Former Flor Morena and all. that. parking., Wildbell, Flickr
Readers, neighbors, people who wanted that parking lot expressed a lot of interest in the former Flor Morena space on Rowena in Silver Lake. Therewere rumors, but a Hound finally has the scoop:
News! Progress! The Flor Morena space in Silverlake will officially be the new location for Michelangelo. The guys hope to be open in early summer. Their last day in the current space on Silverlake Blvd. is 5/28.
Michaelangelo was just another pawn in the game of Silver Lake restaurant musical chairs, first announcing problems with the landlord would force them to close, then Josef Centeno was interested in the space, then the landlord was crazy again. It's good that they're staying in the neighborhood and good that it's a neighborhood spot moving in instead of some, some outsider. This makes three of the last five SL rumors now dispelled and/or verified. So what's going on with Eat Well, the current Michaelangelo space, and Back Door Bakery?
· The Flor Morena Mystery [~ELA~]
· Flor Morena = Michaelangelo [Chowhound via Eating L.A.]
· Silver Lake Rumor Mill: Flor Morena, Eat Well, Crazy Landlords [~ELA~]
The circle of life and all other news comes to you via the EaterWire. Got a tip? Send it here.
PASADENA: Sad day for beer aficionados in the 'Dena: Crown City Brewery will close after May 31. From lafoodblogging: "Crown opened in 1988 just south of Pasadena’s Central Park and began serving their Arroyo Amber and Mount Wilson Wheat to the masses. On top of their house beers, the pub stocks over a hundred bottled beers and 30 more draft beers, an astonishing selection for our burg. Until the brewery finally broke down in 2002, Crown held the distinction of being Los Angeles’ oldest operating brewpub. Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewing picked up the slack and provides the pub with its flagship brews." The closure is blamed on inadequate parking, tough competition and, most importantly, the landlord's refusal to grant a new long-term lease. The remaining partners are searching for a space to reopen. [lafoodblogging]
ATWATER VILLAGE: For those of you wondering what's going on at Asia Los Feliz, there are new owners, a new name (now called Asia Bistro), a new chef, and new menu. Well, the menu is different but it's still Asian-European-Californian fusion and may still be suffering an identity crisis. [EaterWire Inbox]
MID-CITY: You know how the owners of Sonora Cafe on La Brea were just waiting for the right buyer before they shuttered the 20-year-old restaurant for good? Well, this just in from a reader: "The site has been leased to a operation called Yummie's (upscale grocery operation) whom I understand will sell some food items." Consider this the first unconfirmed, unresearched breadcrumb. Follow up to…follow. [EaterWire Inbox]
DOWNTOWN: Everyone's favorite pirate-themed Redwood Bar added weekend brunch for the downtownizens. Steak and eggs, French toast, sliders, omelets, crab cakes and the like, Sat-Sun 11am-2pm. Arrrrgh. [Angelenic]
When Adolfo Suaya and Michael Sutton opened Charcoal at the Arclight last May, it should've been an automatic winner: There's a built-in post-movie crowd and a full bar. But after barely a year, Charcoal will become the new Gaucho Grill flagship. Reps say Suaya closed the original Gaucho Grill, which he opened on Sunset and Laurel in 1987, because of "landlord issues." Of course, if Charcoal was a huge success, it's a safe bet Suaya would reopen in a new location vs. taking over an existing restaurant. Details are sketchy, but there are rumblings about a closure, renovations and a debut "in a few months." We don't know if Sutton will stay involved (he generally partners on non-Gaucho projects), or whether they'll rethink that ridiculous "no change" policy. Stay tuned.
· EaterWire: Gaucho Grill WeHo [~ELA~]
· Coinless Charcoal [~ELA~]
· Eater Inside: Charcoal [~ELA~]
MID-CITY: According to a tipster, the Kokomo Café move to the Eat Well location on Beverly and Martel will happen "sometime in the next week." We still haven't heard what's moving in to the Kokomo space at the Farmers Market. (Photo credit: Flickr) [EaterWire]
GLASSELL PARK: The low-key beer-lover's Verdugo Bar finally escapes the "soft open" phase and goes to six days a week starting April 8. There's also Beer Pong. Beer Pong! [UrbanDaddy]
WOODLAND HILLS: Valley sports fans will have to find another bar to overtake: Yankee Doodles will close after tonight's NCAA championship game. The Santa Monica location will remain open. [WHWC]
Sure, she'll miss the matzo ball soup and wine selection at Victor's Deli, which closes this month, but this Bronson Canyon/East Hollywood Hills blogger cares more about its replacement: "Will an enterprising restaurateur PLEASE open up a lovely wine bar, or a sleek cafe, or something that's better than the mediocrity that lines this stretch of Franklin Avenue...It's a space with potential that comes with a built-in customer base! Look at all those packed restaurants along the strip, like tre shitty La Poubelle, with its apropos name. Even Victor's Restaurant does strong business with its gross dirty ceilings, old ratty carpet, depressing decor and average food." Won't someone help, please?
· Loss to the neighborhood, and a big opportunity: Victor's Liquor & Deli closing [Ritz Bites]
Silver Lake's Michaelangelo will close its doors on May 31. Landlord problems are to blame, but the last we heard the owners want to reopen somewhere else. And what of that high-traffic location, spitting distance from La Mill? Rumblings that Josef Centeno was interested, and although he is looking to do his own thing (named Volver) in the big SL, there's no firm confirmation it will happen on Silverlake Blvd. [Eating L.A./ELA]
It's been open for 20 years, but Sonora Cafe is slowly on its way out. The restaurant stopped serving lunch, and according to our tipster, it will shutter as soon as someone takes over the lease. When Sonora opened in 1986, Southwest cuisine was all the rage, it seemed to fit the time and place. Owned by Ron Salisbury from the El Cholo clan, it was always seen as a "more upscale" El Cholo and not much more. Now the only time it's really busy is happy hour. Bonus fun fact: According to the LAT, Sonora Cafe replaced Mary Sue Miliken and Susan Feniger's much-beloved City restaurant, and in an unrelated move, the Border Girls opened Ciudad where the original Sonora Cafe was located downtown. Restaurant symmetry! Love it.
· Sonora Cafe [LAT]
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