Slowly but surely, things are coming along for The Proud Bird. The aviation-themed sit-down restaurant near LAX has been undergoing a complete transformation into a more casual food hall-style eatery, complete with some decommissioned planes and lots of space to sit. Things might look messy now, but if all goes well the Proud Bird could be flying high by April.
To catch up anyone not familiar with the project: The Proud Bird is a longstanding Los Angeles restaurant that actually dates back to the mid-1960s. Last year though, it was reported the place would be getting a total makeover, transforming the plot into a 50,000 square foot complex with a variety of fast casual vendors all under one roof.
Now those plans are tantalizingly close to coming true. The restaurant’s own website lists an April opening, and there’s a full gallery of renderings showing off a vision for the finished product. Still, more recent construction shots like the one below, from the company’s Facebook page, show there’s still plenty of work to be done.
Reached for comment, reps for The Proud Bird would only say the on-site Food Bazaar has plans to include an untold number of “different types of global food,” adding that the finished building will also have room for six full banquet rooms to be used as private event spaces.
Still, flipping through some of those renderings should be enough to get aviation geeks and food hall aficionados excited. And while other massive food hall projects have been announced since the Proud Bird news first broke (and some like Michael Mina’s change-up of the food court at the Beverly Center are well underway), the arrival of the aviation-themed experience should still be a welcome one for Westsiders.