MASSIVE Plywood Report and Update: The Untitled Richard Blais Project, Libra, Philippe, Dusty's, MORE!

1) Downtown: Straight from Richard Blais himself, "Looks like the downtown project is on hold for now. Still very much interested in LA. But may need to drum up interest from other parties." [EaterWire]

2) Culver City: Two new restaurants will take over the old Stellar True Value Hardware space on Main Street. The first eatery will be called Lunch as previously mentioned, and the second spot with a separate owner will be called Libra and serve a hybrid of Brazilian and Korean BBQ. [EaterWire]

3) West Hollywood: Get ready for the first West Coast outpost of Philippe Chow's (or is it Chau?) self-titled restaurant, Philippe. The 5,000-square foot restaurant is currently slated to debut October 1 and will serve the same menu as other locations. [EaterWire]

4) West Hollywood: Republic shuttered over a year ago and finally some news on what might go into that huge empty space. South Beauty Group wants to open a "high-end" Chinese restaurant called Lan, according to Blackburn and Sweetzer. "The background to this is that the property owner took Republic to court to get the nightclub out, which was not legally zoned for dancing. More background is that this property has been a restaurant since at least 1955, when it was the Oyster House. Though Lan would not have live entertainment or dancing, they do want alcohol sales and to be open till 2am." [B+S]

5) West Hollywood: Blackburn and Sweetzer also reports that Dusty's in Silver Lake wants to take over the 2,300-square-foot space where Shoe Bliss is at 819 N. La Cienega Blvd. "The idea is to serve lunch and dinner on the weekdays and brunch and dinner on the weekends, with alcohol; the restaurant wanted to stay open from 12pm-2am daily, but said it would be willing to close at 12am on weekdays." Unfortunately, at a recent Mid City West Land Use Committee this particular pitch was shot down because directly behind the space is an apartment building for the elderly. Let's see if the Dusty's people revise their plan to make it work. [B+S]

6) West LA: Over a year ago chef/owner Niki Nakayama sold her small sushi spot on Melrose called Azami. Word has it that she plans to open a new restaurant at a Sawtell location in West LA, and until then she will cook at her family's seafood store called Inaka Seafood Gourmet in Arcadia. [EaterWire]