Construction is fast and furious on a new Greek restaurant landing in the strip mall on the corner of Rose and Lincoln in Venice. A new sign lets us know that ELA Greek Eats is well underway. ELA is a project from the man behind the erstwhile Waterloo & City in Culver City and Inotheke in Santa Monica, Carolos Tomazos. We wish him the best of luck.
I’d been hearing whispers (Thanks T!) that Montana Avenue’s perennially-busy fave Italian joint Forma was expanding into the cavernous hole left by the abrupt closure of Chaya Venice at the corner of Navy and Main St, but I had no evidence. Now there’s proof. An ABC application recently went up in the window confirming that the good people of Venice will soon be getting a Forma of their very own.
Poplar hip Venice caffeine joint Menotti’s Coffee Stop is continuing to expand. Recently they appeared on Sunset in Hollywood. Now, according to the new signs, it looks like that they are opening another location in an old hardware store at 12450 W Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles (Or is it Culver City? It’s confusingly written both ways on-line.) I’m not sure when the flat whites and cortados will start pouring, but it looks like they’re not too far off…
Creative, plant-based superstar chef Matthew Kenney continues to expand his empire. A small piece of paper on the side of the space at 1700 Lincoln Blvd., in an increasingly fashionable stretch of Venice, lets us know that Double Zero will soon be inhabiting the erstwhile Italian deli. And what is Double Zero? With its flagship store in the East Village in New York, Double Zero will soon deliver to Venice vegan pizza from a custom wood burning oven, small plates including their proprietary plant-based cheeses, and desserts with sustainable European wines served in a “warm casual environment”.
After opening in Santa Monica earlier in the year, Bluestone Lane is expanding to Venice. I followed up on a tip from a reader (Thanks Barbara) and went snooping around the old Cerveteca location. I was able to confirm that 523 Rose Ave. will indeed soon be home to a branch of the Australian chain.
I first noticed that something was happening to the space at 2524 Pacific Ave. in Venice back in February of last year. A sign on the front informed us that a new organic, plant-based deli was moving in. As it turns out, the deli is a project of a familiar name, Chef and restaurateur Matthew Kenney. A little over a year later, the new deli, whose name is New Deli, will open April 15th (according to Plant Based News) with a selection of coffee, juice, beer, wine, and sundries.
I recently noticed that a new frozen treat store is landing at 1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice. Self-described ice cream shop Boca De Agua is looking to open on the über-hip high street. Apparently, they had hoped to open as of last month, but it looks like they’re running a bit behind…
