The Valley’s Talented Sushi Note Chef to Open Hand Roll Bar in Los Feliz

McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams is closing in Los Feliz, ending a three-and-a-half year run for the prominent Southern California company. The group, based in Santa Barbara, was part of the recent decade-long ice cream explosion across Los Angeles, and still maintains outlets in Studio City, at Grand Central Market, and beyond.

Owner Michael Palmer tells Eater that he has formally made the decision to close the space, and to hand the keys over to Dustin Lancaster of adjacent Bar Covell, Hotel Covell, and the Firehouse restaurant and hotel in the Arts District. He adds in a statement:

We remain huge fans of Los Feliz. It was an honor to do business in this community. It’s been a true pleasure serving you. To that end, we’re already looking forward to reopening at some point in the future, at a new, neighborhood location.

For his part, Lancaster tells Eater that the space, right next to Go Get Em Tiger, will flip to a hand roll bar called Sogo. The project is a new one for old Lancaster collaborators David Gibbs (Augustine wine bar) and operating partner Sarah Dietz. Gibbs also owns Sushi Note with partner Andy Paxson, and together they’ve brought Sushi Note chef Kiminobu Saito on to head up Sogo’s menu. Check out Saito’s Omakase video below.

As with other hand roll spots like KazuNori and HRB in Downtown, the plan is to keep a pared-back aesthetic with counter seating only and lots of takeout. Lancaster says that an opening in January is likely.

Sogo. 4634 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz.

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