Purveyors of “authentic Chinese food” Northern Cafe continue their expansion. A new branch has appeared almost overnight at 700A S. Allied Way in El Segundo. Hopefully they’ll have better luck with the space, which has previously been a Mediterranean eatery, an Indian restaurant, and a branch of burger joint The Counter.
As longtime resident The Counter pulled up stakes in the Waterside at Marina del Rey shopping complex, they made room for another expanding burger chain. I’ve been hearing from excited readers who have seen the sign board heralding the news. The Waterside website confirms that, yes indeed, Shake Shack will soon be delivering their signature “modern day roadside burger” to the good people of the Marina.
Well that didn’t take long… It was only back in January when I told you about short-lived Samosa House’s disappearance from the back development of Plaza El Segundo, on the corner of Rosecrans and Sepulveda in El Segundo. Now another courageous restaurant is giving the tricky location a go. It looks like rapidly expanding healthy Mediterranean eatery Soom Soom Fresh Mediterranean is moving in. They appear to be living up to their mission to bring falafel, shawarma, and hummus “across Los Angeles and beyond”.
Update: I heard from a company rep who told me they’re shooting for an April opening.
With competition in El Segundo/Manhattan Beach stiff, the restaurant scene in the back development of Plaza El Segundo is fighting for life. In 2017, an outpost of Samosa House took over The Counter space at the front of the mall. But now, it appears, they have given up the ghost as evidenced by the papered-over windows. That leaves only three eateries left, including an increasingly isolated Veggie Grill.
Is competition in the food scene getting too stiff in the El Segundo area? New multi-use complexes are popping up right and left. There’s the developing Elevon project, Apollo Landing, and Manhattan Village is getting a much-needed redo. But there are signs that things are wearing thin. Many empty spaces still sit in the newish The Point. And older shopping centers are beginning to bleed tenants. Plaza El Segundo has had a number of vacant storefronts for a while. Recently, customized burger joint The Counter pulled up stakes there. Courageous expanding Indian restaurant chain Samosa House has settled in and is giving it a go, making this their fifth location. We wish them the best of luck.
It appears that Sweet XO, the yogurt, bakery, and gift store that opened a little over a year ago has closed its doors at 3700B Allied Way in Plaza El Segundo, next to The Counter. While the reviews praised their astonishing array of treats like “xogurt” with 175 different toppings, desserts, cupcakes, and candies, it just didn’t prove enough. And if you suddenly find that existence has lost all meaning without their promise of “Life Fulfilled”, you can track down three other locations scattered across SoCal here.
By merely uttering the words, “Mondays suck”, custom-built burger restaurant The Counter will give you a complimentary shake of your choice. The offer is good only at the El Segundo Plaza location. I can’t think of a better way to stave off the beginning of the week blues…
For locations and other info, check out: thecounterburger.com
The Counter, the build-your-own burger joint is now officially open in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center on the first floor near Rocksugar. Check out their menu here: thecounterburger.com. And don’t forget to drop in on October 1st, World Vegetarian Day, for a complimentary mini veggie burger.
As per the sign across the front, it looks like the fast spreading burger joint, The Counter, is set to open September 21st in the Westfield Century City Shopping Center.
Last week, I told you about Santa Monica’s Vanilla Bake Shop going into the ground floor of Westfield’s Century City Shopping Center. With a flurry of activity, at least four other restaurants are currently under construction and are slated to open sometime this year. BJ’s Brewhouse(http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com/) has (extremely slowly) been moving into the old French 75 space at the back of the mall and is now hiring. I hope they have better luck than every other incarnation to use this space. On the ground floor near Rocksugar, look for a summer opening for the “build-your-own-burger” chain The Counter (http://www.thecounterburger.com/). Finally, upstairs in the food court plywood signs are hiding construction on two new restaurants. You can probably guess what’s on the menu at the graphically named The Juicy Bird going into the old Tacone space, and right around the corner work is underway on a branch of the chain Charley’s Grilled Subs (http://www.charleys.com/). Both are slated to open July 1st.
It looks like hyper-active burger joint, The Counter, is coming soon to Century City Shopping Center. I noticed this sign covering the space close to Rocksugar. If you’re one of the last people who have yet to encounter The Counter, check out their menu here: http://www.thecounterburger.com/menu/ or visit one of their other gazillion locations in SoCal and throughout the US for their 312,120+ different burger combinations (including an excellent veggie).
Toddrickallen 