last remaining eatery, Subway, had indeed vacated its second floor location. The Gallery now sits completely empty, without a single tenant or notice of a future occupant. I’m not quite sure what troubling events are going on here, but I’ll keep watching…
Ever since short-lived Aestus vacated their space at 507 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica, I’ve been carefully watching to see what would move in. Well, now we know… The windows were recently papered over informing us that the good people of Santa Monica will soon be able to partake of “modern organic Mexican” at an upcoming branch of Tocaya Organica. With branches in West Hollywood, Venice, and Miami, it looks like in they will also be expanding to Westwood and Hollywood as well, according to their website.
I only just recently noticed that artisanal coffee experts Caffe Luxxe has boarded up its location at 11975 San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood. I think the closure wasn’t unexpected as the entire shopping complex that this branch anchored has also boarded up in anticipation of an upcoming project. But if you count yourself among the legions of devoted fans of the popular purveyor of caffeinated drinks, don’t worry that you’ll have to drive to Santa Monica to get your fix: According to their website, they are planning on moving just a little east to a new location at 11640 San Vicente. I’ll keep watching to see what develops.
Santa Monica is about to get its fourth Whole Foods. But this one has a difference… According to the notice of pending requested applications attached to the fencing at the front of the new Whole Foods Market complex being built on the corner of Cloverleaf and Pico, not only with they be selling alcohol, but they will also be having “instructional tasting”, and “beer and wine on premise consumption”. Organic shopping in Santa Monica is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Local institution J & T Gourmet Deli has apparently vacated their 1128 Wilshire Blvd. space. Long a favorite among the Polish and Eastern European communities, I had been hearing whispers that the quality had changed somewhat after a recent ownership change. Not sure what will replace the deli, but I’ll keep watching…
Toddrickallen 