Opening, Maybe, Soon

Hey , when does the Ralph’s open? Anyone

According to Ralph’s customer service 800 number they have offically removed the June open date from their screens and have no updates.

I’m betting that the Ralph’s does not open until the supermarket workers settle on their new contract. The construction of the market was delayed over a year by the last lock out and strike.

I saw a similiarly dopey sign over the Memorial Day weekend at the Cathedral. There is a small community outreach center on the corner of Hill & Temple. The sign on the door read “Closed on Monday, May 28th for the Labor Day holiday.” Alas, I had no camera.

Seems like a waste to put a post office there. They should put a cafe or something.

Speaking of which, Weeneez is a waste of a restaurant! This store needs to leave and a nicer, less fast-foody style restaurant needs to move in.

This store closes before anyone who lives in this neighborhood is even home from work yet. Its only open during the day… pointless, useless waste of a street corner with unbelievable potential! Why would you pay $6 for a hotdog when you can get them on the street for $1, with bacon!

They need to close Weeneez and put in a bar, restaurant, or store that stays open late….. immediately.

it will be great to have this post office open again. much better than hiving to hike down to olympic and main, or up the hill to bunker hill.

weeneez is open until 8pm.

but now i’m get in trouble for not helping celia pull that picture off her camera.

No comment on Weeneez as I have not had the chance to eat there but, I think it is important that we keep some affordable dinning options open in downtown. It’s great to have the big chain food restaurants opening around the city but realistically speaking most of us do not need (nor can afford) to eat at P.F. Changs, Riordan’s Steakhouse or Chaya Brasserie et al…every night. Support the smaller “mom & pops” for us working folks.

+1 vote for the Bacon dogs

Boo on you for dissing Weeneez! At least they guts to open there, which nobody else seems to have.

First of all, they’re not open “only during the day,” they’re open until 8:00 p.m.

Second of all, they have good food. If you don’t like hot dogs at all, I can understand your opposition. But their hot dogs are quite good, they make their own cole slaw, and the tamales are also decent. That’s really all they serve. The only thing I hate about the place is the name, which is far too “cute.”

Ralphs’ will probably open in July.

Weeneez is ok as a side shop, say in a strip mall, but the corner at 5th & Spring is far too valuable of a corner for such a cheesy restaurant. 5th and Spring has the potential to be built up like 4th & Main, or better.

My purpose wasn’t to diss the restaurant, because I have eaten there and its fine. Its just that this corner has WAY more potential than a hot dog shop. And 8:00 is still day time in my book. We need stores that stay open until 11, 12, etc.

PS - Hooray for Ralphs!

ok my only complaint about weeneez is that we don’t have them over in South Park. I can’t complain we don’t have retail anymore though because supposedly we’re getting a dry cleaner in the smaller unit in our building.. a pick up/ drop off thingy. wow. Oh well. We still got Starbucks and maybe one day the Ralph’s might open up.

I should walk by there and see how they’re doing. They didn’t look close to being done the last time we drove by. =( At this point I’d rather have Target take over the Ralph’s location. At least they aren’t threatening to strike or whatever (er, is Target even unionized?)

I’ve reversed myself on Weeneez, it’s an oasis of cool on a hectic corner. The coleslaw rocks and I don’t even like coleslaw. The people who work there are very, very nice. The bar across the street is open later than 8p.

The Post Office will be so welcome. Olympic and Main has a button factory overhead and it’s really loud downstairs while waiting in line. The clerks are pleasant though. There is always a line at the one in Macy’s Plaza. But more to the point, the Historic Core deserves its own Post Office.

It will be nice to have a Ralph’s closer than Glendale Blvd in Silver Lake. Anyone used the Vons in Echo Park off Alvarado north of Sunset? Now that Vons is taking double coupons again we’ve been wondering what it’s like…

I just heard back from CIM (the developer of Ralphs) and it looks like at this point, Ralphs will open “at the beginning of July”. This will be a big step for residents downtown.

I really believe that the opening of Ralph’s will be a watershed moment for downtown. The lack of a traditional supermarket has been such a hole in the residential experience downtown that it’s existence will open up the idea of living downtown as a serious consideration for a much wider group of people.

People always talk about downtown lacking “amenities”. A supermarket really isn’t an “amenity” when almost all residential neighborhoods have reasonable access to them - it’s a necessity. Getting over this lack of a necessity will make downtown much, much more attractive as a living, breathing neighborhood.

I prefer the VOns off of North Broadway. ALso The fresh fare Ralph’s is a really nice concept. Went to the fresh fare in Pasadena this past weekend I got pretty pumped up.

hey y’all there a great post office in little tokyo across from the Office Depot. it’s at the back of a cell phone store, of all things, in the strip mall there.

it’s a full-on P.O. (all services) and the clerk is extremely patient and helpful.

I’m not sure that I’m as excited about Ralphs in the same way others are. I like the convenience but the idea of having prepared food, a florist, a sushi counter and other amenities seems to contradict why I moved to Downtown. I get my flowers from the flower mart. I get my sushi from the Japanese market or from one of the many good sushi joints. I get pizza from Pit Fire, Indian food from Gils and the list goes on. I hope Ralphs doesn’t expect us all to welcome the box type, do everything but nothing very well idea without some reservations.

My fear is that Ralphs is a watershed moment for a watered down community. Some call the Fresh Fare the DKNY Ralphs and boast of the singles seen.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll probably shop there and squeeze a few melons, but not very often. Food for Less on 6th street has a great produce department and smart and final has good bulk items. Who buys TP weekly when you can by a years worth?

i’m definitely not excited about ralph’s. besides marukai and mitsuwa, there’s also an organic grocery store and a weekly farmer’s market in little tokyo, the farmer’s markets at the central library, chinatown and 7th/fig, grand central market, the old bank market & deli, the newly-opened kosher market in the fashion district, and LAX-C (the huge asian food warehouse by the brewery). RLK mentioned the food for less on 6th - they have a good meat dept too. why would i need a ralph’s? now if you put in a trader joe’s, costco and a target - that’d get me excited.

Well a lot of us are happy to be able to walk to a grocery store and not have to get in our cars. Plus, I honestly believe the foot traffic in the neighborhood will really increase…giving us a better safety factor. The best thing about the Ralphs is what Colemonkee said, it is a necessity and its lets Los Angeles know downtown is for RESIDENTS! Ralphs was the first market in Downtown San Diego and they have never looked back. Downtown SD was known to be the homeless capitol at one time and now it has so many residents that it is a great place to live. I love local markets and Trader Joes, but this grocery store is very exciting for downtown.

with the exception of lax-c and food for less, i’ve walked to all those places i mentioned earlier. you can also take the gold line to pasadena and shop the trader joe’s there, or take the red line to thai town and shop at ralph’s. but it is nice to know that a ralph’s is close by should an emergency come up. i hope they have late hours.

one of the things that made the idea of moving downtown easier is that since I don’t have a car, I would be able to just walk on over what last minute items at the Ralph’s which we seemed to get conflicting info about its opening. We do most of our shopping at TJ’s and Costco, while our soda binges we usually go to Von’s or Ralph’s for.. I’m less likely to take the bus to the market by myself because I figure the food will melt and rot before I get to my building. Although the buses seem to go everywhere walking all the way to the Historic Core or Little Tokyo is a few & far between option for me. Certainly not for groceries. Having someplace other than Rite Aid to get soda or bottled water would be nice. =)

Celia,

Where’s the organic grocery store in Little Tokyo? The fish and meat are great at Mitsuwa in the mall at Alameda/3d, but the produce there is pretty bleh. If there’s an organic produce place in LT, I would love to hear about!

I’m with you Celia!

We have no need for a Ralphs, go out and support the locals. Hit grand central market, the farmers markets, little tokyo has 3 grocery stores (2 small 1 big), venture out and find the fish market on Olympic. The toy district is a huge target/walmart with a fraction of the prices. You can find everything you need within the blocks of downtown, I suggest you get out of your car and go for a walk.

If you choose to live in an urban environment don’t expect it to change for you, you must adapt to it.

Jim:

Try living in South Park and try getting a half a gallon of milk at 9:00 at night. Where can you get a decent bottle of wine at reasonable prices? Do you expect us to walk to Little Tokyo at night by ourselves to buy our food? I have been harrassed by homeless people and called faggot by a homeless insane man walking down Spring. There must be two downtowns…and your side of the block is not always convenient nor is it safe to walk to your neighborhood. South park and the financial district have only a couple of mini marts which are like dirty 7/11’s. You are being ignorant!

I will be very happy to be able to walk to Ralph’s and support local shops. There are a lot of lofts opening in our neighborhood in the next couple of years. I hope that some of the merchants will open up local places…but we have slim pickings right now and I am counting the days till Ralph’s becomes part of this changing neighborhood.

sorry, this was directed to Sam.

I can understand where CK is coming from. Some people have a truncated view of what constitutes downtown. Walking about the historic core at 9 p.m. can be a frustrating experience for the unintiated. However, I’d urge you to continue exploring during the daylight hours. You’ll be pleased by what you find.

I have to concur with Celia et al that Ralph’s won’t be that big a deal personally. My family does just fine without it and have for many years. Certainly, it will be a convenience since it is only three blocks from our home on Broadway, particularly if they have evening hours. Clearly, the opening of Ralph’s will a homogenizing event which makes downtown more ‘normal’. For those who are selling downtown, it will be a major talking point.

However, I think Celia’s larger point is there is already a large and very interesting world here in downtown. Alas, many are not interested in the unique and hanker for the more familiar. Each onto his own.

As for CK’s practical problem of where to buy milk or a decent bottle of wine at 9 p.m. in South Park, definitely head over to Famima on Figueroa near 8th. I suspect this is within walking distance of his home. It should definitely take care of those needs.

I’d also recommend driving over to Adelita’s on Pico & Union. They have cheap milk and excellent Mexican sweet breads. You can wash them down with the milk you just bought. They are open until 10 p.m.

That is the problem David. DRIVE over to Pico and Union? I live downtown so I don’t have to drive. Also, Famima does not sell wine, beer and is limited and milk is expensive. I think there is an “old” downtown vs. a “new” downtown. The latter welcomes all new businesses and the “old” downtown doesn’t like a lot of change.

I take the red line when I can. I hate driving..and I am sure David you will find yourself visiting Ralph’s more often than you would like.

I am very pro-downtown and excited to see the changes. That is why I invested here…and a grocery store that is walkable is one of the draws. Most people in the burbs have to drive to the store. We won’t have to anymore.

I could not even find a picture hanger when I moved in. Since we have no hardware stores in the area, I can buy a picture hanger soon..Stuff like that that makes it so difficult to live in this area of South Park. The grocery store will give us one place to find many items.

Yes, I would also love a Trader Joes but it won’t happen any time soon. I love walking to the Golden Gopher, Colori Kitchen, Wood Spoon, Tiara Cafe, Angelique Cafe, Broadway Bar, Rite Aid, Gills for Indian, Starbucks, the Standard…and the grocery store is a missing link. Now, I only wish I could see more police officers. I feel so much safer in Paris, NY and Chicago than here. People should be medicated if they are mentally ill. I hope this city can find hospitals and institutions to help these homeless people. It is a travesty and I hope our elected officials will create a clean, safe environment for all residents.

Yes, I know Wal Marts are hated the world over. But I could sure use one for every day items at reasonable prices. There was some talk last year about a location south of South Park on Flower St. near the Orthopedic Center. Along the new Expo Line.

I wonder what became of that deal ??

If any company representatives are reading this… please… please … come to Downtown Los Angeles… Downtown welcomes new retailers with open arms and wallets.

CK:

I think you’ve decided to move downtown a few years to soon. Your idea of a nice safe place in the likes of NYC, Paris and Chicago is about 5+yrs in the making.

However, you’ve decided early to come down and live in the new hotspot. So now you’ll have to pay a bit more for milk and wine when you can find those items. Why? because all this gentrification is making store owners raise their prices a bit because rent is increasing and those new “urban” dwellers are driving to Vons and Ralphs to save a buck on milk and wine but wasting $4 on gas to do it, so all in all they really are paying that extra buck for that gallon of milk.

Downtown LA hasn’t been an ideal setting for the likes of many for years. The homeless problem you speak as if it’s something that can just be fixed, is a huge problem the city does know about, but that will not change overnight. One of the main problems I see with the current homeless situation is the gentrification of downtown, maybe? what do you think?

You don’t want to drive, and you know what? you don’t have to. Buy a bike and a nice messenger bag to carry your goods (which you can purchase at el mastro on 8th and Main), you can make it to Little Tokyo and Pico Union in no time. You’ll also get to ignore all the homeless people because you’ll be traveling at a faster speed with the wind blowing in your face so you won’t have to listen to their pleads for change.

It really is quite easy, you just have to take what you’ve got and deal with it. Just a little bit of advice from “old downtown”.

I don’t have to buy a bike. I already own one…but in two weeks I can walk to Ralphs!

You are really off base if you think gentrification is is a problem for the homeless. The homeless situation is being recognized by the media…only because new people are moving downtown and bringing it to people’s attention. Thank God for redevelopment.

Perhaps you and Alice Callaghan can turn off the lights on skid row when we get this homeless problem under control. I am here to help stimulate change…in attitude and in focus. I am not alone! Other cities don’t tolerate this problem…neither should LA…not today, not tomorrow, never.

CK wrote:

golden gopher delivers. rite-aid and cvs both sell decent bottles of wine at reasonable prices. i don’t expect you to walk to little tokyo at night, i just wonder why you can’t plan ahead like others do.

no, “old downtown” just doesn’t coddle suburbanites in urbanite clothing. and i think you’re really good at making sweeping generalities that are anecdotal and don’t have any basis in fact. oops, i think i did what you just did. see how ugly that is? you’re new to this place, why are you mis-characterizing people and businesses who have been committed to the area long before it was made palatable to you?

yeah, like picture hangers at 9:30pm. good luck with that.

if you hate to drive, then take the subway to the trader joe’s in pasadena. they close at 9pm though, so you could be shit-out-of-luck if you don’t plan ahead.

yeah? i think you’re full of shit and i would know. what are you doing to help make it a clean, safe environment for all residents? do you attend the neighborhood council meetings or do you leave that hard work to “old downtown”? have you participated in the skid row walk? do you talk to the cops who patrol your area? do your elected officials even hear from you? if not, then you deserve the government you get.

Whether someone like CK or downtown toilet, or both, is involved in the community, his or her efforts will be for nothing if the idiots at the ACLU, and the number-one-phony bleeding heart of them all, Ramona Ripston (she should be forced to live in downtown, preferably close to Main Street), keep forcing their agenda onto Skid Row and the homeless issue.

What perfect utopia do you come from CK? You mentioned the safety of Paris, NYC and Chicago. Well myself, I have lived in NYC and Chicago during their great city gentrification periods (which is still going on today) and let me tell you, both had major issues like we do involving homeless, drugs and gangs. Once you make it unaffordable those problems go to other areas of the city. But then once it becomes unaffordable the real culture that created what it is that you seek, also disappears and you’re back to boring and comfortable again.

I look at people like you as a virus seeking out the next cool hotspot to gentrify and make it all nice and cozy for you. While you’re out pushing for corporate america to come make you feel at home, the heart and soul that created what you’ve just inhabited dies off to find a new place to assimilate into.

Which brings us back to gentrification. The homeless issue is still there, it hasn’t been solved, it’s just moved to an area that you don’t see anymore. All that cool art that was once on the sides of buildings and crazy avant-garde street performances have all disappeared, those weathered looking people sipping coffee, smoking cigarettes and having a grand time at the local establishments have taken off.

But I guess as long as you can grab your starbucks at any corner of the city, eat at TGI Fridays and pick up latest uniform of a good american at Gap, I’m sure you’ll sleep fine at night.

(I’m probably an easy target here just because of my handle, but here goes anyway…)

Do you think it’s the fault of people like CK, or the fault of corporations (with the cooperation of the local government) for (eventually) driving out the local establishments and long-term residents? While I’m also new to downtown (in part because I did see it as “the next cool hotspot”), I would not have come if not for AEG (Staples Center and LA Live), Ralphs, and even the Grand Ave. project.

It’s not like people were flooding into downtown and then the corporations and developers decided to follow (at least, that’s not my experience, I could be wrong). It seems to me that the local government wanted to draw in suburbanites, and corperations were there to help it (and help themselves) through favorable zoning and tax incentives. Don’t blame the suburbanites for filling a market created for them…

(And for the record, I don’t drink coffee, don’t eat at TGI Fridays, and don’t shop at the Gap, but the Colori Kitchen and Rocket Pizza Lounge are both awesome and hopefully here to stay)

Naturallawyer:

I’m all for the inhabitation of an area that hasn’t been to create a nice healthy community.

One component in a “nice healthy community” is one where you have the ability to choose. What is in store for downtown LA from my past experiences living in NYC & Chicago is that the developers are taking away our choices between independant and corporate. How is that? well lets say that 900sqft store front that was once $1000/mo is now $2500/mo, what independant store owner can realistically afford that price jump or would even want to when he/she knows they will have to raise prices on goods that people need/want? An independant store owner is not in it for the riches.

The developer is also taking away our choices on where to live and choosing the path of some who rely on affordable housing, which in return does not contribute to a “nice healthy community”.

But, what bothers me is people coming here and bitching and moaning about the lack of this and that (when it’s right under their nose if they just look) and most of all, I’m tired of hearing people who move here complain about the homeless. These are human beings just like you and I, which may have:
A) medical conditions
B) addictions
C) hit rock bottom in life
D) other issues (the list could go on and on)

downtown toilet said it right
what are you doing to help make it a clean, safe environment for all residents? do you attend the neighborhood council meetings or do you leave that hard work to "old downtown"? have you participated in the skid row walk? do you talk to the cops who patrol your area? do your elected officials even hear from you? if not, then you deserve the government you get.

All in all, I’m for the creation of a nice healthy community, but not at the expence of removing people from their homes, making small businesses close their doors and ignoring the homeless problem by herding them to different blocks of the city.

PS The post office which this topic is all about is suppose to open Monday the 16th of July. Bets anyone?

Wow, downtown toilet and sam seem to have a lot of issues. I am very involved downtown. I pick up trash every day on the streets, I always say hello to homeless and talk with them. I notify the police and BID people when I see crime. I treat everyone with integrity. If 40% of homeless are mentally ill or on drugs, they need help from the government and I have been involved there as well. If people like you two are typical of the crowd that welcomes us to downtown, count me out. I will stay away from the Skid row walks if both of you are that welcoming. Quit prejuding people. We don’t need idiots like you to cast incorrect apersions on good people. I hate ignorance of all types.

CK Writes: Wow, downtown toilet and sam seem to have a lot of issues.

I can only respond to this on my behalf because I don’t know downtown toilet.

While you seek out cheap milk, sip your wine and hang painting on your walls at night in your safe little home where your walls of utopia hide you from the world outside.

I’ll be helping to find solutions for the homeless, I’ll be at the meetings voicing my opinions on how to handle a shortage of affordable housing, I’ll be out there helping to make this a nice healthy community. These really are some important issues, don’t you think?

Ignorance is bliss eh CK

besides my issues with incorrect spelling, which you have in droves, the issue i have is with what YOU WROTE. don’t bring your baggage into this. why don’t you address what you wrote rather than resort to name-calling or throwing a juvenile online temper tantrum? and if you won’t attend a skid row walk because of a toilet's comment on a blog, then you can’t fault anyone for drawing the conclusion that your commitment to making downtown livable wasn’t there to begin with.

you must be full of self-loathing, then.

Not sure why it didn’t word-wrap on my last post. Let’s try that again…

Sam:

Totally agree with you re helping the homeless and low-income persons. I am encouraged by charities that focus on helping the homeless recover through medical care, vocational training, and/or temporary free housing, and I think such charities deserve more of our resources. The homeless are clearly misunderstood and mistreated all too often (though determining whether certain people on this blog are guilty of this is an impossible task in this medium).

However, I still think the rising value of commercial rental property (and in turn the loss of local establishments) is not the fault of “suburbanites” that transplant to downtown. Rather, I think the corporations (and commercial property owners) started it, which in turn caused “suburbanites” to take notice of downtown.

So again, blaming the perceived outsiders is, in my opinion, misguided. In fact, you’re better off inviting these outsiders to the local places so they can understand the charm. I have tried a couple of local places recently and I have been (for the most part) quite impressed. The more that the new-coming “suburbanites” patronize the local establishments, the more that the local establishments can pay higher rents.

naturallawyer:

I also agree and understand where you’re coming from, but the value of property in an area can also be created by hype, which the suburbanites do hold a hefty share of responsibility for.

Like in most urban communities it takes a type of person to vest into it. Moreso being the starving artist type or student, who may or may not have alot of income so he/she seeks out an area where it’s affordable and safe (to the extent they are willing to take on). With affordability comes social issues (homeless, gangs, drugs, higher crime rate etc) so these new residents assimilate into the area and make do of whats around. Time goes on and more and more of this type of person comes to join and create a vibrant community.

This vibrant community that was created is now that hotspot because alot of cool things are going on. Still, most people will not give up their personal comfort and safety to actually go and live in that environment, but they will come and patronize it. That is the key point, the outsiders are coming to an area of a city that is a bit rough and spending their money. Hype is being created, in return comes trendy magazine blurbs about a dive bar, researchers come in and do their tests, developers come and build and finally the corporations take over.

All in all, where the money is being spent, the opportunists come a running.

i think the city is getting it’s money worth with those automated public toilets. the old non-automated toilets never told me where to buy cheap wine. they were barely even suitable for passing cheap wine.

It’s only fair that such people be herded as close as possible to wherever your loft or apartment is located. Nicer yet, free up some space in your living room (or whatever that space near your front door is called) and set up a cot for them.

thanks jim, that was nice. you can come and piss or shit on me anytime.

Can I just ask that we not ask businesses to close down.

A couple of months ago I seem to remember a chain of emails on one of the yahoo groups where the collective “we” poo-pooed a coffee shop for never being open. Then, they started emailing the list reminding people of the hours. Then they closed.

Just like you and I (homebuyers and renters), businesses downtown have taken a tremendous risk and leap of faith to make it work downtown. I’m sure the businessowners aren’t blogging wishing that one of us would move out. So, let’s show some reciprocity, and be grateful. :-)

Climbing off my soapbox and into bed…

Ginny

The PO is open.