On the corner of Wilshire and Normandie in Koreatown, newbie The Line Hotel is busy with activity as employees happily greet hotel guests in the lobby. The hotly anticipated property is a work by The Sydell Group, developers responsible for The NoMad hotel and its prized three star namesake restaurant in Manhattan. In Los Angeles, The Sydell Group has hired hometown heroes Roy Choi (Kogi, Chego, A-Frame), Mark and Jonnie Houston (La Descarga, Harvard & Stone), and designer Sean Knibb (A-Frame) to curate dining, drinking, and design. Also, Paul Pruitt has partnered with the group as COO.
Built in 1964, the property has been fully remodeled and restored from its Wilshire Hotel days with guest rooms designed by Knibb, known for his A-Frame restaurant design, among others. While The Line is presently open as a hotel, its food and beverage outlets have yet to commence service.
The Line's website has a summary of what to expect, and the anchor here is Choi's Pot: "Koreatown and Korean food through the eyes of an American with Korean blood. Hot pots, blood soups, frenetic energy and BBQ."
Pot Lobby Bar: "A classic hotel bar as found in Korea for international travelers — only this one is in Koreatown and travel may just be a state of mind."
Café: "Take all the delicious chaos of Taiwanese bakeries, Korean underground food markets in Seoul, Salvadorian and Mexican Panaderias here in LA and supermarket birthday cakes and you may get an idea of where we are going with Cafe. $1 coffees by LAMILL and hot buns."
Commissary: "Commissary is a greenhouse with a focus on fruits and vegetables. It's not necessarily a vegetarian restaurant, just good food and drink based around plants as the foundation. It's also an homage to all the people and families here in SoCal that work on farms to bring food to our tables. Set beside a shimmering pool, it's got all the amenities of a private club but created for the public. Come Sunbathe in carrot juice, mack on a salad, or grab some eggs and toast. Commissary is your own little oasis where you can feel right at home and chill."
There's also a dining engagement named Feliz without a description.
As for nightlife, the Houston Brothers devised Speek: "A discrete Mid-Century lounge hosted by the Houston Brothers."
Word on the street is that food and beverage should launch in March or April.
· Get Ready For Roy Choi's POT at The Line Hotel [~ELA~]
· The NoMad Hotel Group + Roy Choi + The Houston Brothers + Sean Knibb at The Line Hotel Next Summer [~ELA~]
— Keyla Vasconcellos
