Genghis Cohen on Fairfax Falls Into Hands of Hollywood's Spare Room Team

Big changes could be underway along Fairfax in the foreseeable future (though not quite yet), as the team behind Hollywood’s The Spare Room bar inside the Roosevelt Hotel takes over Genghis Cohen.

The longtime Chinese restaurant on Fairfax has stood for nearly 35 years, expanding over that time to become a popular venue for small acoustic shows and casual dinners full of Jewish-influenced American Chinese favorites, among other Szechuan dishes.

The transfer of ownership to Marc Rose and Med Abrous from The Spare Room happened rather quietly, only first popping up in an ABC license transfer to a new LLC called, appropriately enough, No MSG. After some digging, No MSG leads to Rose and Abrous themselves, who declined to comment on the sale, only saying that there are no immediate plans for anything to change at Genghis Cohen.

Right now, the Spare Room team is instead working on the final touches for their long-awaited but unnamed restaurant and bar concept that’s moving into the base of Echo Park’s The Elysian. As noted late last year, that property will hold roughly 75 seats and contain an on-site marketplace as well (as is all the rage these days), selling packaged food and kitchen tools.