When Will The Flats Actually Open in the Former Red Medicine Space?

What the heck is happening with The Flats? That’s the question being emailed to Eater LA’s tipline almost daily, with folks from across the city continuing to wonder just what is going down in the former Red Medicine space on Wilshire Boulevard.

In short: no one knows, it seems.

To catch everyone up, just know the The Flats is a long-gestating project in Beverly Hills that promises flatbreads and other casual fare, as concocted by chef Kyle Schutte. The announcement about the property was made not far after Red Medicine bit the dust, but since then a ton of hiccups and false starts have plagued the place.

Eater has been tracking the comings and goings of The Flats along with everyone else, and while the paper is down and main dining room looks fully fleshed out, the only thing going on inside appears to be private dinners that are using the space only. These aren’t friends and family nights for The Flats, but one-off events that are essentially on-site catering gigs — not unlike the limited pop-up run Adam Fleischman and chef David Féau had there in 2015.

Add to all that the Purple Line construction along Wilshire that claimed the life of short-lived Pata Salada not far away, and it seems as tough a time as ever for The Flats to still be floundering. Eater reached out directly to chef/owner Schutte to try to get more details, but so far hasn’t heard back.

It’s hard to imagine no one having a firm opening date for a restaurant that has been in the works since late 2014 (and planning to open “soon” since 2015), but here we are. Perhaps only Yealang Smith’s near decade-long attempt to open a Hollywood soul food restaurant has been this drawn out. So what is happening at The Flats? It’s anybody’s guess at the moment.

• The Flats, The New Eatery Going Into Red Medicine's Former Space in Beverly Hills [ELA]