Plywood Update: La Grande Orange in Santa Monica

As we reported last week, Santa Monica's La Grande Orange Grocery has finally set a rough opening date of late April. We spoke with founder Bob Lynn (who's also the man behind Pasadena's La Grande Orange Cafe and the first LGO Grocery in Phoenix, AZ) to find out what exactly we can expect when the doors eventually open. Here's the skinny:

The Goal: In short, LGO is going to be a souped-up version of its Pasadena sister, or as Lynn puts it more eloquently, "the kind of place you can use every day, whether you're getting a cappuccino from the coffee bar in the morning, stopping in on your lunch break for a grab-and-go salad, or coming in for a three-course dinner and a glass of wine on a Saturday night."

The Food: The dining room will boast an exhibition-style kitchen, similar to the one in Pasadena, while dedicated sushi and pizza stations will craft their own delicacies to eat in or take away (we're especially excited for the pizzas - the Phoenix Grocery sells up to 400 a day). The menu will be made on site using fresh ingredients from the Santa Monica farmer's market, organic wherever possible (the only freezer in the restaurant is for ice cream and gelato).

The Design: Architecture firm Marmol Radziner (the brains behind those luxe pre-fab houses) has been tasked with creating an "upscale industrial" space, while Marshall & Agriam, the interior designers responsible for Venice's Gjelina, will be adding the finishing touches.

The Extras: A few more incentives that could be reason to brave the summer crowds include a wealth of outdoor seating and a refreshing lack of corkage fee for those who want to bring their own bottles.
· Storecasting: La Grande Orange 'Grow-Cery' Comes to Santa Monica [Racked LA]
· Winter Tracking Update Briefs: Tony's, La Grande Orange in Santa Monica, Le Saint Amour, D-Town Burger Bar [Eater LA]
· Eater Wire: LGO in Santa Monica [Eater LA]

Correction/Update: Originally, we incorrectly stated that Marshall & Agriam designed Gjelina. The design should be attributed to Modern Architectural, Inc and Peel, Inc.