Loteria Grill abruptly vacated its prime Downtown Santa Monica location at 1251 3rd St Promenade back in late 2016. Since then, the space has sat vacant. But that’s about to change. Ocean Avenue’s humble tourist crowd pleaser Casa Martin is opening a branch at the location, at least according to a recently posted ABC application. No business name is listed, so I’ll keep watching for more details…
A sad day for old school Santa Monica aficionados… Recently, after 30 years, Downtown Santa Monica staple Greek Cuisine Stop’n Café closed its iconic location at 1237 3rd Street Promenade. A gracious note posted on the front door offers gratitude to the community and explains that they have, “decided to pass on this beautiful location to the next generation of entrepreneurs.” And who might that entrepreneur be? An ABC application on the front of the space reveals that it is none other than a familiar purveyor of diminutive burgers that is bent on world domination… Burgerim.
And while we’re on the subject of openings… It was back in March when I discovered that Carlo’s Bake Shop, of Cake Boss fame, was opening a branch at 1354 3rd St. Promenade in Downtown Santa Monica. So, for all you who have been eagerly awaiting a chance to get your hands on their confectionary creations, it is my pleasure to tell you that Carlo’s Bake Shop threw open their doors on Monday. Again, you’re welcome.
The other day I noticed an interesting sign recently installed on the upstairs space in The Gallery at 1315 3rd Street Promenade where Subway used to reside. Still covered with plastic, the sign resembles a license plate and bears an inscrutable jumble of consonants that appear to say “starfish”. It also bears a very famous name, Voltaggio. After much online searching, I was able to uncover only one single clue: On page 35 of the Downtown Santa Monica Annual Report (you’re welcome for searching this document, it’s written on the very last page.), you’ll see this single sentence, “Two new and exciting chef-driven concepts will follow, James Beard Award winner Dave Beran’s Dialogue and STRFSH by the Voltaggio Brothers.” And that’s as much as I can find…
Update: Eater has more details here.
Further Update: Voltaggio STRFSH is now open.
Well that took a long time… Well over a year ago, I first noticed that food truck folks Bobaritto were finally putting down roots at 1321 Third Street Promenade in Downtown Santa Monica. I’m not sure what the hold up was, but they have recently thrown open their doors and are dispensing sushi burritos, poke, and boba tea to the good people of Santa Monica.
I recently came across ‘now hiring’ notices posted on the papered-over windows of the erstwhile ShopHouse locations at 1401 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica and at 1059 Broxton Ave. in Westwood. The notices announce that both locations will be brand spanking new branches of Korean food chain Bibibop Asian Grill, headquartered in Columbus Ohio. According to LABJ, they intend on taking over all the old ShopHouse locations, including The Point in El Segundo, and West Hollywood’s branch as well.
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.
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…
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.
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…
With food trucks in LA, OC, and NY, it appears that sushi burrito, poke, and boba tea specialists Bobaritto is getting a brick and mortar. Paper has gone up on the space that used to house longtime Santa Monica fixture George’s Bistro at 1321 Third Street Promenade announcing the impending arrival. No word on an opening date, but until then, check out their menu (and secret menu) and learn more about what exactly a sushi burrito is here.
Almost two years ago, I told you about the proposed renovation of the dusty old food court at 1315 Third Street Promenade. Well, it has taken them long enough, but the flashy new Gallery food hall is now open. But don’t get yours hope up yet. Only McDonald’s has reopened and Subway is expected to soon as well, but other than that, nothing else has moved in yet.
2016 is turning out to be a rough year for restaurant closures. The latest? While there’s no hard evidence except a disconnected phone line, it appears obvious that one of Santa Monica’s long-standing fixtures, George’s Bistro has unceremoniously closed its doors at 1321 Third Street Promenade. The windows are papered over and the furniture has been removed. There’s no word on a replacement, but I’ll keep watch.
While there’s no notice announcing it and their website is still up and running, it appears that longtime Santa Monica resident Bravo Cucina has abruptly closed down at 1319 Third Street Promenade. A peek inside reveals that the Italian restaurant long known for its hard-working hostesses who stood outside enticing tourists to eat there, has already essentially been gutted and Yelp users confirm the sad closure. There’s no indication of what may take its place, but I’ll keep my eye on it.
I just noticed that one of the Downtown Santa Monica’s long-time residents has folded. Johnnie’s NY Pizzeria has closed its doors at 1444 Third St. Promenade. And it appears they don’t have a new tenant lined up yet, judging from the for lease signs but I’ll keep watching…
With locations peppered across Southern California, popular office lunch spot Trimana is expanding into Santa Monica. You may recall that earlier this month I told you about the departure of Japanese convenience store Famima!! from the space at 1348 3rd St Promenade. Wasting no time whatsoever, Trimana Fresh Food Market has posted notices in the window announcing their impending arrival. No word on when they’ll open, but until they do, check out their menu and read more here.
Japanese convenience chain Famima!! appears to be abandoning its experimental foray into Southern California. The purveyor of prepared foods and sundries has closed its doors in the Third Street Promenade as of last week. According to the Wikipedia page, all stores in SoCal will be closed as of this month. Too soon to tell what might replace it, but I’ll keep watching.
Back in April of 2014 I told you that the decrepit food hall at 1315 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica was destined for a make-over. Work has finally begun and all of the restaurants (McDonald’s, Chinese Gourmet Express, The Candy Baron, Sushi Shogun, etc.) that had previously occupied the space except for Subway (that you now have to enter through a sleazy back alley entrance) have now closed. Not sure which one’s will be returning but I’ll keep watching…
It’s been a long time coming but it appears that the old Yankee Doodle space at 1410 Third St. Promenade in Santa Monica will finally get a new restaurant. Ever since the sports bar closed due to a fire back in 2013, the space has mostly sat vacant. Construction recently began and signs went up declaring that the cavernous space will be divided into two spaces; one will be a T-Mobile, and one will be a new restaurant. I don’t think they’ve settled exactly on which restaurant as there is still a commercial lease notice online, but I’ll keep my eyes on it…
Toddrickallen 