Long Beach’s Veteran-Friendly Restaurant, Fourth & Olive, to Close Next Year

One of Long Beach’s most celebrated restaurants is closing in early 2019. Fourth & Olive Bistro and Wine Bar owner Dan Tapia made the announcement on Saturday, and the closure is a loss on multiple levels. Not only did Tapia employ disabled veterans at his eatery, but was one of Southern California’s few Alsatian restaurants.

Tapia transformed a former marijuana dispensary to open Fourth & Olive in late 2016. He introduced the neighborhood to his Franco-German menu with duck liver mousse, house made sausages, and a vegan snow cap bean cassoulet. The dishes were a SoCal tribute to the northeast French region that sits on the Rhine River between Germany and Switzerland.

Any Fourth & Olive visitor became immediately aware of Tapia’s passion about wines, with wine tastings and a list that rivaled some of the best in the city. And as a Navy veteran, Tapia made it a point to hire disabled vets because of his own experience with discrimination as a disabled man.

The Long Beach Post first noticed Fourth & Olive’s closure. In an excerpt from Tapia’s December 1 email, the owner suggested that a new restaurant might reopen at this location in the near future:

We would like to thank everyone in our extended family for their support these last two years. It has been a pleasure bringing you a new cuisine and an alternative to the standard offerings in the finest city in which I have ever lived. It is our hope that we will be opening a new concept in this space in the coming year, and as we find ways to make that happen you will be the first to know.

• 4th & Olive restaurant in Downtown Long Beach to close after new year [Long Beach Post]
• New Long Beach Restaurant Focuses on Hiring Disabled Veterans [ELA]