Tartine Manufactory Opening Giant Bakery and Restaurant in Downtown LA

Tartine Manufactory, the artisanal utopia built by Chad Robertson and Liz Prueitt in San Francisco, is opening a massive expansion, according to the Wall Street Journal, in Downtown Los Angeles by the end of 2017. And surprise — Bill Chait, who’s opened everything from Republique to Otium in LA, and has helped Robertson and Priuett in San Francisco’s Manufactory, is partnering with their LA operation. If you haven’t been to Tartine Manufactory in San Francisco’s Mission District yet, the place draws long lines essentially every day they’re open.

Things to know off the bat: this location of Tartine Manufactory in Downtown LA will be three times the size of the Bay Area original, amounting to about 15,000 feet of kitchen, ice cream production, and baking operations, plus room for about 150 to 200 seats. During the day, it’ll be a casual breakfast and lunch operation with counter service while the place will switch over to full dinner service by the evenings. It’s a very similar model to Republique on La Brea.

The exact location hasn’t been determined yet — that should come out within a few weeks time as Chait confirms the space. Like San Francisco, the beating heart of the operation will be Robertson’s world class baking, from loaves of bread to patisserie and viennoiserie (croissants and the like).

Patricia Chang

When Eater asked Chait how it felt to get back into the restaurant game in LA after a year away, he said it “felt good,” and elaborated by saying, “this is the core of my desire: a concept that has great quality product and the ability to act within an infrastructure.” With high quality bread products coming from its ovens, Tartine Manufactory should be the centerpiece of Chait’s impending return as one of LA’s most prolific restaurateurs. It implies that Chait has other LA projects in the works.

Once the team breaks ground on the project, the baking operations will come online first, with a full restaurant debut coming a month or so afterwards. Right now Chait is projecting October or November 2017 as that initial opening, pending construction.

• Tartine Manufactory Is an Artisanal Utopia in the Mission [ESF]