A Punk Vegan Hangout Heads Into a Very Well-Known Silver Lake Space

A new vegan option is aiming for Silver Lake soon, right along the main Sunset drag. The incoming restaurant takes up residence in a very familiar space, too: the former Ma’am Sir and Sunset Sushi building, which also houses the famous Elliott Smith mural.

The forthcoming Junkyard Dog is the work of Adaline Hobbs, owner of Real Food Daily, with locations in Pasadena and West Hollywood. Given Hobbs’s background in plant-based foods, it’s no surprise that the new Junkyard Dog will stick to a vegan script, albeit with an all-day format. The restaurant will open for full sit-down service starting daily at 8 a.m., meaning breakfast scrambles, bowls, salads, and the like through the afternoon, before pausing to reset for dinner service at 5 p.m. each evening. The menu falls squarely into the new American comfort food category, Hobbs tells Eater, with some alternative “meats” like Impossible on offer, as well as a variety of tofu, potato, and other vegetable mains. The space’s full liquor license is being transferred now, meaning there will be cocktails and sports on TV, too.

As for the space, Junkyard Dog is leaning into a mellow rocker aesthetic, with a punk mural on one wall, dark faux leather booths, and music rolling all night long. There are plans for a back patio as well.

Construction is underway now, and the restaurant has begun to hire staff. It should take Junkyard Dog a month or two to become operational, so expect an opening in late September or early October — good news for locals who hav been mourning the loss of a dinnertime option there since the sudden closure of Bar Restaurant earlier this summer. Hobbs is joined in the venture by her partner (and father) Paul Bettcher, owner of Ye Olde King’s Head and Busby’s. Eon Lew of District Realty Group brokered the space on behalf of the landlord.