No Deal, but An Interesting History Lesson

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Back in February when the Downtown News wrote that the Pig n’ Whistle was looking at space in the Fine Arts Building I was incredulous that no one mentioned that the restaurant was a previous tenant in that very same space.

Unfortunately this week the paper reports that the deal fell through.

“It’s a great location and we would have loved to bring it back with all its old Downtown history,” Pig n’ Whistle owner Chris Breed said. “Unfortunately the landlords don’t see the potential and went with something else with a better offer. Considering the amount of money you have to put into a building like the Pig ‘n Whistle, you have to be realistic about the numbers.”

Breed said he is willing to consider other Downtown locations, but regrets that his venue won’t occupy one of its original spaces.

Ironically in February I was chiding the wrong source on their lack of history. I was blaming the Downtown News for neglecting a historical angle when it in fact turned out that the Pig n’ Whistle’s ownership didn’t know about the connection. When my post got over to them it intensified their interest in landing the Fine Arts Building space. Unfortunately that turned out to not quite be enough.