Remembering These 5 LA Restaurants After COVID Permanent Closures
With the time change springing us into longer days and warmer nights, indoor dining has also opened again, creating a hopeful trajectory for the Spring season that is upon us. With vaccine rolling out at an incredible rate, it feels like we can see a light at the end of the Quarantine tunnel.
As we turn a corner and start a new chapter in this ongoing pandemic, I’m remembering what restaurant culture was like before COVID hit. It’s hard to think that a year could cause so much destruction to the restaurant business. Before COVID, I could tell you exactly where to go in what neighborhood, what the parking would be like, and what to even order at that restaurant. Now, I find myself a little lost in the midst of what were struggling restaurants now completely shuttered.
So as we move forward and celebrate what seems to be an actual turning point in this awful year of loss and turmoil we’ve all experienced, let’s take a moment of silence for all the restaurants and bars that couldn’t make it through the pandemic closures. Here’s an ode to a 5 of our favorites that are no longer serving up LA’s
This spot may have closed down during the pandemic, but recent publications have show that NeueHouse is collaborating with Chef Ray Garcia to resurrect the menu of Broken Spanish. The five-week limited run will feature an evolution of Chef Garcia's beloved Alta California-inspired dishes, including house favorites alongside new seasonal creations.
Eagle Rock Public House
Sometimes the bling is too much living in LA and you just need a cool brewery to make you feel like you’re in a slightly less pretentious City, like Chicago or Denver. Eagle Rock Public House was that place. The laid back feel was so inviting and the ease of ordering a beer at the bar with the breeze curling in through the open windows was the perfect remedy to being over it with LA.
101 Coffee Shop
This place was nothing to write home about at first glance but the history of it ran deep. I can’t tell you how many times my group of friends and I would hit this spot up after a late show in Hollywood at one of the very smaller few music venues we have. Also seen in the movie Swingers and the show Entourage, the throwback 60’s vibe was the perfect place to camp out at 1am.
The Triple
A little off the beaten path, this spot was in the El Segundo, Playa Del Rey area and was like the Fro-Yo of beer. You got a wristband upon entering and scanned your wristband to whatever beer you wanted to try. Sort of in the mood for a couple sips of IPA but you’re really just craving the Allagash White? At The Triple, you could do it all. A sip of an IPA and as many Allagash pours as your sober self could handle.
A modern Venice restaurant, started by the people behind Gjusta and Gjelina, this spot was not designed to cater to a take-out menu. Casual Japanese inspired dishes like sushi and ramen with not so casual prices had this spot shuttered not long after the first lockdown of COVID. The good news? A couple of long time chefs from MTN and Gejlina started the Oaxacan restaurant called, Valle, bringing some incredible Oaxacan food to Venice.
While there are plenty more of restaurants that have closed, these are just a few that we loved. And although indoor dining at this moment is only approved for 25% capacity, I’m hopeful we’ll continue to move forward in the way of health and safety, and get more of our restaurants functioning and thriving gain.