Chef José Andrés Won’t Be Opening a Downtown LA Rooftop Restaurant After All

Eater LA has learned that chef José Andrés won’t be opening a restaurant atop Downtown’s Trust Building after all. The 11-story, Art Deco property on Spring Street was initially slated for a Curtis Stone restaurant that fell through after Stone pulled out of the project. In 2022, José Andrés Group (JAG) announced it would open a restaurant on the historic building’s rooftop. But earlier this summer, UCLA acquired the property, and plans for Andrés’ restaurant have been scrapped for now.

JAG and UCLA provided a joint statement to Eater LA regarding the development: “José Andrés Group will not pursue the planned openings within the Trust Building. UCLA looks forward to collaborating with future partners — as well as a possible future collaboration with JAG — as we remain deeply committed to strengthening the Downtown LA community in service of the people of this great city.”

JAG currently operates San Laurel and Agua Viva inside the Conrad hotel in Downtown Los Angeles; plans to open Bazaar Meat at the Grand LA are still in the works. Meanwhile, UCLA will initially use the 334,000-square-foot building to house programs for UCLA Extension.

Food, poetry, music

The Los Angeles Times recently released the final two episodes of F.A.M., a four-part series highlighting LA neighborhoods through food, poetry, and music. Episode 3 takes viewers to South LA with Holbox as the backdrop, while the final episode focuses on View Park-Windsor Hills with Simply Wholesome playing host.

A new home for Little Tokyo’s Suehiro

Beloved Little Tokyo restaurant Suehiro announced on Instagram that it will move locations soon. Owner Kenji Suzuki, who was evicted from the 1st Street location after 51 years in business, will move the business to the corner of S. Main and 4th streets. In the meantime, the original location remains open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Mexico City meets Beverly Hills at Gucci Osteria

Chef Jorge Vallejo of Mexico City’s Quintonil is cooking at Gucci Osteria on Friday, September 15. The $325 lunch or dinner includes sparkling wine and a collaborative six-course menu highlighting the flavors of Mexico, California, and Italy between Vallejo and chef Mattia Agazzi. Reservations are available on Resy.

A community protest at Highly Likely Cafe in Highland Park

Demonstrators picketed outside the forthcoming location of Highly Likely Cafe in Highland Park on Friday, August 25 in a show of solidarity against gentrification and the proliferation of new restaurants seeking liquor licenses in the neighborhood. Some protestors expressed concern over Highly Likely owner Cary Mosier delivering a note to the home of Ángela Gonzales-Torres, the president of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, who stymied Highly Likely’s liquor license request. (Gonzales-Torres acted as an individual in opposing the license; the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council supported the license in a letter to city officials in April.) In a similar show against gentrification, community demonstrators protested at Dunsmoor in nearby Glassell Park on the restaurant’s opening night in 2022.

Update: August 31, 2023, 10:10 a.m.: This article was updated to include more information on Gonzales-Torres’s opposition to Highly Likely’s license, and the support of that license from the Highland Park Neighborhood Council overall.