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The Broken Shaker, one of Miami’s undisputed cocktail kings, is coming to Los Angeles. News landed today that owners Gabe Orta and Elad Zvi will be bringing the celebrated bar concept to the Freehand hotel, which is set to drop in Downtown by the end of the year, if not sometime this fall. Oh, and the Sydell Group behind the hotel is bringing beloved Portland chef Jenn Louis down as well, to open an as-yet unnamed Israeli restaurant.
The LA Times first broke the news of the Louis and Broken Shaker arrival, which will help to anchor the Freehand hotel on 8th Street, right across from the Golden Gopher. Known as the Commercial Exchange building, the site has been under heavy construction for some time, but will eventually house 200 rooms, a rooftop pool, and more.
Reached for comment on the news, Broken Shaker’s Orta confirmed the expansion, saying that L.A.’s thriving cocktail scene and access to local ingredients were major factors in their decision to come onboard the project. Broken Shaker LA will live on the roof, surrounding the pool, and offer somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 seats for drinks and dinner. They’ll have food separate from Louis’ Israeli concept downstairs, though the menu will likely hew close to the Miami original. Cocktails on the other hand will be reimagined from the ground up, thanks in part to the seasonal availability of so much quality produce.
In addition to the upstairs space, Orta and Zvi will also be running a lobby bar and all-day space, meant to serve coffee in the mornings, tea throughout the day, and then transition into cocktails at night.
Less is known about Louis’ forthcoming restaurant other than the cuisine type, though she’s long had friends and connections to the L.A. area. A frequent award-winner for her casual neighborhood restaurants Lincoln and Sunshine Tavern in Portland, Louis of late has been doing pop-ups around the country in celebration of her cookbook Pasta by Hand, from Nashville to Union in Pasadena. More recently, she was spotted at the LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade benefit event at UCLA.
Freehand LA
416 W. 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA
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