Plywood Report: Cafe R&D

SANTA MONICA: Remember that SBE-owned Yu Restaurant turned into the Montana Lounge, sort of a place holder until the deal was complete with the Hillstone Group, which would open a second outpost of Cafe R&D in that location. To keep us in the loop, our dedicated Montana Avenue spy writes: "I think that the R & D must stand for something like Relax and Dillydally. A corner of the butcher paper on one window fell down so I was able to get this photo." Montana Lounge closed in July, and a few months seems like a long time to strip a space to the bones. Bo one's in a big hurry: A rep from the Hillstone Group, which also owns Houston's and Bandera among others, says they hope to open by late-summer.
· Officially Official: Cafe R&D Taking Over Montana Lounge [~ELA~]
· EaterWire: Montana Lounge Closed [~ELA~]