02-09-15

Remembering a Great Journalist : 5 Looking for Veterans on Skid Row : 6

INSIDE:

Romance in the City What to Do on Valentine’s Day, Love Story Contest Winners and the Annual Downtown Love Lines Pages 7-14 FEBRUARY 9, 2015 I VOL. 44 I #6

VEE DELGADILLO’S GROWING EMPIRE Downtown’s Dive Bar Queen Expands Her Reach SEE PAGE 15

photo by Gary Leonard

Vee Delgadillo in her justopened New Orleans-style restaurant The Little Easy.

THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

2 Downtown News

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AROUND TOWN

Broad Museum Sets Opening, Sneak Preview Dates

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owntowners can finally begin counting down the days to the Central City’s most anticipated project of the year: Philanthropist Eli Broad last week announced that his $140 million contemporary art museum The Broad will open on Sept. 20. The opening show will feature pieces from the 2,000 works that Broad and his wife Edythe have collected over the decades; they will be arranged chronologically, starting in the 1950s, and artists represented will include Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jeff Koons.

There will also be a sneak preview this week to the Grand Avenue museum designed by the New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro: On Sunday, Feb. 15, two temporary exhibitions will be on display in the large third-floor gallery. One of them is BJ Nilsen’s sound installation DTLA, which draws on the aural environment of the community. Although general admission to The Broad will be free, tickets to the sneak preview are $10. They are available at thebroad.org/skylit.

Whole Foods to Open on Nov. 4

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n opening date and more details about the 41,000-square-foot Whole Foods have

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS been revealed. On Friday, Feb. 6, representatives of the Austin, Texas-based chain announced that the project on the ground floor of Carmel Partners’ seven-story, 700-unit apartment complex at Eighth Street and Grand Avenue will fling open its doors on Nov. 4. The market at the southern edge of the Financial District will create 150 jobs. During the announcement, Whole Foods Regional Director of Operations Erica Dubreuil said the company has been looking for more than a decade to find the perfect location for its Downtown store. The development from San Francisco-based Carmel Partners will have another 8,000 square feet of retail space.

The project will offer multiple courtyards and a rooftop pool deck, as well as a four-level underground parking structure.

City Hall Council Chambers

he Metropolitan Transportation Authority got some good news this week with word that President Barack Obama has earmarked $330 million in his upcoming 2016 budget to fund three key transportation projects in Los Angeles. Downtown’s $1.42 billion Regional Connector, which would bring together area rail lines to simplify cross-county travel, would receive $115 million. The project has already secured $670 million from the Federal Transit Administration and a $160 million federal loan.

Metro has said that county Measure R tax funds and state bonds would cover the rest of the effort. Currently, Metro is doing pre-construction work for the Regional Connector, which will create three new stations in Downtown. It is slated

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February 9, 2015

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to open in 2020. Overall, Obama has earmarked more than $800 million for transportation projects in California, but the funds are not committed yet — Congress will review his budget over the next several months.

Planet Fitness Coming to Broadway

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he northern end of Broadway hasn’t seen the retail renaissance that has come to the street’s southern end. That doesn’t mean, however, that the stretch is dead. A deal has

February 3, 2015

been signed to bring a 28,000-square-foot Planet Fitness to 427 N. Broadway. Justin Weiss of Kennedy Wilson, who brokered the deal, said the gym will move into the building’s basement as well as take over 90% of the ground floor. The lease was signed in December, Weiss said; he anticipates the business opening by the end of the year. New Hampshire-based Planet Fitness has more than 900 locations across the country and, according to its website, offers low prices and a “hassle-free environment called the Judgment Free Zone.” This will be its first outpost in Downtown Los Angeles.

February 9, 2015

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

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Downtown News 3

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4 Downtown News

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EDITORIALS

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

February 9, 2015

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

So Far, So Clean, So Good

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hen longtime former County Supervisor Gloria Molina last September announced that she would challenge incumbent City Councilman José Huizar for his 14th District seat, eyebrows were raised across the political spectrum.

It is uncommon for a sitting council member to face opposition from such an experienced competitor.

Generally in Los Angeles, council races are virtual rubber stamps, with either no or token opposition.

Many expected the race to quickly get nasty. After all, Huizar and Molina are political heavyweights who have not just their careers, but their legacies in mind. Huizar hasn’t lost an election in more than 10 years and Molina is undefeated going back more than three decades.

Part of what raised the expectation of mudslinging is that each appears to have vulnerabilities, and history shows that when races are close, weaknesses and past transgressions become ammunition. Huizar notably had an extramarital affair with a former top deputy, and the relationship led to the councilman and the city being sued for sexual harassment and retaliation (the case was settled, with no money paid by the city). Molina has a history of dressing down underlings or county staffers in public, often in mean and embarrassing fashion.

Yet, despite these and other shortcomings, the race to date has been shockingly clean. In fact, it has been described as quiet as the candidates have refrained from attacking each other, and instead have sought to connect with voters and tout their accomplishments and plans for the district.

This is a positive and unexpected development.

We urge the candidates to continue this approach, and to keep their focus on the issues that matter to communities in the 14th, including Downtown Los Angeles. The people who will bother to go to the polls on March 3 want to know about the candidates’ record and visions, their plans for addressing development, traffic and transportation concerns. People want to hear how Huizar and Molina, and the other three candidates on the ballot, will create green space and what they will do to spur more affordable housing. These are, ultimately, what will shape the next 4 or 5 ½ years (the longer term if a measure changing when Angelenos vote passes) and drive the agenda of the officeholder.

There’s a big corollary to this, and that is independent expenditures that will come from political action committees backing Huizar and Molina. By law these groups can spend whatever they want as long as they don’t coordinate with the official campaign.

To date, these groups have also operated in a positive manner, and we urge them not to go into attack mode. We also hope that, in public statements or through back-channel means, the candidates make it clear that they want the race to stay clean, and that they hope any outside backers will refrain from mudslinging.

We realize this may sound naïve, but a positive race focused on issues is ultimately best for the district. Let’s hope things continue this way for the next three weeks.

Ending Homelessness? Really?

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omelessness has been a scourge on Los Angeles for far too long. The “containment” policy enacted by the city decades ago, which concentrated homeless services and housing in Skid Row, was an epic disaster: It led to thousands of the poor living in a small geographic area where they had some basic needs met while being ignored by most people in the region. Worse, it created a captive clientele for the drug dealers and others who prey upon addicts and the mentally ill.

That wasn’t the extent of the problem. The large homeless population propelled by containment hampered Downtown’s growth and reputation. It made treating homelessness the responsibility of a small number of social service providers, and allowed elected leaders in other communities to pretend that solving the crisis was someone else’s job.

None of this is new. But it is worth stating in the wake of a recent press conference with some lofty claims about eradicating homelessness.

Last week, Los Angeles Downtown News reported on the latest push from the organization Home for Good, which was formed in 2010 and is led by representatives of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Area of Chamber of Commerce. During an event at Main Street’s Rosslyn Hotel, attended by numerous politicians, Home for Good leaders revealed their plans to end homelessness among veterans by the close of this year, and to eliminate chronic homelessness by 2016.

On the surface this sounds great, and we applaud the desire of those involved in the effort. However, this raises serious questions about what if anything will happen in Skid Row, which holds the greatest concentration of homeless individuals in the region. Without any specific and comprehensive plan to address this neighborhood, we are hard pressed to believe that “chronic homelessness” can be eradicated in less than two years.

We’re not sure what Home for Good will do in Skid Row, as its updated “Action Plan” makes little mention of the neighborhood.

That’s a problem, and it is not solved by Home for Good staffers stating that 90% of the homeless are not in Skid Row (the figure seems hard to believe for those familier with the community). That may be the case, but an estimate derived from the 2013 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s homeless count found about

58,423 people were homeless in the region on any given night.

That means nearly 6,000 of them would be on the streets or in the shelters of Skid Row. This is not an attempt to criticize the overall effort. Home for Good is doing important work, and we remain pleased that the business and nonprofit communities are partnering thoughtfully to address this matter, recognizing that it ultimately costs society more to provide emergency and other services to the homeless than it does to house them. We fully subscribe to the permanent supportive housing model that Home for Good and others embrace, with the goal of getting people off the streets and into apartments, and then providing easily accessible support services such as mental health and addiction counseling or job training.

We are also pleased that the politicians are climbing on board, as these individuals have the best access to the money that gets permanent supportive housing built. It’s a good thing when, as occurred recently, Mayor Eric Garcetti says 3,375 veterans were housed in 2014, putting the city more than halfway to the goal of housing all veterans. His leadership is vital.

It is important to understand, however, that the numbers for veterans and other homeless individuals do not remain static. As Rev. Andy Bales, the head of Skid Row’s Union Rescue Mission, reminded in the Downtown News article, people become homeless just as quickly as other individuals get into housing. We agree with Bales’ statement in the story: “I love the energy and the push, but anyone who walks around Skid Row or Downtown knows that we’re nowhere near ending homelessness.”

We want to see Home for Good continue its efforts. We also want to see Skid Row become a focus of the work. We don’t pretend that this is simple, and those active in the neighborhood will speak to the myriad challenges. It’s not just that people are homeless, but that a number of those on the streets prefer to live there, knowing they can party as much as they want and not worry about the “No Drugs” or other policies in some shelters. Then there’s the mental illness challenge, the people too sick to recognize they need housing.

Home for Good and others should continue the regional focus.

However, until they can improve Skid Row, no matter what numbers they trot out, no one will think that homelessness in Los Angeles has been eliminated.

February 9, 2015

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Remembering Rick Orlov L.A.’s Best City Hall Reporter Was Also a Heck of a Nice Guy

By Jon Regardie don’t remember the story. What I do remember is the tiny slip of paper that followed the story.

It was in the mid-1990s, before the Internet changed everything. It was also before voicemail was ubiquitous in newsrooms and not everyone had cell phones.

I

THE REGARDIE REPORT The story must have been about politics or Downtown business. I was a young reporter for Los Angeles Downtown News and was becoming fascinated with City Hall and the machinations that occur there. Maybe I wrote a profile. Maybe it was a breakdown of a fight. Maybe it was about how a project’s budget had soared. I really don’t know.

What I remember clearly is coming back from lunch one day and looking into the plastic circular carousel where the receptionist put phone messages. Inside the slot by my name was a small piece of paper, a pink rectangle with black lines.

Simply reading two words stunned me. It said the message was from Rick Orlov, the Los Angeles Daily News’ City Hall reporter. The line in the message section nearly knocked me over: “Good job on the story.”

“Holy [expletive],” I said either to myself or aloud, but probably aloud. “That’s a message from Rick Orlov!”

I floated the rest of the day. I couldn’t believe that, after years of reading his stories, L.A.’s best political reporter, and maybe its best reporter period, had read one of mine, and that he’d thought enough of it to pick up the phone and say so.

Rick Orlov passed away from complications from diabetes on Monday, Feb. 2. He was 66. In the hours after the Daily News announced his death, politicians issued statements and Twitter was filled with messages and memories. Many of them included the words “gentleman” or “mentor,” and every one of those is correct. It may be a cliché to say that someone is the nicest guy

photo by Gary Leonard

Rick Orlov reported on five mayors for the Los Angeles Daily News. The man called the Dean of City Hall reporters died Feb. 2 at the age of 66.

in the world, but Rick Orlov was just about the nicest guy in the world.

Gold Standard I never worked with Orlov. In my early years reporting, I envied those who did. I couldn’t think of a better way to learn the craft and the politics of Los Angeles than by trying to soak up some of his knowledge, believing in the possibility of a weird

sort of journalism osmosis.

Like many others, his Monday morning political round-up column was the first thing I read. I had subscriptions to the Times and the Daily News. While the Times was the big gun and had many standout journalists, at least until Sam Zell took a flamethrower to the joint, Orlov was the gold standard. I’d go through the Daily News and read anything with his byline.

Orlov was a constant presence in Downtown Los Angeles power circles, and seemed to be liked by nearly everyone. He had a reputation for being a hard but fair reporter, and the pols would frequently come say hello to him before their press conferences began.

He was also a deep source of institutional knowledge, and someone you could learn from by watching. I paid attention to the questions that he and other journalists I admired, such as then Times-man Bill Boyarsky, asked, and how they asked them.

After a politician’s scripted statements, Orlov was frequently the first one with a question. It uniformly pushed to get beyond the spin.

Then he turned everything into a readable, engaging story.

As others have noted, Orlov always was helpful to young reporters. I frequently saw him schooling new journalists from the Daily News, the City News Service or other outlets.

He was also unfailingly polite. In 2009 the Los Angeles Press Club board voted to give Orlov its Joseph M. Quinn Award for Lifetime Achievement. I called to ask Orlov if he would accept. I remember telling him that I had joined the board and he interrupted— “Congratulations,” he said.

Who would have thought to be so polite? I thanked him, asked if he’d accept the prize, and he said yes. It led to a great evening, with then-Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky making a special presentation, and Orlov receiving a standing ovation.

Secret Thrill I never attended the Friday evening sessions/parties in Orlov’s City Hall office that became nearly legendary. Still, as the Internet era arrived and everyone started using email, I’d get the occasional “Nice work” note from him. Though I was more Continued on page 17

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

6 Downtown News

February 9, 2015

Walking Skid Row, With Veterans in Mind A Unique Look at the Streets Through the Eyes of the VA Secretary

By Eddie Kim or a moment, it felt like Robert McDonald had finally found his veteran.

The man came sauntering down a quiet Skid Row street, wearing a beige floral aloha shirt, khakis and a bemused grin, the latter directed at the swollen group of volunteers and reporters in his path.

“What y’all doing?” the man asked.

“Counting the homeless,” responded McDonald, President Barack Obama’s Secretary of the Veterans Administration.

“I am a veteran…” started the man.

“Oh?” McDonald said, eyebrows rising. “...of these Skid Row streets,” the man continued, cheerfully. “I’m coming back from the recycling center. I got money in my pocket, and I’m gonna smoke some crack rocks now.”

His name was Allen Pugh, and we should all look him up on Facebook, he said. Then he was off, rambling down the sidewalk.

“Ah, well. I thought we got a veteran. I was disappointed, not going to lie,” McDonald said a few minutes later. “At least he was honest.”

McDonald was in Skid Row on Jan. 29 as a volunteer for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2015 Homeless Count. It’s part of an every-other-year effort that helps determine how much money the region gets for homeless services, and where it goes. The last LAHSA

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survey, conducted in 2013, estimated that the county had more than 58,000 homeless people on any given night. The results of the 2015 count will be released in several months.

As part of the process, thousands of volunteers fanned out across the county over three nights. McDonald was part of the group counting in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday evening. Earlier that morning, McDonald, the former CEO of Proctor and Gamble and a U.S. Army veteran, had spoken confidently at a press conference for a United Way/Chamber of Commerce effort, dubbed Home for Good. The group pledged to eradicate veteran homelessness in the county by the end of the year.

Now here he was, on a cool and damp night, looking for the problem himself.

“I’ve seen this before. Running Proctor and Gamble, I’ve been to most cities in the world, after all,” McDonald told me as we passed a cluster of tents and makeshift cardboard chairs.

“But it’s especially hard to see this in the U.S.” On the Search The Home for Good campaign also aims to end chronic homelessness in Los Angeles County by the close of 2016. The Thursday night trip through Skid Row suggests that this is an improbable goal. Skid Row experts say that the influx of newly homeless people is not stopping, even as those on the streets find help and hous-

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Robert McDonald, the Secretary of the Veterans Administration, walked Skid Row on Jan. 29 as part of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s Homeless Count. He was on the lookout for people who had served in the military.

ing. Then there’s the issue of homeless people who would rather tackle things alone on the streets, or are struggling with mental illness.

McDonald wanted to personally help out a veteran that night. About three-quarters of the way through the walk, he approached a tall, slender man to ask how he was doing.

“I’m blessed. I woke up today,” the man said quietly.

“Are you a veteran?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly, VA volunteers and a camera crew from “CBS Evening News” swarmed the man and his shopping cart, practically pinning him against a chain-link fence, as McDonald continued inquiring. “What branch?”

“Special Forces,” the man replied, looking at the sidewalk.

“Special Forces! What years? I was in Special Continued on page 17

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February 9, 2015

Downtown News 7

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ROMANCE IN THE CITY

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Continued on page 12

8 Downtown News

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

February 9, 2015

Love Is in the Downtown Air 16 Great Valentine’s Day Entertainment and Food Options

By Jon Regardie veryone knows that Valentine’s Day is overrated, that it’s a Hallmark holiday that puts insane pressure on couples to do something special and have a romantic evening. We can only cringe at the amount of cash that goes toward flowers, chocolates and baubles.

With that said, if you approach it right, Valentine’s Day can also be a fun evening, and one that produces some special memories. Fortunately, that’s easier in Downtown Los Angeles than in most places, thanks to a big lineup of unique events and fine restaurants. Yes, you can get the cozy table for two, or you can try something different, such as a classic film in a historic venue, or even an evening of masked Mexican wrestling and striptease.

In the following pages we lay out 16 Downtown options. Even better, not all of them take place on Saturday, Feb. 14. Just make reservations or buy tickets early.

By the by, if you feel like giving your significant other that card and those flowers, go ahead. He or she will absolutely will love it. And if you’re on the receiving end, be honest: You’ll like them too.

Let Them Entertain You All’s Fair in Love and Wrestling: Normally getting sweaty and rolling around on the floor with someone happens at the end of a Valentine’s Day date. At Lucha VaVoom, it’s the main attraction. The spectacle of masked Mexican wrestling and burlesque dancing, tricked out with some spicy comedy, returns to the Ma-

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yan Theatre for its annual V Day-themed event on Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 11-12. The show titled “Dangerous/Beautiful” features some of the big names from the Lucha canon, among them Cassandro (who was featured in a fantastic New Yorker profile), Rey Horus, the Dirty Chickens and Japanese import Kikutaro. Those gyrating between matches include Carolina Cerisola, Leigh Acosta and Olivia Belfontaine, and while you probably haven’t heard of any of them, they are all worth watching. Comedians Blaine Capatch and Ron Funches will serve as hosts. General admission tickets are $40 and ringside seats are $55.

At 1038 S. Hill St., (213) 746-4287 or luchavavoom.com.

An After-Dinner Breakfast: Is Blake Edwards’ 1961 Breakfast at Tiffany’s the perfect rom-com from the time before people used the horrid term “rom-com.” It probably is. After all, it has an adorable Audrey Hepburn, a standout turn from George Peppard, a script by Truman Capote and a cat named, uh, Cat. It will be screened on Valentine’s night in Broadway’s Los Angeles Theatre. It’s more than a movie, as organizer Cinespia offers the opportunity to sip champagne under the venue’s French Baroque chandeliers and get a commemorative photo in the ballroom. Even though it’s L.A. and people go to business meetings in flip flops, a jacket and tie are recommended for gentlemen, and evening wear for the ladies. Tickets are $25. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the movie starts at 9 p.m.

Lucha libre will be back in the Mayan Theatre when Lucha VaVoom returns to Downtown on Feb. 11-12.

photo courtesy Lucha VaVoom

At 615 S. Broadway, (213) 221-3343 or cinespia.org.

Blame It on Rio: Everyone likes Brazil these days. Now, you can get a taste of the country that hosted the 2014 World Cup, and the place where the 2016 Summer Olympics will be held, without leaving Downtown Los Angeles. That’s because the Conga Room is hosting an event titled the Brazilian Carnival of Love on Saturday, Feb. 14. The outfits that manage to be both tall and skimpy at the same time, thanks

to headdresses and copious fringe, will be on full display. You can also sip plenty of caipirinhas at the event that runs from 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

Of course, the big draw is the samba, and the L.A. Live venue will be filled with musicians and DJs who keep the crowd moving. Tickets start at $45.

At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (818) 566-1111 or braziliannites.com.

More More Amor: Visiting a museum is usually Continued on page 10

February 9, 2015

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Downtown News 9

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valentine’s day, 8 a passive experience. Things get much more active at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park with a pre-Valentines’ event on Friday, Feb. 13. Noche de Arte y Amor will offer attendees a glimpse of the exhibition Grandes Maestros: Great Masters of Iberoamerican Folk Art. The show will be complemented by tacos from Taqueria Los Anaya, tequila drinks (or other cocktails, if that’s what you’re into), music in the grand foyer, shadow puppets and walk-up workshops from the stalwart organization Self Help Graphics. The festivities run from 7-10 p.m. and admission includes one cocktail, three tacos and dessert. Tickets are $22 for NHM member and $30 for non-members.

At 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-3499 or nhm.org.

Carnal Carnival: Cotton candy, kissing and carnival games are things usually best separated.

That said, they all come together, in potentially dynamic form, on Valentine’s Day. The recently purchased Figueroa Hotel will be the site of the craftily named Feb. 14 event Love, A Fair.

It’s essentially a carnival, with food, drinks, dancing, and all of those things teased above, with the lip-smacking coming in the form of a kissing booth. KCRW DJs Marion Hodges and Valida will spin, and the hotel has room pack-

ages available for those who might have a drink or six and need to spend the night. Entrance is $20. It starts at 8 p.m.

At 939 S. Figueroa St., (213) 627-8971 or figueroahotel.com.

Puck Yeah: Icing and hip checks will get sexy at Staples Center on Valentine’s Day. OK, that’s an overstatement, but hockey fans, and those who love them, can huddle together in the chilly indoor air when the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings host the Washington Capitals and their scoring stud Alex Ovechkin on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. The Kings need every win they can get if they hope to make the playoffs. The Caps are playing some good puck. If this is your date of choice, then please, buy your significant other dinner or a drink before or after the game.

At 1111 S. Figueroa St. or lakings.com.

The Freaks Come Out at Night: Sometimes you get everything you need in a name. A case in point is the Circus Maximus Vaudeville Freak Show. The happening at The Regent theater on Feb. 14 promises an array of performers with unusual talents. Acts such as the Los Angeles Skeleton Crew and Whodini 1962 will engage in tasks like sword swallowing, climbing a ladder of machetes and lying on a bed of nails. Silk aerialist Elise Angell will take the stage (or maybe the space above the

Romance comes with the meal at Patina, which has a choice of three Feb. 14 tasting menus.

photo courtesy of Patina Group

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February 9, 2015

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

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At the Arts District French bistro Church & State, chef Tony Esnault is whipping up a meal with choices such as Misty Point oysters, slowly cooked halibut and braised short ribs.

photo by Gary Leonard

stage), as will hula-hoop expert Zayla Hoops (warning: She plays with fire). There will bevdancers, magician Nathan Phan and a coterie of clowns you probably don’t want to mess with, including figures named Dirty, Pringles and LoCo CoCo. There is also burlesque dancing, a contortionist and, scariest of all, a jazz band. Tickets start at $25.

At 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com.

A V-Day B-Day With Music: Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for the gang at the Ace Hotel: It’s the anniversary of the debut of the venue’s gorgeous theater. The 1,600-seat space opened last year with a pair of shows by Spiritualized, and they are following it up with Feb. 14-15 concerts featuring Sparks. The L.A. band helmed by brothers Ron and Russell Mael are a one-of-a-kind act known for theatrical performances and tunes that have hints of glam rock, new wave and early synth pop. During the 8 p.m. shows they’ll be performing their 1974 record Kimono My House, along with other nuggets from their 23 albums. Bonus: Sparks will be backed by a 38-piece orchestra.

At 929 S. Broadway or acehotel.com.

Spin Cycle: Some things naturally go together.

There’s Romeo and Juliet. There’s peanut butter and jelly. There’s ping-pong and couples.

Yes, seriously. On Valentine’s Day from 8-11

p.m., Spin, the ping-pong club in the Standard Hotel, is holding the Ping Pong Is for Lovers Doubles Tournament. Entry is $20 and, though no goodies have been revealed, the website promises “special prizes.” Go ahead and show off your small ball skills.

At 550 S. Flower St., (213) 439-3065 or losangeles.wearespin.com.

A Much-Kneaded Break: The Ritz-Carlton Spa at L.A. Live is giving couples the good kind of touch, with a Valentine’s Day offering dubbed Sugar Therapy. There’s a full package with side-by-side Hot Chocolate Stone massages, something called a champagne bath and house-made sweets. It all takes place amid a candle-lit, rose petal-strewn “Couple’s Suite” (remember: What happens in the couple’s suite stays in the couple’s suite). A 75-minute experience for two is $400.

At 900 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 743-8824 or ritzcarlton.com.

Dine Time Fill Your Heart and Stomach: The Walt Disney Concert Hall restaurant Patina recently switched to an all-tasting menu format. So it makes sense that the establishment now helmed by chef Paul Lee is paying heed to Cupid with, yes, a tasting menu. Dubbed Love Bites, the Valentine’s night meal comes in three-, four- and six-course options ($85, $105 and $160, respectively, without

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February 9, 2015

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

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The beautiful Los Angeles Theatre will be a destination on Valentine’s Day night, as Cinespia hosts a screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

tax, tip and booze). There’s a 5-5:30 p.m. pre-theater seating, while those with a more leisurely schedule can come in anytime before 9:30 p.m. Options in the various courses include artichoke agnolotti, wild striped bass, beef tenderloin and, for dessert, caramelized white chocolate cremeux with passion fruit ice cream and banana sorbet. There is also a trio of specialty drinks dubbed, fittingly, Love Potions.

At 141 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-3331 or patinarestaurant.com.

You’ll Always Have a Downtown Facsimile of Paris: The Arts District French restaurant Church & State has gone through some ups and downs since opening. It’s now at a high point, thanks to chef Tony Esnault, and he’s taking Valentine’s Day seriously. How seriously? So seriously that the webpage for the Feb. 13-14 meal features a drawing of a devil with a spiky tail offering an apple to a topless woman. Satanism and temptation aside, Esnault is whipping up a menu with choices such as Misty Point oysters, celery and sunchoke agnolotti, slowly cooked halibut Continued on page 13

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February 9, 2015

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

LOVE STORIES, 7

Honorable Mention Sur prise Ride

who ego to see a friend re driving to San Di we s we wa d it ien ve lfr lea gir y to told m supposed e morning we were get her on just had a baby. Th it was a struggle to so d te us ha ex s not wa d ien ha lfr d. I balked, ving pouring. My gir this baby?” she aske of ehow e m m So na . e ed th pli t’s el,” I finally re board. “Wha rth the fake baby. “Ang no r e fo ov e dr m na we e e fak tic a crafted her, she didn’t no at we e th ck of ba e rse us r a ho she bought it. Beca rived at a ranch fo o hours later we ar knew what e Sh ul. tif au be instead of south. Tw the day became d an ed lfway up, pp Ha . sto n ain ride. The rai the mount g ride to the top of lon a came. Then s n wa rai it e t th bu , en was up rned, and th tu re s ud clo e th d an e it to the top. Once the sun vanished ing, we barely mad ck bu her s rse ho r Ou rdly get the ring on the hail came. ed fiancé. I could ha ak led so y dd m hu s to ur ed ho os there, I prop ent the next 12 ring so badly. We sp finger she was shive hotel.

—Scott Towler by a fireplace in a

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The Old College Tr y

roaching ege. Valentine’s Day was app bout 12 years ago I was in coll who guy A . had a Valentine before and I was feeling low. I never ll tba foo ool sch h years ago at his hig I call my secret crush and saw I re. the ng goi was o wh r, visit his brothe game came to my college to to me class one day and he stopped was going to Oceanography and said, es Kiss y’s she Her of box ll sma say hello. Then he gave me a said I was ed why would he do this. He “Happy Valentine’s Day.” I ask ! We’ve been too able kiss lly t, and hopefu the sweetest girl he’d ever me being in love. together for 12 years now! I love —Jilinda Kellough

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otrons disp band holdin laying the q g signs, no uestion, no was only a flower peta marching man, a little ls spelling o te ut my nam ar sat in front ye ye d , e. There a little shaky, of me tryin holding my g hard to g to say. Final e h t and. He o u ly, in an act t words. I kn of desperati ew what he and placed on, he pulle wanted it on the ta d out a smal ble. We loo the hysterica l black box ked at each l laughter b other and sm egan. In be words were iled. Then tween smile uttered. Bu s, the tears t that’s whe big product flowed. Few n I knew no ion, no gran words were diose gestu hand in han needed. No re. Just him d, still laugh , just me. We in g, still cryin perfect wo strolled man, but to g. Not the p gether, spe erfect man ctacular! Si , not the mply stated and execute d.

—Jesse Alfa ro

A Vegas W edding nce

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upon a tim e, a beach g who took h irl met an ar e r chitect with o n adventures. was “never a motorcyc After five ye getting mar le ars of datin ri e d should be b ag ai g a guy wh n , ” m y father sug rave enoug o gested one h to break u That struck of us p if we were home! I rep n ’t ready to co eated it to D said, “OK, le mmit. avid around t’s get marri midnight th ed. But we That was a at night. He have to do Saturday an it today or I’l d the court and he said l chicken ou s were close , “Let’s go to t.” d. I called a Vegas!” The want to mis lawyer frien idea was ho s my opport d rr ifying, but I unity. I was to the agen didn’t a travel age cy and “stole nt at the tim ” four tickets for them an e so I went and left a n d tell every ote that I w one a good Chapel of Lo ould pay story. We en ve, where so ded up at th meone trie have been e Wedding d to sell us the only on rice to thro es not wear This year w w. We migh ing polyest e’ll celebrate t er outfits, b our 35th w ut it worked edding ann . iversary.

—Karen (& David Gray)

ve Al’s We’ll Always Ha Miguel was living at the American

1995 when e started dating in owers and tried to enjoyed shared sh e W . wn y to wn Do Hotel in of 1996, Miguel, m arges. In February ch r said, ve d co r an Ba up ’s d Al e rke bypass th Boy. Gino pe Big b’s Bo at re we ur I d Year!” On Th sday roommate Gino an Thursday. It’s Leap on d rie g ar m t ge Albertson Weddin “You guys should we married at the w, to in m ds fro r en fri we th flo e after work, wi e bouquet was th rift store jacket. Th ring from Mexico er pp co Chapel. I wore a th ed ish rn exchanged my ta stic turf next to Miguel’s lapel. We . We married on pla us d ne loa d en fri a an iceberg. In June and a men’s ring either a waterfall or s wa ich oved wh op pr anged family-appr a fiberglass se garden and exch ro a Catholic a at at r ain be ag m d ve rie we mar was held in No ing dd we ren. ird th ch r o wonderful ild wedding bands. Ou in love and have tw h uc o m int ry ve ed ll ttl sti ces we have se church. We are Downtown residen of are ty rs rie bo va a igh in After living ican Hotel. Our ne cry from the Amer and no Al’s The Orsini. It’s a far m, no street parties he ay m p to of ro no is predictable; there —Daniele Johnson Bar.

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February 9, 2015

valentine’s day, 11 and braised short ribs. Wine pairings will be available with each course. The fantastic bistro setting with indoor and patio seating is free.

At 1850 Industrial St., (213) 405-1434 or churchandstatebistro.com.

Fantastic Four: The restaurant Noé, nestled in the Omni Los Angeles Hotel, flies under the radar. That’s too bad, as it is a reliable place for a pre-theater or other dinner. On Valentines Day, Noé is offering an $85 four-course meal. It starts with either wilted duck salad or sashimi, moves on to a selection of butter poached lobster or crispy pork belly, then jumps to a choice of venison filet, beef cheek or butternut squash risotto.

Dessert comes in the form of Sweet Saffron Oil Cake. There is also a $40 optional wine pairing.

At 251 S. Olive St., (213) 356-4100 or noerestaurant.com.

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ROMANCE IN THE CITY The Rail World: There’s something inherently romantic about train stations. The team at Traxx understands this better than anyone, and is preparing a Valentine’s Day meal for those who venture to Union Station — even if they take a car to get there. The $65 four-course dinner begins with a choice of scallop crudo or beef carpaccio. That is followed by either polenta salad or lobster bisque. Entree options are wild sea bass or filet mignon. Close it out with the chocolate sampler, featuring a mini chocolate cake, chocolate-dipped strawberries and a chocolate truffle.

At 800 N. Alameda St., (213) 625-1999 or traxx.la.

Chillin’ Like a Romantic Villain: The Arts District’s Villains Tavern, one of the coolest rooms in Downtown, has reopened its kitchen and is getting deep into the Feb. 14 swing. Chefs Robbie Richter and Chris Peterson are whipping up a $25 per person dinner that starts with bone broth and also offers champagne, lamb carpaccio, oyster lollipops, a whole mackerel for two and

ambrosia salad. The food is complemented by a 9:30 p.m. performance by the Dirty Little Secrets burlesque group.

At 1356 Palmetto St. or villainstavern.com.

Sharing Means Caring: Romance in an Italian restaurant doesn’t have to mean two dogs slurping up the same piece of spaghetti like in Lady and the Tramp. Proof of that comes at Soleto, the Figueroa Street establishment that is offering a shared dinner for two for $40, in addition to the regular menu. V-Day selections include a flatbread with prosciutto and burrata, a choice of sirloin à la Puglia or seared shrimp with charred cauliflower, and for dessert, raspberries with mascarpone cream and pistachios. Since it’s good to have something to drink with your meal, Soleto is providing endless Kir Royale for $15. Which raises the question: How much Kir Royale can you drink? How much should you drink?

At 801 S. Figueroa St., (213) 622-3255. regardie@downtownnews.com

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Vintage Romance Valentine’s Dinner Smeraldi’s Restaurant February 14, 2015, 5 to 10pm Enjoy an unforgettable three-course dinner among the romantic décor & architectural grandeur of the Biltmore, voted “Most Romantic Hotel” by readers of Downtown News in 2014 Including sweet takeaways ♥ $59 per person, excluding tax and gratuity Reservations highly recommended: 213.612.1562 www.millenniumhotels.com

14 Downtown News

February 9, 2015

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Love Lines

Valentine’s Day Is Here, and So Are Downtowners’ Messages of Gooey and Silly Amor FuzzyFaces… Purring, howling and snoring. So heart our DTLA family - especially you, Omega <3 U… Donna Liz Leshin… I don’t say it enough so in front of all Downtown I’ll shout it out, “I LOVE YOU!”… Dennis Smith

Alborz… You’re my best friend and the love of my life. I’m so lucky and blessed to be yours… Natalie

To Pedro! My HBSP!… You drive me crazy! New adventures and experiences await us!… Keith

Mama… Thank you for the hugs, the meals, the Legos (especially the Legos) and all the love… Vivian and George

Mrs. Monique Sandoval… I have learned to love because you have first shown me how to love. My love has only one place, that’s you… Your husband, Emmanuel

Lesley… Everything was ours. How happy we were then. But somehow once upon a time. Never comes again…

TK

Laurie Yoshiko… You are the best thing to happen to me and are the love of my life… Love Peter TB129… The world with you gets sweeter every single day. Still can’t believe how lucky I am… RJR Namba Bear… I love you with all my heart and can’t wait for our special annual trip… Sean Jose… I love you Buddy. Year 21 is coming up and I love you just as much as ever… Chrissy Lojero Molly… Bet you didn’t think I could confess my adoration for you in the paper, but here we are. Love you!… Eddie Arashito Bonito… Thank you for all this happiness! You complete me. I adore the “s” out of you… Your Shomita Love you Minnie Michelle… Looking forward to a fun day at the Disneyland 60 Year Anniversary… Love Mickey, Ron and JJ Peggy L… Brick and wood, mortar and plane, labor’s love, a little faith… Love, Richard T Imelda… The more things change, the more they stay the same. You are beautiful, constantly, the epitome of sexiness. If you don’t know, now you know… André Danielle… Bye Felicia! XOXO… Grandma C.

Elena… you will always be my Valentine and love of my life… bsnbns Julie Hun… I’m so grateful to have you (and Rocky) in my life every single day. I love you!… Jason Bonomo Pearl… chocolate lab, happiest dog in the world. Sending a Valentine’s Day message to you our true love… Love Bill Ballerini and wife Sue Herdzina Babo… Here I am, rock me like a hurricane… Your babe, Claudia

Mike… Always on my mind, forever in my heart. Love you… Diane

TJ… you’re such a great boyfriend and I adore being with you. If you were a cottage, I’d rent you for the winter…

Danielle S.

Katherine… I love you baby, hope you enjoy the new seat! Let’s explore DTLA’s bike lanes together!… Dustin Beyette

Sara… you is kind, you is smart, you is important!… Forever your valentine, your cream puff

Laura… I whisper I love you, cry I don’t, even if I wish you far away. Today, tomorrow, always… Ozz

John… How’s your adventure in LA going? I love you and miss you. It’s cold here… Sandy

My Husband Landy… The heart of my heart, the soul of my soul, the love of my life… Love, Aarion

Steven… all my love is for you… Usha

Momzilla Lopez… My Valentine I love you even when you tell that story about the day I was born… GoldMama Mom… you never get mad when I keep all the cups in my room; your patience is remarkable. I love you…

Danielle S. Leonard Collins… Happy Valentines Day… Love Z & Lil Z B. Joel Burton… We found love on the Internet 17 years ago. I’m so glad that I hit the send button… Contessa Burton Sophie… I hope you remember what we have is warm and tender, so hold on, nothing can come between us… E Anonymous… a lean career, scraping peer, ends friends. Meeting new over the top friends will guaranteed fill popularity needs… Corlis D-Clean… We’ve shared a one-bathroom home for more than 15 years, nothing can stop us now… VTR Boy

DK… Halloween will never be the same… VD103114 Yumminess… you’ll always be 18 to me… xxx Mom and Dad… You just make my world a better place. Happy Valentine’s Day and see you in March… Cath Alex… I love you forever, for always. No matter what my heart is yours… Lily NDLSR… Smiles (giggles). Your bright shining love and thoughtfulness brings me joy & happiness… Love, Daniel Christina Henderson… I’m ready to love now… EJax Nanci Barrera… We love you so much, thank you for all you do!… Anthony, Aiden and Ava Brian… Happy Anniversary! You rock my world. I love you with all my heart!… Love, Jeanette

Nancy Thurlo… You are the love of my life. You are my one and only. You are my always and forever… John Youngman Bassman-BHOM… Play me a Riff!

Play me a Sharp! Improvise! Fender-ize me!… Smoochinanigans Troy… You are the love of my life. I couldn’t ask for a better man to be with.

I love you! Thank you!… Ali Poling Lovola… Thank you for being so special… Boogie & Robin Letty, my wife and best friend…

Thank you for giving me two maganda and matalino daughters! Love lots…

Manny Z Nik-Son… Always in my heart… Love, your Momma DS… You are the butta in our cookie butta… DN Baby… Desde el primer dia que te vi, me captivaste con tu sol y tu Luna. I love ju… Claudia Lita… Happy Valentines Day to you! I love you!… Little Ryan and Joshua Lucifer… prince of Chinatown, my factotum, my light, shine on… Love, J Perla… Happy Valentine’s Day, the gem of my life. I’m happy I’m taking this journey with you!… D Claudia… you’re such a grandma, but you’re a wonderful co-worker! Stop taking vacations. It makes me miss you…

Danielle S. Dearest Sergio… When I’m with you, it’s like the world disappears. I love you always and forever… Your husband, Gabriel Rosemary… Will you still call me baby when I’m old and crazy?… Jesus Novoa My khaleesi… Moon of my life, my sun, and stars… Fox

February 9, 2015

Downtown News 15

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

The Dive Bar Queen’s Growing Empire Vee Delgadillo has assembled four Downtown businesses.

She opened Bar 107 in 2005, and five years later added the Down and Out. She also is a partner in Two Bits Market and just opened the Creole restaurant The Little Easy, which includes a courtyard fountain (below).

How Vee Delgadillo Came to Own Four Downtown Businesses

By Donna Evans ee Delgadillo has an unlikely claim to quasi-fame: She is the queen of the Downtown dive bar scene.

It’s fitting, in a way. The 37-year-old owns Bar 107 on Fourth Street and the Down and Out on the ground floor of the Alexandria Hotel. The former is known for the red walls hung with a plethora of taxidermied deer heads and velvet paintings. The latter’s design scheme might be called Mug Shot Chic: Along with the TVs showing sports are a batch of framed police pics of O.J. Simpson, Charlie Sheen, James Brown and other celebrities.

“They’re a little bit grungy with salty bartenders,” Delgadillo said of her fascination with dive bars. “There’s no pretention, and you never know who you’re sitting next to: could be a lawyer, could be a convict.”

While owning those bars has given Delgadillo a steady income, they’re not the extent of her small but growing empire. She is also a partner in Two Bits Market, a deli and convenience store on Fifth Street.

Then there’s her newest venture, and her most mainstream nightspot: the New Orleans-style bar and restaurant The Little Easy. It opened at 216 W. Fifth St. on Feb. 7.

For Delgadillo, it makes an evolution.

“I was the party girl,” she acknowledged one afternoon last week while sitting at a glass table next to a courtyard-style fountain in Little Easy.

“Now I’m a mom of two and consider myself a little wiser and more business-oriented. I think this

V

place is very telling about where I am in my life.”

It may seem an unlikely life path for Delgadillo, who was born in Mexico City and at the age of 5 came by Greyhound bus to Downtown in 1982 with her parents. The family settled in Highland Park, but came Downtown on Sundays to watch two-for-one movies at Broadway theaters, where the films had Spanish subtitles, and to shop at Grand Central Market for groceries.

Learning the Business Delgadillo later moved back to Mexico City with her family, but her brother, who was born deaf in the United States, needed care that they couldn’t afford. The family returned to Los Angeles. Delgadillo said she dropped out of high school and was on her own by the age of 14.

She later found jobs in the bar business, with stints as a cocktail waitress, server and in management. She ultimately decided she wanted to open a bar and traveled to Chicago to get ideas for a folksy, Midwest-type establishment.

With capital from a second mortgage on her home, financing from a private investor and her life savings, she opened Bar 107 in 2005.

At the time, Delgadillo was also skating with the Los Angeles Derby Dolls. At four-feet, nineinches tall, she was given the nickname “Pocket Rocket” by one of her teammates.

Emboldened by Bar 107’s popularity — she said its current annual revenue exceeds $2 million — she went for a second establishment.

In 2009 she purchased the 3,800-square-foot Charlie O’s on the ground floor of the AlexContinued on page 15

photos by Gary Leonard

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16 Downtown News

delgadillo, 15 andria Hotel. She teamed with designer Ryan Sanderson, who she met through the Derby Dolls, to transform the then-ragged spot. The Down and Out opened in 2010, and though it recently had another remodel that included new furniture and hardwood floors, Delgadillo makes no pretense that it’s an upscale pub.

“Oh, it’s a dive bar, 100%,” Delgadillo said, laughing.

Downtown lawyer Tom O’Leary, who lives on Spring Street, has been pulling up a stool at the Down and Out for five years. He described Delgadillo as having “great business intuition” and credits her spots for helping area residents get to know each other.

“This area has really transformed itself, and business owners like Vee have led the way in investing in the Historic Core,” he said.

The dive bar approach leads to occasional unruly patrons and fisticuffs, and though Delgadillo used to defuse things herself (while in her trademark four-inch heels) she now lets her security guards handle such situations. Still, there are times when the fights spill into the street.

Blair Besten, executive director of the Historic Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District, said BID security officers have had to respond to some drinks-fueled incidents. However, she lauds Delgadillo for being a single mom who has become a successful businesswoman.

“She’s definitely found her niche and she knows how to do that niche really well,” Besten said. “Not every place has to have a $15 cocktail. It’s good to keep the diversity in the neighborhood.”

DoWntoWn CaR WasH

Southern Feel Delgadillo opened The Little Easy in the former Gorbals restaurant space, also in the Alexandria Hotel. She once again turned to Sanderson for design guidance. The goal was to replicate both a classic southern hotel lobby as well as a French Quarter courtyard.

Patrons enter off Fifth Street, where the front bar is decked out with chandeliers, an oversized mirror and Victorian furniture. A zigzagging hallway leads to the back bar with the fountain and walls lined with shutters and distressed windows. The 150-person capacity establishment even has a riser with Victorianstyle sofas and a mural advertising a potent alcohol called Herbsaint.

Delgadillo said the build-out took two months and cost more than $600,0000. Sanderson said the goal is to help patrons feel removed from the Historic Core.

“We wanted it to feel like you were somewhere different than Downtown, like the French Quarter at night,” he said. “There’s an open airiness about the design, which is kind of playful, but not like Disneyland.”

The kitchen is run by Mississippi-born chef Brian Garrigues and specializes in Creole dishes such as shrimp and grits and seafood gumbo.

A house specialty cocktail is the Sazerac, a New Orleans cognac or whisky drink mixed with bitters, absinthe and a sugar cube.

Delgadillo is also part owner of Two Bits Market, a deli with fresh, local and organic produce. She plans to use Little Easy’s kitchen to cook prepared foods to sell at Two Bits, as well as the Down and Out. Although The Little Easy is a shift from her role as dive bar queen, Delgadillo still sees it

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The Little Easy occupies the former Gorbals space in the Alexandria Hotel. The 150-seat establishment serves New Orleans-style food and drinks and has a design inspired by the Crescent City.

photo by Gary Leonard

as a laidback place with affordable price points (entrees run $8-$12). She hopes it will continue to attract locals, as well as people from outside of Downtown.

“I like that these bars have a neighborhood feel,” she said. “Everyone else is going frou-frou with dress codes. I want people to be comfortable. We care about the neighborhood.”

To that end, Delgadillo has her eye on a fourth bar in Downtown. Though she would not reveal the location or specifics, she said she

has zeroed in on a space and a concept.

Once Delgadillo’s second son was born (her children are 2 and 3), the family moved to Eagle Rock. She loves Downtown, and has felt connected to it since she was 5, but she said the Central City is more dog-friendly than kidfriendly.

Still, it’s a place where she’s happy to open businesses, even if the businesses come with a bit, or maybe a lot, of grit. donna@downtownnews.com

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Downtown News 11 Main streets.

Shy’s sixth The 350-unit project Downtown in the 2014 19, Historic Core up effort. apartm May ent He would be budget or hopes to start construbuilding, but his first anticipated groundction within d ameniopening six month date has space. Planne s. No been reveale SINGER -floor retail and a SEWIN d. feet of ground lounge, open-air decks Construction G MACHINE BUILD and 10,000 square oor parking is underw ING Building, a rooftop pool have a three-fl translucent and the edificeay on the Singer ties include also would in Sewing Machin into seven The project be wrapped apartments, at 806 S. Broadw e that would fitness center. ay will be Needleman, including street level turned one pentho Fashion. Eachwho runs the Downt podium above emits a soft glow at night. use, said Steve own proper it 10,000-square unit will span 6,000 ty panels so that square feet, firm Anjac -foot pentho Residents except the use; all units will also have 472-apartwill have ST. had been spring for a access to a balcony. exploring 950 E. THIRD g is scheduled for the District, said Dilip a boutique a rooftop terrace instead for Arts . breakin Needle hotel the a rental A 410-un man St. in pment. The A ground project. Needle for the site, but floor retail it, two-bu forward at 950 E. Third r of Legendary Develo opted space of ilding comple Boulevard man anticip less than t to the n is moving Eighth Street. ment project ST. at ates one membe 1,000 square site adjacen groundtitlements, Flower and Hope x proposed for Pico Work could managing developer Amaco als in 2008 but 1133 S. HOPE feet that , which streets has according be comple Bhavnani, a rise on a six-acre would front approv Canada-based Enterprises. received to ie te by 2016, , which complex will of Architecture. The project Vancouver, SPRING received city its The South a spokesman for he said. n. The project units $150 million STREE and Jon Regard caught up with and perpen y tower that the first residen developer enPark ia Institute tial The entitlem T APARTMENTS Eddie Kim Fe Avenue e of the recessio on a 28-stor Jade tial project effort, dubbed Onyx, finally, has /GARAGE Donna Evans, s. holdings Southern Californroad parallel to Santa res, each five partly becaus would include 208 residen tower , the world, for the compa Historic Core ent process for a propos By would be in the Fashion Los Angele new then stalled, The off, of three structu built in a side-by-side ny that began in last few months ed 40-stor in Downtown District. The The first set will create a n the will consist president y been dusted gton Post and retail space. would Development May 19, 2014 y structure that is happening of Onyx would has extensive of develo earnest this month ment will be three years. has recentl the Washin restaurant floor retail parking lots over and to Third Street, of in the ing and story structu residential units develop eat) per photo by Gary feet , which rise on two said dicular podium 42,000 square Downt everyth (and Journal and comme Greg Martin, and see has turned Leonard own Manag have been high. The entire expected to take about Wall Street rcial space. and 5,029 square a rectangular parking Flower Street Lofts. feet ground Sares-Regis re are slated to come retail in Little Tokyo’s vice three old is to do and er: The ments, is revealed. to six stories from Neithe summer,ofsaid Historic Core ement.

Consid the The compa spokes ction is planning sevenon all that there d effusive stories in GQ president of development Hills Italian establishment Ago. The Emerson will be adjacent to r budge woman Zoe online in Januar plexvice ny, to erect the buildings would extend parking lot just east of on Spring t nor Frank Frallicciardi, at 232 offer a fitness ed articles phase. Constru y 2016, said Solsby. The E. Second followe would into single publish high-ri g Street at Forest City’stimelin Los Angeles office.

The five-story Chinatown projthe Broad museum’s public courtyard, which will have its own apart aparte ROSSL just se on a current between two-bedroom St. will include 240-apartmen YN HOTEL These pieces Alexandria rise on a currentpool and spa, the buildin the Spring ect, which will have 237 studio- to three-bedroom apartments is restaurant. parking City. room. apartm Hotel.

A renova the Central to a Rents ents measu 51 studio, 112 one- t comlot Times.

Downtown levels of parking The tower would Arcade in and media AVE. tion of the Buildin (with 53 reserved for low-income are residents), ised slated to open in ring up project In addition g and S. GRAND nal kitchen Rosslyn boom period plete, said have housin New theYork the to 1,220 square and 77 tosquare and 1000 nationthe averag commu ring have one and willfeature Major Joseph Corcora Hotel is approx spring 2016. Blossom Plazament will also 20,000 feet of TITLE INSURANCE BUILDING e $2,400 floor g on top library, a budget also hold feet. a month development imately of six sense conside or firm timelin of retail. The project some feet has n, directo steaming ahead. a stake in the room, makes cess should retail space (the tenant search begun), a 17,000-square-foot of retail Construction continues on a renovation Titler of 65% comThis for SRO of the 1928 e. Martin of projects space and townhomes, more . The developdoes not planninpublic take approx able housin to take sares-re g andplaza yet dozens and a walkway connecting the Metro Gold Linelevels staInsurance Building, said BillgLindborg ofHousin than 16,000 three g Corpor g, with imately one said the entitlem housin R ST. gis.com complex Borg Development. ers are rushing Amacon and Onni ation. enjoyinent g in the heart of Chinatown. of underg square . The project broke year. to Broadway The structurefinished at 433 S. Spring St. is slatedattoFifth be turned into 216 Thetion pro pro- tional develop 264-un 1200 S. FLOWE round parking THE CHELS firms

by Hallow and Main it year, affordeen, streets ground EA . At al and interna months, the Canadian Downtown housthe with nearly aSB decade after plans were first proposed residential units, 40,000 square feethe of retail on the ground second is slatedlast OMEG According phase, with said. Currently work by to be A crews discovered porfour a different developer.Veteran In April, work to floor. ration of anned area — in recent plans for a total of procee tion has not the most recent inform historic elemen165 units. The project istions ding the Zanja the city’sdevelo historic water supply system. as other long-pl is workonMadre, per Barry ation availab Group announced involveofthe ts includi ments for ent occurs of the Alexanyet started on Nick Cos. ng the lobby It wassremoved and will be preserved.

TOPAZ the SB Omega Shy said he continu restoHadim’s renova le, construcc- es. This investm proposed and the facade. into gear: Related Grand, and St. was initiallydria Hotel. The $5 high-ris Jade Enterprises received entitlements in early April for a 15940-story tower. Progress on the es to seek entitleof the million project tioning getting back annex plannin changed million The CITY MARKET said he plans slated to begin unit apartment complex in the Historic Core, according to a at 601 S. s are finally the parking for the $650 Main St. slowedg for the late last year. at 216project W. Fifth historic Herald to turn the concept, company spokesman. Jade intends to erect a seven-story buildtic designs 1910 and Hadim previou ment of the Historic when he he said, moving on schema is someti ing at 550 S. Main St. on what is now a parking lot. The project, g for develop mes referred Core edifice, which ing sly apartments. it to Sixth preppin is was and to as the The structu dubbed Topaz, would stretch between Main and Los Angeles built Corp.

Hearst of construcin “ghost re require streets. The complex, just north of the Santa Fe Lofts at Sixth g. Thousands s significant buildinExamin g,” into 28 er Building. major Downt renovations, tion and plannin the area, and several own and Main streets, would include News 23,000 square feet of retail andnot all specula Continued It’s Park just and would offer studio and one- 15 to three-bedroom units. The employed in on page debut. South A new s are already 12 spokesman said the project is on track for a groundbreaking this worker or ready to

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space, and the design comes ground floor will have three on the other from architecture live/work units. The firm TCA, which is also for comple Downtown Hanove tion r projects. working tcaarchitects.c by early 2015, accord Construction is slated om/olympic-a ing to the company. nd-hill.

At ONNI TOWER Construction Olive St. The continues on a 32-stor project from Vancou y apartment tower ground a year ago, and constru ver-based Onni Group at 888 S. the concre ction crews te official. The for the 24th floor, have now broke according poured $100 million to an Onni Financial structure District Group luxury apartm will create 303 in the southern part one-, twoof the ents.

Onni quarter of and three-b is targetin 2015. It is edroom g an openin the firm’s has plans g in the first first for The project two additional Downtproject in Downt own; Onni does not own high-ri yet have se develo a name. pments.

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The Related Cos.’ $120 million luxury apartment complex The Emerson will open Oct. 1, said Related California President Bill Witte. Pre-leasing in the 19-story building south of the underconstruction Broad art museum on Grand Avenue will begin in July, he added. The exterior has been completed, and work is now taking place inside. The Emerson will hold 271 apartments, with 20% set aside as affordable housing. Amenities in the build ing designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica will include highend finishes, a rooftop pool, a full business center, and a dog run for residents’ pets in the rear of the property. The building will also have a ground-floor restaurant, an offshoot of the Beverly

I

Developer Sonny Astani has secured entitlements for the Valencia, a six-story, 218-unit residential project at 1501-1521 W. Wilshire Blvd., but has not scheduled a groundbreaking. The City West project would feature 4,400 square feet of street-level retail and commercial space, balconies on most units and open courtyards. Killefer Flammang Architects is handling the design.

Construction is slated to last 18 months. Astani declined to give a budget for the project. At astanienterprises.com.

project has including a pharmacy, the hospita outpatient cludes clinics and l’s Surgica hepato physici biliary l Specia orthop Developer Forest City is continuing the excavation and shoring an offices lties Clinic, edic surgery and pancre which in, said Bada. atic surgery process on its $100 million Blossom Plaza at 900 N. Broadway, The builder , neurosurgery HALL OF and expects to move into the next phase of construction in late and is Millie JUSTIC With a E Severso 1,000-s n. tall comple ted this underground parking year, interior garage and facade construction having 211 W. crews are improv Temple ements now focusinbeen St. The comple for the $234 g on tion 1925 Hall The renova in August, said million develo pment of Justice at project ted Civic is on track Depart represe Center ment and ntative for and the Sean Rossall the Districtbuilding will house first floor Attorne . structu y’s office the Sheriff ’s re’s historic will feature an when it area Charles opens, Manson. elements, includi displaying some of signific ant damagThe building was ng a cellblo the ck that e in the shut once held 1994 Northr down after LOS ANGEL idge Earthq it sustained There continuES RIVER uake. es to be decisio a delay n on with the geles River. which revitali Army Corps zation The Corps known of Engine initially plan to pursue There’s more to real estate than buying and selling houses or leasing as ers’ propos for the habitat Alternative 13, s along which woulded a $450 million Los Ancommercial office space. Whether you are now in the Real Estate 11 cluding upgrad open access Mayor Ericmiles of the river. industry, a recent grad, or a professional looking for a career change, $1 billion and restoree Howev Garcetti, er, city official waterw effort known as have lobbied our Real Estate Certificate is right for you! ay for an approx s, inAlterna Angele on a much larger tive 20, imately s State which to the Army Historic Park. scale and connec would revive the t the river his willing Corps expres In early April, to Los Garcetti sing his according ness to have the sent a letter suppor t of expand to city official city take on 50% Alternative 20 s. In the or meantime, of the project and Taylor Yard restore parks along the cost, other side Park Bridge project river continu projects to in Lincoln in Elysian Valley and e, including Heights.

At lariver. the Albion the LOS ANGEL org.

RiverThe 34-acre ES STATE HISTO park on RIC PARK a year-lo ng renova the edge of Chinatown spearheaded tion. The new perma by the Californapproximately closed in April for $20 million ia State and parkingnent facilitie Parks Depart effort s such as lots. ment will several a distinct In addition, the welcome center, add landsca a childre pe feature park will be reshap bathrooms n’s acre restore play area, a citrus-t s, includi ed with ng down segmed wetlands area. ree lined promelarge meado ws, State Parks nts of the nade full year park in considered and a twoto save phases costs. At , but decide shutting lashp.w Discover ordpress.com d to close LOS ANGEL for a . enjoy free the newly renova The environ ES STREETCAR breakfast, ted mental continu review snacks, Sheraton Club es, Find out beverages, tion. The led by recentl process for the at our down y more at Los project internet town ’s environ hired project managAngeles Streetc comple sheratonlos and dynam hotel and tion mental ar er URS City Counci by late spring, angelesdow impact ic city views Corpor report is according antown.com/ which wouldlman José Huizar. slated . to Meanw the office of 14thfor offers connec route on hile, the t the Civic District Broadw propos Center ay, continu ed project es to seek and L.A. Live with a main, funding.

In March, the Contin ued on page 16

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The environmental impact report for the massive City Market development has been submitted and is awaiting city comment, said property owner and developer Peter Fleming. The project would transform the 1909 produce mart, a collection of mostly unused warehouses bounded by Ninth, San Pedro, San Julian and 12th streets, into a $1 billion hub of housing, office space, hotel rooms and a college campus. The first phase in the 10-acre mega-project being designed by Downtown-based architect Douglas Hanson calls for transforming two aged buildings: One would hold 150 residential units, and the other would be an office structure. The complex ultimately would include 945

tion g of TCA ents. rendering courtesy either openin the Avant apartmr near L.A. Live. projects are addition with this summe got a big housing set to open ny broke ground News runs complex is Downtown Hanover Compa in late April, and is in the Marriott hotel g pages, Los Angeles developer the building s. With all that apartment Houston-based ng to project In the followin on 87 project it, seven-story 18-24 months, accordi information x at Grand on a 274-un last down the latest r this just a start. is slated to & Co. The comple dconstruction of Onni Group pipeline, conside of Craig Lawson feature studio to two-be rendering courtesy ant Jim Ries will CTS evel ard or consult PROJE street-l Boulev of c NEW feet tial Olympi ced, were revived Avenue and as 12,000 square outdoor dining. a pair of residen-based publicly announ . for ents, as well were either hopes to bring ver, Canada room apartm sidewalk room three months Onni Group These projects rds throughout St. The Vancou with enough y buildings Developer ence in the past ents will cts offers courtya retail space 1200 S. Flower ents for 31- and 40-stor gained promin from TCA Archite y of the street-side apartmwn was high-rises to approxiThe design seeking entitlem730 housing units and into crefive-story, g, and the majorit r’s last project in Downto developer is of ST. are being turned the buildin deliver a total to South Park. An existing a two420 BOYD t buildings developer balconies. Hanovec. that would said project cant adjacen have glass remain, and same parking spaces Two long-va Olympi the would microbrewery, 843 on landa g 717 a are and St. mately have space the luxury tower foot office buildin Toy project would gs at 420 Boyd ative office ing 72,000-square- would be razed. The ant/bar in the mni. The buildin include a swimm use Dilip Bhavna popular restaur re at the corner er Lennar Multifa ST. story wareho deck and amenities would revealed the project’s Escondite, a 1001 S. OLIVE g for Miami-based developcorner of Olive Street not each five-story structu block as The est ni said the scaped podium run. The developer has tenants, with a A groundbreakinbuilding at the southw back to mid-June, dog District. Bhavna streets will house five would hold tory pool and a Omar oring edifice e. ily’s seven-s has been pushed Gonzaga. The apartof Boyd and of the Fred The neighb c Boulevard budget or timelin where clients a full floor. ntative Sheila and Olympi two-story works shop occupying tial project represe units, including 12 and an iron of retail 201 OLIVE according to g on two residena third microbrewery would be employed. x would have well as 4,100 square feet g OLYMPIC AND which is workin as ment comple structure r Company, Jordan Mission process of entitlin would South Park at street level, The Hanove the mes at is now in the edifice Olive ies tory Park, king townho Amenit South deck overloo ard. The seven-s rcial space. projects in ST. ment and pool and spa Olive, and a and comme Olympic Boulev Hill develop 820 S. OLIVE a third-floor Olympic and building on Olympic and would contain would include r deck at the corner of The apartments would to Hanover’s ty. sit adjacent ents. The project commercial space. round) Street, a top-flooeast side of the proper 263 apartm built underg evel retail and the of subterrawould feature (with one floor dog park on feet of street-l two and a half stories ny floors of parking 14,500 square above — the compa sit on three g would rise 228 spaces. only 250 stalls by The buildin would have would provide requirements that which , parking ive car the two nean parking es. As with ed with the down on expens IRE BLVD. has partner plans to cut parking incentivTCA is handling the 1027 WILSH Development Group it rental city’s bicycle most cture firm City build a 376-un to the utilizing the The Central on a plan to r projects, archite xtured, articulated facade; er has According Estate Group other Hanove in City West.

Amidi Real es. The develop shows a multi-te , project officials Wilshire Blvd. design, which would have glass balconi project at 1027 Building and Safety’s website sh a three-story units . of to demoli street-side or a budget Department for conapplication d a timeline ted a permit in preparation not reveale from have submit clear the lot across the street created. the site and RESIDENTIAL would rise structure on x that Amidi development The comple n. housing structio feet of retail ted , a corporate 6,500 square s has comple 1010 Wilshire g would also contain ST. or budget er Carmel Partner tower at the No timeline 801 S. OLIVE of Onni Group The new buildin feet of office space. rendering courtesy co-based developa 27-story residential San Francis for g the preand 5,000 square d. ent process It is now enterin Group, which ground reveale streets. the entitlem Onni er break been Olive to and have ny hopes -based develop building at 888 S. Olive corner of Eighth President of the compa ver, Canada ent phase and Senior Vice phase, and The Vancou te on the first cting an apartm tial tower between Hill TOKYO according to would take about 30 construction comple constru 2015, LITTLE ly 600 of almost on page 8 AVA is y residen ction is current units and Continued ction process in the first quarter Garibaldi. Constru in the third erect a 50-stor 589 housing al The constru Dan completion St., plans to would bring s, and the Financi Development the tower’s estimated The project 363 units (studio n South Park Olive streets. occupancy months, putting The high-rise would feature penthouses) and to the site betwee oot single room four quare-f parking stalls , said project quarter of 2017. droom apartments and adjacent 6,584-s developer, will remain District. An e for the project one- and two-be owned by the budget or timelin hotel, on land Dikeakos. No architect Chris ced. has been announ

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SkiD roW WAlk, 6 Forces,” said McDonald, who served as an Army Ranger. “Which group?”

The man looked back blankly.

“Seventh? Tenth?” McDonald offered.

“Yeah, Seventh.”

It would turn out to be another false alarm. McDonald later said that he knew the man wasn’t a veteran because most are eager to talk about their unit and trade stories about deployments.

Even if he had been a veteran, certain factors, such as a dishonorable discharge, could mean that he would not have qualified for some services and benefits. A felony conviction, too, can prevent some of the most vulnerable homeless individuals from accessing low-income housing and services, as with Cinethia Palacensia, a woman who called out to the group as it passed her.

“I’ve been trying to get housing, you know. But I’m a felon, so it’s not so easy,” Palacensia, 64, claimed. “I’ve been clean for three years, haven’t done anything, but my record is a problem. I can find food. I can find water. It’s a place to stay that I need.”

Building Housing As part of a massive lawsuit settlement, the VA will be building permanent supportive housing and services for homeless veterans on its 387-acre West L.A. campus. There are other efforts, too, including in Downtown. Last year, 75 rooms in the renovated Rosslyn Hotel on Main Street were opened for homeless veterans.

Toward the end of the tour, I approached McDonald with a question. After having seen all you’ve seen today, I asked, how much optimism do you feel about the task at hand?

“It is bad out there. But I know there are resources being applied,” he said. “For the VA alone, it’s $50 million and 400 workers in Los Angeles that’s coming. And to see collaborations on all levels between government and business, I have a lot of confidence in the leadership in Los Angeles.”

He smiled and gave me a pat on the back. Then, as he turned around, he found his veterans, though not in the way he expected. A group of men and women from Vet Hunters, an organization that searches for homeless veterans, had arrived. They had not brought any veterans from the streets back to the mission, but all had served in the military themselves. They excitedly milled around McDonald to discuss the night’s efforts.

“This is the military at its best, right?” McDonald said, laughing and wrapping his arms around the group’s members. “We’re all brothers and sisters here.”

Then came a series of celebratory calls, competing with each other for heart and volume: “Hooah!’ “Rangers lead the way!”

“Death from above!” “The few, the proud, the Marines!”

Their cries rang out down the sidewalk, where a handful of homeless people lay in restless sleep. eddie@downtownnews.com

Downtown News 17

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Wow! Rick Orlov liked my story!

He made me laugh sometimes, such as when he compared the occasional attempt to bring football back to Los Angeles to the movie Groundhog Day. Even as the Daily News staff shriveled and I no longer subscribed, I would read his Tipoff column every Monday morning, though now online.

My last extended discussion with Orlov was last March.

I attended a Los Angeles Magazine breakfast in Hollywood where Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke to a small crowd (Editor Mary Melton, who interviewed Garcetti that day, also Tweeted last week about receiving a call from Orlov when she was a 25-year-old reporter). I grabbed a seat.

Orlov joined me.

We talked shop, discussing the state of journalism, City Hall and our thoughts on the young mayor. I asked him at the end of the session if he thought he had anything for a story. He said he wasn’t sure.

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18 Downtown News

CALENDAR

SPLIT PERSONALITIES

AT REDCAT Cineastas, from Argentinian writerdirector Mariano Pensotti, presents the stories of four filmmakers whose personal lives are intertwined with their fictional works. It is presented on a multi-level set.

A Multi-Level Set Explores the World of Filmmakers and Their Creations at the beginning,” Pensotti said with a snickBy Eddie Kim n 2011, Mariano Pensotti decided that he er. “Trying to have simultaneous action and so wanted his next play to revolve around the many layers of stories, well, it was very, very world of filmmaking in his hometown of hard. I knew I needed extremely good actors.”

It took months of rehearsals, Pensotti said, Buenos Aires, Argentina. So he dove into the research, interviewing more than a dozen film- to get the rhythm of telling the stories of four people and their films to click. The effort has makers to learn more about their craft.

“I was curious about how their personal lives paid off in the form of a complex, literally multiwere in their works of fiction, and how their layered production that challenges convenpersonal lives changed because of these stories tional narrative techniques, said Mark Murphy, executive director of REDCAT. they were telling,” Pensotti said.

“The physical set, which is so key to the stoThe writer-director’s work culminated in Cineastas, which follows four filmmakers and their ries being told, is very impressive,” Murphy respective movies. The show arrives at REDCAT in said. “But what I was most in awe of when I saw Downtown Los Angeles this week. It runs Thurs- this was the ingenious structure of the stories day-Sunday, Feb. 12-15 and 18-21. The play is and the incredibly smart writing.”

Four Filmmakers, Four Styles performed in Spanish with English subtitles.

Cineastas depicts four filmmakers, each with Like many shows at REDCAT, Cineastas is ambitious in its storytelling. Pensotti wanted to a unique style. There’s Gabriel, a commercially ws successful director who is making a silly cometownNe weave together scenes .Downand ok.com/L.Alives ebocharacters’ Fachis from their films. He contemplated using on- dy co-produced by Hollywood. There’s Mariela, stage cameras and projections, but decided a documentary maker working on a film about Downtown News ondesign Facebook the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nadia is a against Like it. Instead, he and frequent stage & Be Entered to Win Movie Tickets! director who gets a commission to shoot a feapartner Mariana Tirantte brainstormed a splitture about a missing person who appears alive level set.

The bottom floor represents the real world, after 30 years of silence. Finally there’s Lucas, a and the top level shows scenes from the films, McDonald’s employee who uses his job as increating a visual parallel. It was a clever idea, but spiration for his amateur films.

The twist is that each has life experiences then came the challenge of actually staging it. It that start to color his or her work. Gabriel, for didn’t help that he only had a five-person cast.

“I have to admit we were completely lost instance, is dying and pondering his mortal-

I

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ity, which impacts the feel of his studio comedy. Mariela is going through a divorce, which affects how she approaches the subject of the Soviet Union’s fall.

Pensotti hoped to create a commentary on his characters and the narrative by directing two seemingly unrelated scenes on stage at the same time. The play challenges audiences to think about how we create and consume narratives, he said.

“We’re constantly making fiction about ourselves, changing our past every time we retell it,” Pensotti noted. “We’re building fiction in our own lives by changing how we believe in something. It’s all a reaction to the experiences that we’ve had. So what’s the influence of fiction in our lives?”

He found inspiration in films like Andy Warhol’s 1966 piece Chelsea Girls, which uses split screens extensively, and the work of Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, the pioneer of montage editing. The various stories in conjunction show off the diversity ofStarts Buenos Feb. Aires’ 2 film scene and culture, Pensotti added.

Cineastas marks Pensotti’s third time presenting work in Los Angeles. He arrived in late 2013 for Sometimes I Think, I Can See You, a collaboration with REDCAT as part of its Radar L.A. festival. The production, staged inside Grand Central Market, featured writers secretly improvising stories about nearby market diners and

shoppers. The impromptu tales were projected on screens set up throughout the space.

Pensotti had a work in REDCAT’s Bunker Hill theater in 2012. The Past Is a Grotesque Animal featured a quirky spinning set and served as an eye-opening experience for REDCAT’s Murphy. The production inspired him to pursue Cineastas for the 2015 schedule even before he watched the show (he saw it for the first time last year, in Holland).

“We had already written grants for it by the time I saw it on stage last year,” Murphy said.

“Having worked with Mariano before, I could already tell he hit it out of the park.”

Pensotti, meanwhile, said the return to L.A. is fitting considering how the city represents some of the themes in Cineastas.

“If you’re interested in fiction and how you can know a place through its fictional works, L.A. is the place,” he said. “Even if you’ve never been there, you know so much from movies and TV series that you’ve been watching.

It’s difficult to make a clear separation of reality and fiction in the city.”

Odds are that audiences will also have a tough time separating the two during Cineastas, but that, as Pensotti says, is pretty much the point.

Cineastas runs Feb. 12-15 and 18-21 at REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. eddie@downtownnews.com

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Starts Feb. 6 / 13

February 9, 2015

Restaurant Buzz Italian-American Eats, Starry Kitchen Says Goodbye, And Other Food Happenings

By Eddie Kim ext-Gen: Like the phoenix rising from the fire, the shuttered Green Hut Cafe at 808 W. Seventh St. has given way to a new establishment: 3rd Generation, a sake bar and restaurant, opened in the last week of January. The project from M2K Restaurant Group, which owned Green Hut and operates Downtown eateries including Wokcano and Bunker Hill Bar and Grill, has a menu focused on ramen and sushi options. Ramen is offered with a rich, creamy tonkotsu (pork bone) broth or a chicken-soy sauce broth; sushi comes in the form of both nigiri and hand rolls. Also on the menu is an assortment of rice bowls topped with everything from fresh fish to sea urchin to braised pork. Among the drink choices is an array of sake and Korean soju, along with cocktails made with the two spirits.

At 808 W. Seventh St., (213) 627-8166 or 3rdgenerationusa.com.

N

Drinks by the Barrel: The craft beer renaissance continues in Downtown Los Angeles, with the impending debut of Barrel Down in the Financial District. The Seventh Street beer hall comes from a team including Herb Agner, Ben Stapleton and Dylan Snyder, the beverage director at Acme Bar Group (among its properties are Library Bar and Beelman’s Pub).

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Downtown News 19

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM craft cocktail program and a casual food menu when it opens this month. Barrel Down raised nearly $17,000 on the website Kickstarter (after asking for $15,000) as of Feb. 3; most of the money will go to build an upstairs loft space for groups and private events.

Coming to 525 W. Seventh St. or barreldowndtla.com.

Italian Medallion: Chef Christian Page, best known for his time at The Grove restaurant Short Order, has chosen Downtown for his next project. Tione’s on Main, on the ground floor of the Medallion complex on the northeast corner of Fourth and Main street, is slated to open for lunch on Monday, Feb 9. The menu features deli sandwiches and pastas inspired by East Coast Italian-American restaurants, Page said, with an emphasis on meats and pastas made in-house.

Menu highlights include Page’s take on a classic carbonara, with black-pepper infused spaghetti, eggs, bacon, peas and pea shoots. There’s also a sandwich called the “Bogie” (as in Humphrey), stuffed with slow-roasted coppa cotta, two kinds of salami, provolone cheese and a spread of artichokes, roasted peppers and olives. The offerings range from around $9-$12 for sandwiches and $12-$18 for pastas. The restaurant will roll out dinner (with more substantial meat and fish dishes) and wine and beer service in the near future, Page added.

At 334 S. Main St., (213) 537-0291 or tionesonmain.com.

The Stars Go Out: And thus, the story of Starry Kitchen, which began as an illegal apartment eatery before rising to fame as one of L.A.’s most intriguing Asian restaurants, comes to an end — for now. Owners Nguyen and Thi

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Nguyen and Thi Tran fell short in their effort to raise $500,000 on Kickstarter to save their restaurant Starry Kitchen. The Chinatown pop-up has closed.

Chait’s World, Part Two: Tired of hearing Chait’s name in this column? Too bad. Next up for the prolific restaurateur is a conversion of the short-lived Fifty Seven restaurant in the Arts District. Chait bought the space from Beau Laughlin and is reworking the interior for the second iteration of Petty Cash, chef Walter Manzke’s much-buzzed-about Mexican taco joint. Expect a menu with sections for tacos and ceviches as well as snacks including the “bomb.com,” a mix of guacamole and sea urchin. Chait has already started work on the space and is aiming to open in the middle of this year. “It’s a great area and a space that has a lot of potential,” Chait said. Trusted bar partner Julian Cox will helm the drinks program and Continued on page 24

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Chait’s World, Part One: Rivera in South Park closed at the end of 2014, but owner Bill Chait is flipping the space into another pan-Latin concept: chef Ray Garcia’s Broken Spanish. It won’t be Garcia and Chait’s only collaboration in Downtown, however. Garcia is heading a casual taco concept, cheekily named B.S. Taqueria, that will fill the former Mo-Chica restaurant at 514 W. Seventh St., where Chait had partnered with the previous chef, Ricardo Zarate.

Expect Latin flavors with a modern L.A. spin; dishes will include tacos filled with cauliflower in an “al pastor” marinade, stewed lamb neck and rich chorizo.

There will also be sandwiches, such as a fried-beet “Milanesa,” and snacks. The restaurant could open as soon as this month, Garcia said, and he will man the stoves while Broken Spanish is under construction. The larger restaurant is slated for a late spring reveal.

Coming to 514 W. Seventh St. or bstaqueria.com.

O

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Tran tried to raise $500,000 on Kickstarter in the effort to move from a Chinatown pop-up space to a permanent home. When the Feb. 1 deadline hit, only about $114,000 had come in, meaning the Trans didn’t receive any money at all. The duo celebrated the campaign’s end with a blowout party anyway, and last week moved their equipment out of the Grand Star bar (943 Sun Mun Way), which had hosted Starry Kitchen since mid-2013. The future remains unclear for the Trans, as they say they do not want to keep pursuing pop-up locations and are exhausted from trying to finance a brickand-mortar restaurant. “There is no Plan B,” Nguyen Tran told Los Angeles Downtown News last month. “We don’t know what comes next.”

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20 Downtown News

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

February 9, 2015

DT THE ‘DON’T MISS’ LIST

CALENDAR LISTINGS

Tuesday, February 10 Issa Rae at the Last Bookstore Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., (213) 488-0599 or lastbookstorela.com.

7 p.m.: Essayist and social commentator Issa Rae reads from her latest book, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.

Scott McCloud at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org.

7:15 p.m.: Be not distracted by the awesome rhyme scheme in the event title. Tonight is a chance to pick the brain of Understanding Comics author Scott McCloud as he shows off his most recent work, The Sculptor.

Wednesday, February 11 Greg Pasquarelli at SCI-Arc SCI-Arc, 255 S. Santa Fe. Ave, (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: Pasquarelli is a founding partner of SHoP, the architectural firm Fast Company called the “most innovative” of 2014. We will, as always, be judging the merits of Pasquarelli’s work based on the quality of his tie.

Pawel Pawlikowski at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org.

7:30 p.m.: Pawlikowski’s film Ida is nominated for the Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography Oscars. He expounds on the process.

Spark Education Perkins + Will, 617 W. Seventh Sth. Or sparkla.perkinswill. com.

4:30 p.m.: A panel of thinkers ruminate on the challenges facing our educational system in an era of techno entrepreneurship.

How will we innovate? Where will funding come from? Are drinks served at this panel discussion?

Thursday, February 12 Art Walk Art Walk Lounge, 634 S. Spring St. or downtownartwalk. org.

5 p.m.: The streets of the Historic Core will fill with the cacophony of a diverse demographic set on achieving creative inspiration.

Expanding Our Universe at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org.

7:15 p.m.: The University of Chicago’s Dr. Wendy Freeman and Cal Tech’s Sean Carroll toss ideas about the universe back and forth to see what happens.

ROCK, POP & JAZZ Ace Hotel 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com.

Feb. 14-15, 8 p.m.: Seminal ’70s L.A. rock band Sparks enlists a 38-piece orchestra to perform Kimono My House in its entirety.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Blue Whale 123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka St., (213) 620-0908 or bluewhalemusic.com.

Feb. 9: Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band.

Feb. 10: Nicole Mitchell and Joelle Leandre.

Feb. 11: Joe Labarbera Quintet.

Feb. 12: Dexter Story.

Feb. 13: Ben Van Gelder Quarter.

Feb. 14: Bob Reynolds Quintet.

Feb. 15: Synchromy enlivens the day after Valentine’s Day. Bootleg Bar 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.org.

Feb. 9, 8 p.m.: Scavenger Hunt is a band name. There is no actual scavenger hunt unless you have made one yourself, which is also acceptable to a point.

Feb. 10, 8 p.m.: Glossy pop from Nicole Atkins.

Feb. 11, 8 p.m.: The Warlocks bring fuzz-psych by the amp full.

Feb. 12, 9 p.m.: Remix assassins and producers congeal together as Pharoahs.

Feb. 13, 9 p.m.: We can only assume that every band member in Nerf Herder is scruffy.

Continued on next page

THE GLOBETROTTERS, ART WALKBY AND A CLASSICAL MUSIC BIGWIG ALL ARRIVE THIS WEEK DAN JOHNSON, CALENDAR@DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

One PHOTO COURTESY HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

EVENTS

The New England Patriots are world champs again, following the unpredictable twists in the final few minutes of the Super Bowl. There will be a more reliable sports enter entertainment outcome in Downtown this week, when the Harlem Globetrotters return to Staples Center Center. Renowned for their basketball tricks and epic showmanship, these jesters of the hardwood have shows on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 12:30 and 5:45 p.m. Sure, the Washington Generals or whoever the opponent is may put up a valiant fight, but you how this one will end. Then again, the ending’s not the point, the family fun is. At 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7100 or staplescenter.com.

Two It’s going to be a busy week at the Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium as the Aloud program scores a threepeat.

Comic aficionado Scott McCloud drops in on Tuesday, Feb. 10, to discuss the genre and his latest contribution to it, a graphic novel entitled The Sculptor.. Wednesday finds filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski talking about his Oscar-nominated feature Ida with Sundance programmer John Nein as part of the Lost & Found at the Movies series. Space is the order of the day on Thursday as ideas of galactic proportions get tossed around courtesy of cosmologist Dr. Wendy Freedman and astronomer Dr. Sean Carroll. All programs begin at 7:15 p.m. Entry is free, but be sure to make reservations in advance.

At 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org.

Three

If the name Martha Argerich doesn’t conjure up images of mastery in classical music, you may not yet have had the opportunity to witness the Argentinian piano legend at work. This week is your chance, as the Los Angeles Philharmonic brings Argerich and guest conductor Juraj Valcuha to Walt Disney Concert Hall for one evening and two matinee performances. The program includes Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, Schumann’s Piano Concerto and Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration. Tickets are still available for the shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 14 and 15. At the Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2040 or laphil.com.

PHOTO BY ADRIANO HEITMAN

Four

As is custom round these parts, the second Thursday of the month brings about another Downtown Art Walk. On Feb. 12 parking lot owners will rejoice, barbacks will crack their knuckles and hobby artists will stake out a spot outside Spring Street Park as the bounty of visitors pour in to the Historic Core.

Down at the Art Walk Lounge (634 S. Spring St.), Downtown’s own Ebony Fay will be singing as Ashleigh Sumner presents some of her socio-political mixed-media art. At the Los Angeles Theatre Center (514 S. Spring St.), the Company of Angels have a special conceptual gallery. Check the Art Walk website to plan your visit, including where to park. Throughout the Historic Core or downtownartwalk.org.

Five

The cinematic gods are smiling on Little Tokyo. The Japanese American National Museum has launched a new series with screenings of celebrated films that intertwine narratives between Asia and the United States. The inaugural night of the cheekily titled Big Trouble in Little Tokyo program falls Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. as The Joy Luck Club is shown. Those enamored with the film adaptation of the Amy Tan novel will be delighted to discover that the film’s director, Wayne Wang, will be on hand for a brief Q&A after the credits roll.

At 111 N. Central Ave., (213) 625-0414 or janm.org.

Send information and possible Don’t Miss List submissions to calendar@downtownnews.com.

February 9, 2015

Flip through the DT News print edition on your mobile device, with 6 plus years of past issues available!

photo by Ben Gibbs

.A. Opera takes a turn this week, with a production of the rarely performed John Corigliano work The Ghosts of Versailles. The opera buffa dances into the spirit world, focusing on the ghost of Marie Antoinette and touching on characters from The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Then, Figaro tries to break out from the opera-within-the-opera. Is it unusual? Yes, but L.A. Opera has had some notable scores by trying out different concepts. The Ghosts of Versailles plays this week on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m., and there will be four additional performances through March 1. At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8001 or laopera.com.

Feb. 13: Cool Ghouls, Jesus Sons and Small Wigs.

Feb. 15: Colleen Green, The Buttertones, The Meow Twins and Tongues.

THEATER, OPERA & DANCE Ninth Annual Croatian Cultural Extravaganza Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Main St., (866) 811-4111 or thelatc.org.

Feb. 14: Imagine now the splendid blend of dance and native music brought forth by the proud sons and daughters of that Adriatic state.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Loft Ensemble, 929 E. Second St., (213) 680-0392 or loftensemble.com.

Feb. 14, 8 p.m. and Feb. 15, 7 p.m.: Puck will be in full effect as William Shakespeare’s classic receives a modern interpretation from director Kevin Meoak. Through March 8 Bob Baker’s Something to Crow About Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 2509995 or bobbakermarionettes.com.

Feb. 14-15, 2:30 p.m.: The puppets are getting down right agrarian as Bob Baker’s infamous marionettes sojourn into the American heartland in Something to Crow About.

Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye: The Farewell Tour Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Feb. 11-13, 8 p.m. and Feb. 14, 2 p.m., and Feb. 15, 1 p.m.: So basically this dude Barry Humphries has spent the past 50 years

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Downtown News 21

THE NEW FRENCH CONNECTION

traveling the world performing as an irreverent cross-dresser named Dame Edna. Now, he promises he’s going to stop doing it.

You’ve got til March to see it.

The Ghost of Versailles Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 9727219 or laopera.org.

Feb. 15, 2 p.m.: Marie Antoinette is dead, but that isn’t stopping her ghost from haunting Versailles. Patricia Racette stars in this James Conlon-helmed and John Corigliano penned opera.

Through March 1.

Mariano Pensotti: Cineastas REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., Feb. 12-14, 8 p.m. and Feb. 15, 3 p.m.: All the conventions of the cinema travel back toward the theater as Mariano Pensotti blends the narratives of four filmmakers. It all takes place on a split-level stage.

The Price Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Feb. 11-14, 8 p.m. and Feb. 15, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: Tony-winning

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Dim Sum

Lunch and Dinner • An Extensive Seafood Menu including Dim Sum at Moderate Prices • Relaxed Dining in an Elegant Ambiance • Live Lobster Tank

700 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Free Parking Next to Restaurant Tel: 213.617.2323

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Continued from previous page Feb. 14, 9 p.m.: Gypsy jazz band and returning Downtown performers Vaud and the Villains chart a course to the Big Easy on this Valentine’s Day. Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.: P. Morris has quietly been making his mark on L.A.’s underground production scene.

Club Nokia 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com.

Feb. 14, 8 p.m.: If you’re looking to distract yourself from the painful reality of your Valentine’s Day, comedian Demetri Martin is a good bet.

Escondite 410 Boyd St., (213) 626-1800 or theescondite.com.

Feb. 15: RT N the 44s grace us again with their ever-sensual stoicism.

Exchange LA 618 S. Spring St., (213) 627-8070 or exchangela.com.

Feb. 13: Mark Sixma.

Feb. 14: Mark Knight.

Grammy Museum 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum. org.

Feb. 10, 8 p.m.: Grammy Award winner and USC faculty member Melissa Manchester debuts her latest album You Gotta Love the Life.

Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6030 or nokiatheatrelalive.com.

Feb. 13, 8 p.m.: Few things are certain in this life. For instance, how many black cowboy hats must Culiacan native Roberto Tapia own?

Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.: Nokia Theatre hosts the musical prelude to a lot of folks’ slow and freaky Valentine’s night as Keith Sweat and Musiq Souldchild give a little love.

Redwood Bar and Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 652-4444 or theredwoodbar.com.

Feb. 11: Sterile Jets, Slig and Spacebath.

Feb. 12: Weekender, Secondaries, Old Friends and Suffer Along.

Feb. 13: Palmayra Delran & Bubble Gun, The Unclaimed, Sean Gospel and The Cardielles.

Feb. 14: No Small Children, Turbulent Hearts, Vice Versa and LZ Love.

Feb. 15: High Gain Fury, Asone, Repeat Offenders, Psyk Ward and Influence.

The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheatre.com.

Feb. 13, 8 p.m.: Late-great Detroit based hip-hop producer Dilla gets another day in the sun with Dilla Day L.A. Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 614-0737 or sevengrand.la.

Feb. 10: The Makers are stashing their cash in anticipation of the forthcoming Girl Scout cookie season.

Feb. 11: Big guitars and even bigger licks with Ray Brooks.

Feb. 12: The Vibrometers are gigging hard. No bones about it.

Staples Center 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7326 or staplescenter.com.

Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m.: The good folks over at Cricket Wireless present the eternal Enrique Iglesias and his colleague Pitbull.

The Smell 247 S. Main St. in the alley between Spring and Main or thesmell.org.

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22 Downtown News director Gavin Hynes directs this restaging of an Arthur Miller classic starring Kate Burton, John Bedford Lloyd, Alan Mandell and Sam Robards. It’s in previews this week.

Sleepaway Camp Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com.

Feb. 10, 9 p.m.: Every Tuesday this irreverent stand-up comedy cavalcade takes up residence at the Downtown Independent.

Jakob Ullmann.

Tuesday, February 10 Chamber Music Society Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9727211 or musiccenter.org.

8 p.m.: Elements of the L.A. Phil do chamber music duty on pieces from Debussy and Schumann.

Thursday, February 12 LACO: Baroque Conversations 2 Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu.

Monday, February 9 7 p.m.: We’re looking at pieces from Rebel, Telemann and Disappearing Music Bach in tonight’s program of baroque chamber music.

Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or Martha Plays Schumann S I N C E 19 Argerich 72 Los Angeles Downtown News colburnschool.edu.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9721264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 8 p.m.:213-481-1448 Less magic trick,• more stand out composition from 7211 or musiccenter.org. fax: 213-250-4617

CLASSICAL MUSIC

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February 9, 2015

Feb. 12, 8 p.m. and Feb. 14-15, 2 p.m.: Celebrated Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich eases through pieces from Britten, Schumann and Strauss.

Friday, February 13 Terri Lyne Carrington Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9727211 or musiccenter.org.

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S I N C E 19 7 2 Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News

AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield

clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez

Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins

circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

twitter: DowntownNews ©2014 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.

The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

One copy per person.

PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin

©2014 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.

The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield

One copy per person.

Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin

S I N C E 19 7 2 Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com • email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News

twitter: DowntownNews

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield

S I N C E 19 7 2 Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News twitter: DowntownNews ©2014 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.

The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

One copy per person.

AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins

©2014 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.

The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard

One copy per person.

February 9, 2015

DT

CLASSIFIEDS REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL

To place a classified ad in the Downtown News please call 213-481-1448, or go to DowntownNews.com Deadline classified display and line ads are Thursday at 12pm.

FORfor RENT All submissions are subject to federal and California fair housing laws, which make it illegal to indicate in any advertisement any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income or physical or mental disability. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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Call Miriam @ 213-630-8888

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EMPLOYMENT

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(Production)

of mechanical equip used in prod of low runs of precision customized metal products (e.g. tubing, hardware, ornamental, industrial).

Mail to Bobco Metals LLC, 2000 S. Alameda St., LA, CA 90058.

loft/UnfUrnished

old Bank District The original Live/Work Lofts from $1,295 Cafes, Bars, Shops, Galleries, Parking adjacent. Pets no charge Call 213.253.4777 LAloft.com

fiCtitioUs BUsiness name

Injured at work? Call the law offices of Gordon & Gordon 310.276.7000 24 Hours a day for a free consultation 310.276.7000

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Fictitious Business name statement File no. 2015031741 The following person is doing business as: VERDE THERAPeutIC BodY tHeraPY, 1445 Lemoyne St., Los Angeles, CA 90026, are hereby registered by the following registrant: Fernando Reyes, 1445 Lemoyne St., Los Angeles, CA 90026.

This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 02/05/2015.

This statement was filed with DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk, on February 05, 2015.

NOTICE—This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et. seq. Business and

Professions Code).

Pub. 02/09, 02/16, 02/23,and 03/02/2015.

Fictitious Business name statement File no. 2015031758 The following person is doing business as: DR. MOJITO BARTENDING SERVICES, 918 W. College St., Apt. 502, Los Angeles, CA 90012, are hereby registered by the following registrant: Mario Pedro Esquivel, 918 W. College St., Apt. 502, Los Angeles, CA 90012. This business is conducted by an individual.

Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 02/05/2015.

This statement was filed with DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk, on February 05, 2015.

NOTICE—This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et. seq. Business and Professions Code).

Pub. 02/09, 02/16, 02/23,and 03/02/2015.

the LOFT expert!

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Downtown since 2002

Bill Cooper 213.598.7555 TheLoftExpertGroup.com

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24 Downtown News

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!

It’s our business to make you comfortable... at home, downtown. Corporate and long term residency Call Now Fo is accommodated in high style at the Towers Apartments. Contemporary singles, studio, one r bedroom and two bedroom apartment homes provide fortunate residents with a courteous full service lobby attendant, heated pool, spa, complete fitness center, sauna and recreation room Move-In Spec with kitchen. Beautiful views extend from the Towers’ lofty homes in the sky. Mountain vistas and ial slender skyscrapers provide an incredible back drop to complement your decor. Far below are a host of businesses s ready to support your pampered downtown lifestyle. With spectacular cultural events nearby, even the most demanding tastes are satisfied. Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore. Visit the Towers Apartments today.

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255 South Grand Avenue Leasing Information 213 229 9777 Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Concierge ~ Pool / Spa / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Gas BBQ Grills ~ Recreation Room

Apartment Amenities: ~ Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave & Dishwasher (most units) ~ Central Air Conditioning & Heating ~ Balconies (most units)

On-site: ~ Dry Cleaners / Dental Office / Restaurants

Promenade Towers

123 South Figueroa Street Leasing Information 213 617 3777 Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Pool / Spa / BBQ Grills ~ Fitness Center ~ Covered Parking

Apartment Amenities: ~ Refrigerator, Stove & Dishwasher ~ Central Air & Heating ~ Solariums and/or Balconies

On-Site: ~ Convenience Store / Beauty Salon

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225 South Olive Street Leasing Information 213 626 1500 Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Concierge ~ Pool / Spa / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Gas BBQ Grills ~ Recreation Room

Apartment Amenities: ~ Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave & Dish washer (most units) ~ Central Air & Heating ~ Balconies (most units)

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February 9, 2015

The Central City Crime Report A Rundown on Downtown Incidents, Trends and Criminal Oddities

By Donna Evans n the Central City Crime Report, we survey the recent week in public safety. All information is provided by the LAPD’s Central Division.

I

That’s Bananas: Three people got into an argument at the 7-Eleven at 818 W. Seventh St. at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 27. One woman lobbed hot coffee at the victim, while another woman tossed bananas at the java-doused person, who required medical attention. Both women fled.

A Mess at the Mart: A woman who tried to steal a 24-ounce canned beverage from the cooler at Metro Mart, at 711 N. Main St., was stopped from leaving the store. The employee who blocked her exit tried to grab back the can during the 11:45 a.m. incident, at which point the woman hit the worker. The employee pinned her on the ground until she started to cry, so he let her up and she left. Police found and detained the suspect.

Bad Ride: An Uber driver who pulled over in the 600 block of San Julian Street to check his navigation at 9:10 a.m. on Jan. 31 was punched repeatedly in the face by a pedestrian who climbed into the vehicle, trying to steal his phone. The driver motored away and hit a pedestrian due to the ongoing fight and inability to see. The suspect jumped out of the car and police followed him on foot, but he escaped.

Banding Together: A man who asked a woman to stop screaming at him inside Casey’s Irish Pub, at 613 S. Grand Ave., on Jan. 25 was pummeled by members of the band during the 12:30 a.m. incident. The woman stabbed him with a broken glass, after which police cleared out the bar.

Skating By: A security guard asked three guys who were skateboarding in the 100 block of Onizuka Street to leave the premises at 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 29. The group moved to a courtyard; the guard asked them to leave that location, at which time one of the men hit the guard over the head with his skateboard. Another skater threw a full can of soda at the guard’s chest before wheeling away.

Burglary Blues: Residents of the Orsini Apartments, at 550 N. Figueroa St., reported burglaries between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31.

Taken from three separate apartments were a $12,000 necklace, a video game console and Mac laptops. The suspect in each incident gained access to the units through unlocked sliding doors or windows.

RestauRant Buzz, 19 tweak the intimate basement bar space, which hosted live music on weekends during Fifty Seven’s run.

Coming to 712 S. Santa Fe Ave. Feeling Buzzed: Anybody need more cutting-edge, high-quality coffee in Downtown? The answer, apparently, is yes, considering the arrival of Verve Coffee Roasters in the Historic Core. The Santa Cruz-based shop mainly serves espresso drinks and pour-over coffee, as well as pastries and sandwiches from Short Order pastry chef Ivan Marquez. Verve also has a huge selection of coldpressed juices, smoothies and concentrated shots, thanks to its collaboration with Juice Pressed Here. The shop is open daily from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The Downtown location is Verve’s first retail foray outside of Santa Cruz.

At 833 S. Spring St. or vervecoffeeroasters.com.

Got juicy food news? If so, contact Eddie Kim at eddie@downtownnews.com.