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A dim dark evening patio behind a bar with lots of uplighting into the trees.
Johnny’s in West Adams
Wonho Frank Lee

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Bar Hangout Next to Johnny’s in West Adams Opens With Patio Cocktails and Pastrami

The space next to Johnny’s opens for outdoor drink service, while its high-design interior remains out of use until bars can reopen

Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

The long-awaited bar next door to Johnny’s on the West Adams/Jefferson Park border is finally ready to serve. Reps for the CIM Group spot say that the project will begin to open tonight, with expanded hours and drinks beginning this weekend.

The Matt Winter of M. Winter Design-built bar is the latest example of adaptive reuse along the W. Adams Boulevard corridor, a historically Black area south of the 10 freeway that has undergone massive change in recent years. The former warehouse and mechanic shop has been fully reformatted with loads of mid-century touches, from retrofitted light fixtures and three-inch marble slabs at the bar to large sheets of milk glass and decades-old tile flooring. Walnut benches and touches of green set off the rest of the interior, which will remain closed for indoor service (for now) during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Outside, the patio features paver stones and terra cotta touches and old growth fruit trees, with dramatic evening uplighting and lots of room to spread out. The plan is to let customers order drinks from the bar and sit outside, while also picking up food from the standalone Johnny’s pastrami stand next door (the two share patio space). The historic walk-up restaurant returned to action under new ownership this summer, after the original version of the stand closed quietly back in 2015.

An old wooden barn door and leather wraparound couch.
A dim tall bar with marble fronting at night.

West Adams, meanwhile, continues to undergo a variety of changes, particularly on the restaurant and hospitality side. Beyond the lauded Alta Adams, incoming options include Farmhouse Kitchen from San Francisco and spicy noodle spot Mian, with loads of others like Party Beer Co. and Atlanta-based private club the Gathering Spot all attached to the area as well. The bar at Johnny’s West Adams opens tonight at 4327 W. Adams Boulevard.

A marble and cement bar with tall open back bar and nickel touches.
The long bar inside
Dark green touches and lots of plants inside of a dark bar at night.
Glass block and a long leather banquette inside a bar at night.
Communal wood seating and a long bar inside at night.
A neon exterior with pink and blue at a bar at night.

Johnny's Pastrami

4327 West Adams Boulevard, , CA 90007 (323) 840-3048 Visit Website
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