After 24 Weird and Wild Years, Abbot’s Habit Will Close Along Abbot Kinney in Venice

Quirky local Venice cafe Abbot’s Habit is set to close this Wednesday, following a going-away party over the weekend to bid farewell to the near quarter-century-old restaurant. With its prominent corner location and big green awning, Abbot’s Habit was for decades a stalwart for the now-pricey Abbot Kinney stretch, offering a sanctuary of sorts for the artists and lovable oddballs long populating Venice.

Now that dream has died, says Yo! Venice, who lament the loss in a post titled Kinney’s Dream Killed Abbot’s Habit. The crux of the story, besides acting as something of a eulogy for the cafe, is to point out that namesake real estate developer and civic icon Abbot Kinney himself was interested in turning the ocean-adjacent neighborhood into a place for high rents and tourism.

Now that dream is coming true, and it’s increasingly hard for smaller operations to make it along the street that bears his name. Places like Venice Bistro and 3 Square Cafe have all succumbed to the changes, while newer names like Felix set up anchor further down the street and mostly play to a new kind of Venice audience.

As the Yo! Venice piece points out, Abbot’s Habit never seemed to be filled with beautiful Gjelina people, just fun and funky locals who didn’t deride the coffee or the food options. As one of the longtime customers dryly notes at the end of the story, they’ll all probably move on to the Cow’s End — a place no less cozy and charming, but well off Abbot Kinney proper. Wednesday is the final day of service at Abbot’s Habit.

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