Bill Chait's Latest Arts District Project Is a 400 Seater With No Walls

As the Arts District development boom rolls full steam ahead (for better or worse), Bill Chait’s Sprout Restaurant Group continues to capitalize. LA Downtown News hops along the winding restaurant trail through a few of Chait’s incoming projects for the area, particularly at 500 S. Mateo, which is next to the Fourth Street bridge.

The first inbound project there is the Food and Wine Best New Chef-winning Ori Menashe's Middle Eastern follow up to Bestia. The on-site details for the overall building calls for a full 424 seats (half indoor, half outdoor) and nearly 5,000 square feet of patio space. That seating number includes the rest of the building's tenants, which will come to light under the Sprout group’s direction as well. In addition to a Verve Coffee, the plan is to add a retail component, a greengrocer, an ice cream shop and on-site alcohol sales.

"What we’re trying to do is to build something that provides important services, as well as be a place where people can come and relax," Chait said at a recent Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council meeting. He later added that the design would likely be wide open and airy, meaning a real lack of walls between the concepts inside. It’s one big room for all to enjoy.

According to LA Downtown News, Chait anticipates an opening for the ambitiously overhauled space in late fall.