Food & Nightlife

After Closure, The Gorbals Set to Return

By Eric Richardson — September 23, 2009
2 Comments

The Gorbals Restaurant, Downtown Los Angeles

Top Chef Ilan Hall's new restaurant The Gorbals appears set to make its return inside the Alexandria after a three week closure. The eatery had been open only a few days when a boiler issue led to a health department-mandated closure.


L.A. Live's Regal Cinemas Opening Early to Host Jackson Film

By Eric Richardson — September 21, 2009
13 Comments

Jackson Banner

Scheduled to open in mid-November, L.A. Live's Regal Cinemas will be moving its premiere up a few weeks to host October 27 screenings for the Michael Jackson film "This Is It," which features footage from the singer's final rehearsals at Staples Center. All 14 screens will show the Jackson picture on day one, but the facility will quickly transition into full...


Moving Toward a 24-Hour Broadway: 7-Eleven Now Open

By Rich Alossi — September 16, 2009
27 Comments

7-Eleven at SB Grand, 5th and Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles

Efforts to create a 24-hour Broadway took a step forward last week, but it wasn't the theaters leading the charge. Nearly a year after signing a lease in the ground floor of the SB Grand Lofts at 5th and Broadway, 7-Eleven opened its doors last Friday to decent crowds and late-night hours, currently from 5:00am to midnight. The store will move to a 24-hour schedule...


Rosslyn Wants Cigars and Billiards, Santa Fe Firehouse Restaurant and the Mysterious La Mystere

By Eric Richardson — September 15, 2009

Rosslyn Lofts Cleanup Eric Richardson

Amerland Group CEO Ruben Islas appeared before the DLANC Planning committee Monday evening to talk about his plans to bring a cigar bar and billiards lounge to the mezzanine level of the Rosslyn Lofts at 5th and Main.

Also on the agenda were updates on the future of the historic firehouse at 710 S. Santa Fe and La Mystere, a restaurant with dancing and karaoke. — Continued Inside...


Emmy Awards After Party Brought To You In Living Color

By Ed Fuentes — September 14, 2009 — 1 Comment

Color at the Ball Ed Fuentes

|Photo Gallery| One down. One to go.

After Saturday's 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Nokia Theater L.A. Live, many in attendance walked across Chick Hearn Court for the Governors Ball, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Once inside, attendees saw a West Hall converted into a sultan's palace that went over the top of the rainbow, keeping with this year's theme "Let There Be Color."

"We wanted to make this year be a stunning and stately pleasure dome," said Leslie Frankenhiemer inside the massive hall at a recent media preview. — Continued Inside...


Syrup Desserts Now Open

By Eric Richardson — August 31, 2009
7 Comments

Syrup Desserts

Highly-anticipated sweet-spot Syrup Desserts opened its doors on Sunday morning, pulling back the paper covering its windows and adding sidewalk tables on Spring street.


Final Menu: Ilan Hall's The Gorbals Opens at 5th and Spring

By Rich Alossi — August 28, 2009 — 21 Comments

The Gorbals Restaurant, Downtown Los Angeles Rich Alossi

|Photo Gallery| Wednesday, 4pm: See note below about temporary closure.

With a bold menu some would describe as a head-scratcher, Top Chef winner Ilan Hall's new restaurant The Gorbals opens its doors to the public at 6:30pm tonight. Hall, a resident of the Arts District, has been working to bring the space to the neighborhood for just under a year.

The Gorbals is named after a working-class neighborhood in Glasgow, Scotland, and the menu reflects a Jewish-Scottish mix that Hall ascribes to his mother's way of cooking. — Continued Inside...


New Bar for Craby Joe's Space Delayed by Improper Filing

By Eric Richardson — August 25, 2009 — 37 Comments

Craby Joe's Eric Richardson

Proposed Historic Core bar Haven Lounge received an expensive delay today, as applicant Fairfax Partners was told it had filed the wrong application.

The venue, slated for 7th and Main, is trying to open in the space that formerly housed 1930's dive Craby Joe's. — Continued Inside...


AEG Partners With SBE on Hollywood Lounge for Staples Center

By Eric Richardson — August 20, 2009
5 Comments

Staples Center

Staples Center owner AEG is teaming with nightlife firm SBE to open an outpost of Hollywood's Hyde Lounge inside the arena's suite level. According to a report published this week in the Sports Business Journal, the posh venue is set to debut this fall.


Fight Brewing Over Bar Proposed for Former Craby Joe's on Main

By Eric Richardson — August 20, 2009 — 42 Comments

Craby Joe's Eric Richardson

Downtown has seen an explosion of restaurants and nightlife venues over the last few years, but it has not come easily. Ask any owner about his or her story and you will likely hear a lengthy tale of permits, delays and extra costs. Special challenges are reserved for Downtown's Historic Core, where residential revitalization pushes up against what has historically been Skid Row.

The latest front in the fight over Main street revitalization is Haven Lounge, a bar proposed to occupy the former home of 1930's dive Craby Joe's, which closed at the end of 2007. A Skid Row community group is organizing opposition to the venue, arguing against any additional alcohol sales in the neighborhood. — Continued Inside...