Fanciful Former Train Depot Bar Gets New Life in Arts District This Weekend

There’s new life inside one of the Arts District’s most gorgeous bar spaces, as Here & Now picks up where Westbound left off. The reborn cocktail cavern opens this weekend.

Far from a takeover, Here & Now is actually a collaboration between Westbound owner Sarah Meade and the Va’La Hospitality trio of Aaron Melendrez, Othón Nolasco, and Damian Diaz. They’re some of the best barmen operating in Los Angeles, with time spent at places like Hotel Figueroa, Dama, ERB, Salazar, and beyond, but they’ve always had a soft spot for the space and decided to partner up in an effort to return the One Santa Fe bar to glory.

The result is more of a reformatting than a reconstruction, with the basic train station-like design elements — including the glowing back bar — still very much in place, and touched off by new tweaks to the back patio and new art on the walls. The biggest flip comes on the food side thanks to Here & Now’s full kitchen, run by chef Geo Delgado. Drinkers can dive into more than just salted peanuts and other bad bar snacks, with a new menu that weaves from mushroom polenta to a burger to Italian zeppoles for dessert. The opening menu is below.

Here & Now opens on Saturday, keeping hours from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., and 4 p.m. to midnight on Sunday. From there the timing expands to 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. weekdays, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. to midnight on Sundays.

Here & Now. 300 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

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Colorful cocktails