We all know that since opening, the food scene at Santa Monica Place has had its share of troubles. The much-anticipated Market now sits mostly empty and largely untouched, as do a number of other restaurant spaces, even as the wildly popular Cheesecake Factory continues to be a big draw. Into this chaos, one plucky new eatery is making a courageous bid. Mall staple Great Khan’s Mongolian Grill is now open in the food court. We wish them luck.
This is a bit of a mystery… It appears that Santa Monica’s branch of perennially popular fast/fresh Mexican chain Poquito Mas has closed up shop at 2025 Wilshire Blvd., next to Veggie Grill. As you can tell from the photo, the space hasn’t yet lined up a new tenant, but I’ll keep watching.
After a long and thorough remodel, the food court at 1315 Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica otherwise known as The Gallery, finally reopened earlier this year and began to sputter back to life. However, there appears to be a challenge to its triumphant return: After reopening recently, McDonald’s, long the corner-stone of The Gallery, has mysteriously disappeared. This leaves only Subway currently open, but there does seem to be a great deal of activity in some of the other stalls. I’ll keep watching.
It was only a month ago that I told you about the closure of miscreant watering hole The Commons Ale House at 129 Broadway in Downtown Santa Monica. I had been hoping that there would soon be an indication of a new eatery or bar moving into the already kitted out space, joining the mini restaurant row of other establishments that dot Broadway from Ocean to 3rd. But sadly this is not the case. A lonely paper has replaced the pithy closure notice that previously hung on the front door indicating that what will be replacing the Ale House will be… a shoe store. [sigh]
Fresh, healthy lunch joint California Monster Salads has closed its doors at 411 Santa Monica Blvd. But all may not be lost… Their website promises a new site coming soon, so we’ll have to wait and see what develops.
That didn’t take long… It was only back in the March that I noticed that pie shop Simplethings had disappeared from its Lincoln/Wilshire corner location in Santa Monica. Wasting no time whatsoever, signs soon went up announcing that Pasadena’s Spinfish Poke House was set to move in. Well, indeed they have, as they recently opened and are now dishing raw fish to the masses.
A great many of you have been carefully tracking the progress of an eatery taking shape at 3021 Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica (formerly Santino’s) that I first told you about back in April. Burgers N Brews recently opened, and is brought to you by the people behind its sister restaurant, The Britannia Pub in Downtown Santa Monica. It’s all about the burgers here, with choices ranging from veggie, chicken, cod, pork, lamb, angus, and grass-fed, all to be washed down with a selection of, you guessed it, craft beers served in frosty glasses. It seems to be off to a good start, and Yelpers are raving about it. We wish them the best of luck.
The Commons Ale House has had its share of troubles in the past, but all that is behind them now. A letter, hand-penned in marker and affixed to the front door at 129 Broadway, bids a colorful goodbye to Downtown Santa Monica and a thank you to its erstwhile customers. It appears that they closed down after last weekend, and no reason for the abrupt closure is given. I’ll keep my eye on the space to see what develops.
Back in March, I told you about the opening of the food hall The Gallery at 1315 Third Street Promenade after a two-year renovation. While there appears to be a great deal of activity, almost all the stalls are still without tenants. However, joining McDonald’s, Subway has returned to the The Gallery and is now open. I’ll keep watching the other spaces…
It’s poke mania on the Westside! It wasn’t that long ago that I told you about the demise of Santa Monica’s short-lived branch of pie shop Simplethings, at 808 Wilshire Blvd. (corner of Lincoln). Wasting no time whatsoever, signs have gone up on the space indicating that a branch of Pasadena’s Spinfish Poke House will be rapidly moving in. Their website alludes to a new location (“We are dropping our anchor on another port!”) and encourages us to follow clues, but I think we’ve solved the mystery. The windows are papered over so I can’t assess the progress, but I’ll keep watching…
The sparkling brand new Gelson’s that took over the old Haggen (Albertson’s) space on the corner of Ocean Park and Lincoln in Santa Monica is just about to make grocery shopping a whole lot more interesting. According to signs posted in the store, they will soon be adding a wine and craft beer bar, thereby considerably increasing their chances of higher revenue due to impulse spending. No word on when the drunk shopping will commence, but believe me, I’m watching this one closely…
So, I’ve been watching the tiny space at 218 Main St. in Venice (Santa Monica adjacent) ever since I noticed a small notice pasted on the front that indicated the storefront was being outfitted as a restaurant. But I couldn’t get any info until this week… Paper covering the side of the plywood tells us that the new eatery will be something called Chez Tex. A quick search directed me to the still-developing website, informing us that Chez Tex will be an “all-day eatery” serving coffee, food, and wine. I’ll keep my eye out for more information.
Ambitious wood-fired restaurant Cadet closed earlier this year after a short run at 2518 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. And now we have a clue as to what may be replacing it. An ABC license application went up on the space on Friday informing us that something called LDH Kitchen will be taking over. Hard to find much information about what kind of establishment this will be. The man behind LDH is someone named Eugene Nomura according to the ABC app. I’ll keep watching for further developments…
I’ve been watching the space at 3021 Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica that used to house tapas place Santino’s, after a reader sent me an inquiry asking about all the recent activity. Somebody was hard at work for the last few months doing a complete renovation. Signs have recently gone up informing us all exactly what the new restaurant will be: Burgers N Brews. Except for their very recent ABC application, I can find very little information about this new establishment. According to their awning, we can expect craft beer and wine, grass-fed burgers, and pizza in a sports bar atmosphere.
Champions of uncooked cuisine Rawvolution, at 2301 Main St. in Santa Monica was closed yesterday due to a violation of the Health and Safety Code, or at least that’s what the official notice, dated 3/31 and posted on the front door says. A much less formal, handwritten note accompanying the notice attempts to explain that the issue appears to be a plumbing problem. As of Friday, they were very busy remedying the situation and the sign suggests that they may possibly reopen by Saturday, but as you can see, an official health officer must reopen it. We wish them the best of luck.
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 was only just back in July of last year that I told you about the opening of Simplethings on the corner of Wilshire and Lincoln in Santa Monica. Sadly, after a few months of pushing pies, it appears that they have quietly slipped out of their location at 808 Wilshire Blvd. There’s no official indication, but the restaurant has been gutted and all signage has been removed. I’ll keep my eye on the space to see if anything else is moving in anytime soon.
McCabe’s Bar has sat empty for a while now, and Eater has been wondering what would be moving in since August of last year. Well now we know. An ABC application posted high in a window indicates that a branch of West Hollywood’s Vito’s Pizza will soon inhabit the space at 2455 Santa Monica Blvd. I had a chance to speak with the very enthusiastic and passionate owner of the eponymous restaurant, Vito DiDonato who explained that McCabe’s had left everything in poor shape. He was looking at a fairly extensive remodel to replace virtually everything. He optimistically projected an opening roughly in about four months. We wish him the best of luck…
With locations across California and the US, massive wine, beer, and spirits retailer Total Wine & More is opening a store in Santa Monica. An ABC license recently went up on the chain mail fence surrounding the old Jo-Ann Fabric building at 1637 Lincoln Blvd., near the corner of Colorado. It looks like they’ve got a way to go before it opens, but until then, read more about the expanding chain here.
Recently I noticed a small pending development permit taped to the front of the building that used to house eclectic design bookshop Hennessey + Ingalls at 214 Wilshire Blvd in Downtown Santa Monica. If you look carefully at the notice, you can see that the space is being redesigned to change use from a retail space into a full service restaurant. And what will be the name of the new eatery, that will be sandwiched between Hillstone and California Pizza Kitchen? The permit lists the applicant as Santa Monica Farmhouse. There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of information out there yet, just some details of the trademark, but I’ll keep watching.
Toddrickallen 