05-09-16 by Los Angeles Downtown News

Homelessness Spikes Again : 7

An Arts District Mural Uproar : 14

MAY 9, 2016 I VOL. 45 I #19

THINKING OUTSIDE THE

CHOCOLATE BOX The Mast Brothers Open a Factory And Store in the Arts District SEE PAGE 16

Rick (top) and Michael Mast at their new 6,000-square-foot Mast Brothers chocolate factory in the Arts District.

SPECIAL

SECTION

photo by Jessie Webster

UNIQUE SPACES & SUMMER ENTERTAINING

PAGES 9-13

the Best in 2016? BEST16 IT’SWho’s TIME TO VOTE @ VOTEBESTOF.COM OF DTLA

OF DTLA

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AROUND TOWN

Tommy’s Celebrates 70 Years With a Major Party

he hamburger stand Tommy’s has been a staple of Los Angeles’ food scene for decades — specifically seven decades. The chain started when Tommy Koulax opened up a burger stand at Beverly and Rampart boulevards in 1946, and today the brand includes 32 restaurants. On Sunday, May 15, the chain famous for smothering its patties in chili sauce will be celebrating its 70th anniversary at the original location at 2575 Beverly Blvd. with a party from noon to midnight. The big deal is the special of a chili burger and a can of soda for 70 cents (there is a limit of five orders per person). Along with the food, there will be entertainment: The University of Southern California’s marching band will be there for the first hour. The event will include live music, such as mariachi bands, as well as games and prizes. The Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club will give a presentation at the space, and members of the Koulax family will appear. Beware: Past similar anniversary offers have led to massive lines.

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Voting for Best of Downtown Opens This Week

May 9, 2016

TAKE MY PICTURE GARY LEONARD

ou know a lot about Downtown. You tell everyone about your favorite breakfast spot and know which bar has the top happy hour. You eagerly share your opinion on the area’s best museum, hotel and even chiropractor. Now, your time has come: On Monday, May 9, Los Angeles Downtown News will open up voting for our annual Best of Downtown issue. The readers are fully in charge, and get to cast online ballots at votebestof.com. There are more than 100 categories, with choices in sections such as Eating, Drinking, Entertainment, Shopping and Services. The best part? Expressing yourself could pay off, as people who vote in at least 30 categories can be entered into a drawing to win some cool prizes. The voting period runs through May 31. Winners will be revealed in the Best of Downtown issue that publishes July 25. Orthopaedic Institute for Children

Wanted in May: Performers For Holiday Celebration In December

ecember is seven months away, but that’s not too soon for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which is look-

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ing for acts to perform at the annual County Holiday Celebration. The 57th edition of the free event, held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, will take place on Dec. 24 and be broadcast live on television. The county is seeking musical and dance acts, and last

4/25/2016

year’s event brought together 20 performers for the three-hour-long concert, including the bands the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Mostly Kosher, as well as contemporary dance companies and musical choirs. Continued on page 19

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EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin

4 Downtown News

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardie SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff @ Favre, Greg Fischer

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ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa

EDITORIALS

PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard ACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens, Michael Lamb SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

May 9, 2016

must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles. Urban Scrawl byand Doug Davis

One copy per person.

Downtown’s Medical Evolution

EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris n the past 15 years, Downtown Los Angeles has GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin seen an explosion of housing, restaurants, bars and stores. National and international media EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardie have reported on the billions flowing into the comSENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim munity and the staggering number of businesses STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton competing for Downtowners’ entertainment and CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese S I N C E 19 7 2 shopping dollars. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer Los Angeles Downtown News Now we are seeing another kind of expansion, 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 and while it won’t generate much press, it will ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa web: DowntownNews.com prove very important to the people who live and email: realpeople@downtownnews.com PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard work here. facebook: It’s a medical boom, and while “boomlet” might ACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt L.A. Downtown News actually be a better word, we have seen two adCLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway ditions that stand to be prominent parts of the twitter: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens, community for years to come. If this echoes other DowntownNews S I N C E 19 7 2 Michael Lamb growing sectors, then News we will soon see more arLos Angeles Downtown ©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved. rivals. 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read news213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 phone: Los Angeles Downtown News last month wrote CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon paper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every web: DowntownNews.com email: realpeople@downtownnews.com Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown about the opening of the• Reliant Immediate Care DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles Los Angeles. Medicalfacebook: Group, a 10,000-square-foot urgent care DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla One copy per person. twitter: center in South Park.News It came several weeks afL.A. Downtown DowntownNews ter the debut of a Downtown outpost of the HMO Kaiser Permanente. The 11,000-square-foot facility he Los Angeles Police Department EDITOR and a coterie of other The community can be deeply pleased that the LAPD was able & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris arrived in a Bunker Hill building in March. agencies and departments, many on the federal level, deto work effectively with entities such as the FBI, the DEA, the DeGENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin serve immense credit for the investigation that led to the partment of Homeland Security and the Riverside County Sheriff’s What stands out here is that both Kaiser and EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardierecognizing that the recent arrest of 19 members of a Skid RowEXECUTIVE drug ring.EDITOR: The yearoffice. Yet the success also begs a question that, while perhaps unReliant pursued Downtown, Jon Regardie SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kimand is underserved from a long effort resulted in the capture of the purported kingpin of the fair, must be asked: What will they do for an encore? community is growing SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton organization, as well as the seizure of $1.8STAFF million in cash. Much medical standpoint. Kaiser once had a Downtown WRITER: Nicholas Slayton It’s a crucial matter, because if this is a one-time operation with CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Maese was made of the fact that $600,000 of that money was in $1 bills, office, but it closed inKathryn the mid-1980s. Reliant ofimmediate and consistent follow-up, then it’s obvious that othCONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathrynno Maese CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer which testifies to the small amounts bought by addictsWRITERS: in the Jeff Favre, ficials said they struggled to find a landlord willer dealers and street gangs will fill theSvoid have. I N CasEthey 19 7always 2 CONTRIBUTING Greg Fischer ART Allisonclinic, as the build-out can community. ing toDIRECTOR: accept aBrian medical When Mayor Eric Garcetti was asked about this possibility the day Los Angeles Downtown News ART DIRECTOR: Kanegawathan that rebeASSISTANT more expensive and Yumi complicated police presence in Skid Row would Part of the reason the effort deserves accolades is thatBrian these ART DIRECTOR: Allison after the operation he said the 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 quired for a restaurant or bar. increased to prevent such an occurrence. We• hope that the dekinds of operations do not occur nearly asASSISTANT often as we would hope.Yumibe phone: 213-481-1448 fax: 213-250-4617 ART DIRECTOR: Kanegawa PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard DowntownNews.com partment has the resourcesweb: to do that and build on this success. Skid Row is an open-air drug bazaar with all manner of illicit mate The new facilities will provide important servicACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt email:have realpeople@downtownnews.com Garymore Leonard While many Skid Row addicts rials available 24 hours a day, but it is rare PHOTOGRAPHER: that we hear about es to Downtown workers, residents and visitors. plenty of culpability in the CLASSIFIEDyou ADVERTISING MANAGER: than the isolated bust of a dealer, who are pretty easy pickings. Obviously never know whenCatherine you willHolloway get sick, circumstances that led to their condition, they are also victims of facebook: ACCOUNTING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Brenda suffer a fall, cut yourself or something else.Stevens, While Michael Lamb the dealers who prey upon them. That L.A. circles back to all the $1 The beat cops know who is dealing on the street, of Ashley course.Schmidt The Downtown News SALES ASSISTANT:has Claudia Hernandez the community always had medical options bills: These are people, often mentally ill, so strung out they may be other side of the equation is that the dealers are well aware of the CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway twitter:of drugs that will tide such as California Hospital spending their last dollars on small amounts police presence and take steps to avoid practices that could result CIRCULATION: Danielle SalmonMedical Center and EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, DowntownNews Good Samaritan Hospital, to name them over for a short time. The dealers know their audience. in extended prison stays. The result is thatACCOUNT it is hard to make a maDISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Inglesjust two, these Brenda Stevens, Michael Lamb DISTRIBUTION Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla additions will ASSISTANTS: help fill a void. jor bust that interrupts the steady sales. This all serves as a reminder that in addition to cracking down SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez ©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Medical offices lack the sizzle that restaurants The raids that took place in the early morning hours of April 27 on the dealing, there is an immense need drugoftreatment and Downtown News is a for trademark Civic Center News ©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic All rights mental health care on Skid Inc. Row. The reserved. latter efforts don’t generate and bars bring a neighborhood, but the arrival of went beyond the street sellers and hit the organizers of the drug Center News Inc. All rights reserved. The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon the kind of press that the busts The Losand Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper Downtown Los Angeles do. for Downtown Los Angeles and is disKaiser Reliant make Downtown a moreforwelltrade in communities far from Skid Row. Arrests took place across newspaper and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles tributed everyfor Monday throughout the If offices rounded place. We’re pleased they are here, and Los Angeles County, and in addition to the cash, the authorities We credit the city and its partners the crackdown. any and real Angeles. residences of Downtown Los Angeles. DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, look forward to more additions. seized more than 28 pounds of cocaine, 22 pounds of methamchange is to occur, however, then this must be the start of a multiOne copy per person. One copy per person. phetamines, 20 pounds of heroin and nineGustavo guns. Bonilla pronged and prolonged operation, and not an isolated incident.

A Drug Ring Crackdown and Its Aftermath

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 SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa

©2016 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.

May 9, 2016

LAPD Blues Rising Crime on Top of a Series of Problems Puts the Department in a Precarious Place By Jon Regardie ere’s the thing about law enforcement in 2016: Even in the best of times, you’re one boneheaded move from having your entire department dragged through the gutter. Just consider the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which has been on an upswing, but experienced an unexpected imbroglio the other week after the L.A. Times reported that a top aide to Sheriff Jim McDonnell had forwarded some racially and ethnically idiotic jokes to others. McDonnell at first said

THE REGARDIE REPORT he wouldn’t punish his chief of staff, Tom Angel, because the emailing occurred when Angel was at a previous job. But the drumbeat for a response pounded, numerous references were made to the department’s troubled past, and within a few days the aide was forced to resign. Talk about a fallen Angel. What does this have to do with the Los Angeles Police Department? Nothing, but also everything. There’s no email snafu, fortunately, and no figurative Sword of Damocles hanging over the department, but the LAPD today is facing a series of challenges that are having a cumulative effect. The department is dealing with a worrisome crime spike and a string of thorny officer-involved shootings. There’s a very political fight over a big-budget contract for body cameras and a City Controller report that questions why some 450 jobs that should be done by civilians are instead handled by more expensive cops. There are stories about Tasers that don’t tase, allegations relating to the treatment of homeless individuals by cops on the streets, and a lawsuit alleging that Chief Charlie Beck himself denied a promotion to a captain who went against his wishes.

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DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM The net result is the LAPD is in a place that, while maybe not shaky, certainly isn’t the model of stability. The department with nearly 10,000 officers is enduring a slew of problems, some related to national trends, some tied to goofball political shenanigans, and others of its own making. How bad are things? That’s a good question, and it’s one not easily answered. Local leaders likely don’t have to worry about bubbling anger leading to civil unrest, and the department seems more efficient, responsive and representative of its city than, say, the units in Chicago and Baltimore. On the other hand, the local public perception of the LAPD is getting wobbly, and news accounts are filled with far more problems than praise. There’s a sense of vulnerability here. Mistakes Gone Viral Policing is complex, and no one who protests at a podium or pounds on a keyboard can understand what an officer on the beat goes through, or the decisions that must be made in a fraction of a second when a cop fears for his or her safety while dealing with an aggressive individual who may be high or mentally ill. Still, any misdeed can generate copious headlines, particularly at a time when police misconduct in other cities casts a shadow over every officer. This isn’t a bad thing, as there have been too many examples of authority being abused. Social media adds accountability, but also pressure: Don the blue uniform and do everything right and no one notices. Slip up, especially when an onlooker is armed with a smart phone and a Facebook app, and you’re viral. The LAPD right now isn’t facing those kinds of issues, but as mentioned above, plenty is dogging the department. Just think of what happened in the span of a few weeks. On April 19, Beck joined Mayor Eric Garcetti, Police Commission President Matt Johnson and Police Commission member and longtime civic leader Steve Soboroff on a press call to urge the swift approval of a contract to buy 7,000 body cameras for LAPD officers. Those guys are heavy hitters, but they’re fighting… the City Council, which opposes the proposed $57 million contract, with 12th District rep and Public Safety Committee Chair (and candidate for County Supervisor) Mitch Englander leading the

Downtown News 5

photo by Gary Leonard

Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck face the challenge of convincing people that Los Angeles is safe even as crime surges.

questioning of the price. Is there more? Yes! On April 18 Beck was called to court to testify in a case where he was accused of denying LAPD Capt. Peter Whittingham a promotion after Whittingham, who served on a department disciplinary board, voted to suspend an officer who Beck wanted fired. Although a jury ruled in the city’s favor, Beck’s testimony drew a lot coverage. Add to this the April 1 Los Angeles Times story that reported on the numerous occasions when Tasers failed to subdue criminals, and City Controller Ron Galperin’s April 19 audit that found that 458 cops are doing jobs that civilians should be handling, including maintaining equipment rooms and running social media accounts. Getting uniformed officers out of the slots and into the field could save the city about $20 million a year, Galperin found. What’s worse is that this is old news: A 2008 Controller’s audit found 402 jobs that should be handled by less-expensive civilians. Continued on page 19

4/6/16 11:44 AM

6 Downtown News

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May 9, 2016

votebestof.com

BEST16 OF DTLA OF DTLA Readers Choice

IT’S TIME

TO CAST YOUR VOTE! Voting will be open from May 9 through May 31, 2016. Vote online now at votebestof.com

Win A WEEKEND ON THE TOWN OR AN iPAD MINI! Those weeks will go fast so don’t miss your chance to help define what is best about Downtown.

Fill out the ballot and your e-mail address will be entered in our drawing. The grand prize winner will receive a complimentary two-night stay with overnight parking at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel that includes dinner for two at Noé, $200 spending cash and dinner for two at Morton’s The Steakhouse. It’s a great package, if we do say so ourselves, worth more than $1,000. Additional prizes: iPad Mini, cash prizes, gift certificates and more!

Mobile & Tablet Ready VOTING WILL BE OPEN FROM MAY 9 THROUGH MAY 31, 2016.

May 9, 2016

Downtown News 7

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Homelessness Up 11% in City Veteran and Family Homelessness Fall, But Countywide 47,000 Live on the Streets, in Vehicles or Without Shelter By Eddie Kim and Jon Regardie he homelessness crisis that has spread throughout Los Angeles in recent years is getting worse. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority last week reported that the number of people sleeping on the streets, in vehicles, in parks or other locations in the city has increased 11% in the last year. Across the county, there has been a 5.7% rise. The LAHSA report, released on Wednesday, May 4, was based on a multi-day count of homeless individuals and demographic surveys conducted in January. It found that 46,874 people are living without permanent shelter in Los Angeles County, an increase from the 44,359 who were counted last year. That already was a 12% jump from the previous count, conducted in 2013. The number of homeless individuals in the city grew to 28,464 this year, up from the 25,686 counted last year. As with the county, the city had last year seen a 12% increase from 2013. One of the most notable signs of the worsening conditions was an increasing prevalence of encampments. LAHSA reported a 20% increase this year in the number of people living in vehicles, tents and makeshift shelters. That figure has doubled since 2013, from 5,153 to 11,472 this year. Council District 14, which covers Downtown and parts of Northeast Los Angeles, still has the highest share of homeless people in the county, with 5,590 individuals counted this year. That represented an 11% drop from the 2015 count, however. Other districts saw massive increases: CD 9, which includes portions of South Park and much of South Los Angeles, saw a 44% increase to 3,458 homeless people, while the Second District, which covers a portion of the San Fernando Valley, saw a 79% spike to 1,084 people. LAHSA Executive Director Peter Lynn attributed some of the increase in the overall numbers to improved methodology in counting and surveying homeless youth. There were 2,388 homeless young people across the county. A majority, 2,074 individuals, were counted in the city. The new count comes as the city and county governments have both unveiled ambitious plans to deal with a crisis that has spread beyond traditional homeless enclaves in Skid Row and Venice. Encampments are routinely seen in all parts of Downtown and numerous other places across the region. In his budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Mayor Eric Garcetti has proposed spending $138 million on homeless services — a significant boost from the past, though some of the funds would depend on as-yet-uncertain resources, such as proceeds from selling city-owned land. “Los Angeles is facing a historic housing shortage, a staggering mental health crisis, and veterans are becoming homeless every day,” Garcetti said in a prepared statement after the report was released. “As a City, we have launched efforts to tackle these issues — securing record federal investments in supportive services for veteran families, producing a comprehensive homelessness strategy report, and expanding a robust winter shelter program. This year, we are doubling down on our work.” The county, meanwhile, has proposed dedicating $100 million a year to homeless services, with the funds being new money, and not dollars repurposed from previous efforts. Some Success Although the overall situation is worsening, LAHSA reported a 30% drop in the number of homeless veterans in L.A. County, from 4,326 last year to 3,071 in 2016. Garcetti and the federal government have made a big push to get veterans into housing. Robert McDonald, President Barack Obama’s secretary of the Veterans Administration, has made multiple visits to Los Angeles, including showing up on Skid Row during the 2015 homeless count. Another sector that has seen some success has been homeless families. That category fell 18% countywide, from 8,103 homeless family members in 2015 to 6,611 this year. “These significant strides reflect the investment, the much more significant resourcing, for families and for veterans than other populations,” Lynn said. In addition to numbers, LAHSA has been collecting demographic data. The report found that homelessness disproportionately affects black people — African Americans compose 39% of the homeless population but only 9% of the general population.

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The homeless count released last week found a 20% increase in 2016 in the number of people living in vehicles, tents and makeshift shelters. That figure has doubled since 2013, from 5,153 to 11,472 this year.

Another trend is the growing number of homeless women, with a 55% increase in the county since 2013. Women represent 61% of the overall homeless population increase in the past three years, and LAHSA needs to do more research into why, Lynn said. The survey also sought to find out whether homeless people are natives of the area or moved here from a different county or state. A common theory is that people migrate to Los Angeles because of its weather or services, or that government or law enforcement officials in other locales “export” people to Los Angeles, sometimes by giving them a one-way bus ticket. The data, however, suggest otherwise: 72% of adults experiencing homelessness stated they have lived in L.A. County for more than 20 years. In addition, 70% of homeless adults said that they were last housed in L.A. County. The major factor in homelessness continues to be a lack of affordable housing, according to the report. A 2015 study from the California Housing Partnership Corporation found the county needs 527,000 more residential units, as the rental vacancy rate in the city fell to 2.7% in the first quarter of 2016, compared to 3.8% in the first quarter of 2015. City Councilman José Huizar, whose 14th District includes Skid Row, used the overall numbers to push for a possible ballot initiative to help fund additional services. “The latest homeless count figures for the City offer us a reminder that we must be persistent in addressing this crisis,” Huizar said in a prepared statement. “This year’s budget is a good start at funding our Homeless Strategy report priorities, and I am hopeful that there will be a measure on this November’s ballot to raise an ongoing source of new revenue to finally address this issue like the urgent humanitarian crisis that it is.” Lynn acknowledged the “enormous increase” in funding for permanent supportive housing, which serves the most chronically vulnerable homeless people by giving them a residence in a complex with in-house counseling and other services. Downtown is a frequent location for the projects, which can cost $200,000 to $300,000 for each housing unit created. Lynn also emphasized the need for programs like rapid rehousing, which gives money to people who primarily need financial assistance, not drug counseling or medical care, to get them off the street and back into a home. “The homelessness budgets put forth by the city and county include intermediate housing assistance programs targeted to people who don’t need permanent supportive housing. It fills an important gap,” Lynn said. “We also got new infusions of rapid rehousing grants from the federal government in our last notice of funding availability from HUD for more than 454 rapid rehousing units.” In the past, the homeless count was conducted every other year. This marked the first time there was only a one-year gap. LAHSA officials previously said it will now be an annual occurrence. eddie@downtownnews.com

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May 9, 2016

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Downtown News 9

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May 9, 2016

s e c a p S e u SUMMER & q i ENTERTAINING

photo by Gary Leonard

How Do You Host the Perfect Party? Five Downtown Experts Offer Their Advice

At Otium, Party Planning Is a Work of Art New Arrival Next to The Broad Museum Offers a Unique Setting and Experience By Tom Fassbender meal at Otium, located next to The Broad museum, is all about the experience. The restaurant, named after a Latin word for enjoying leisure time, opened in November and has made a name for itself with its sophisticated design, open kitchen and casual ambiance. Renowned Chef Tim Hollingsworth crafts contemporary American dishes that combine rustic wood-fire cooking with flavors from around the world, and General Manager Christian Philippo works hard to ensure the everyone who dines there enjoys the experience.

Los Angeles Downtown News: What can Otium offer that’s unique among Downtown restaurants? Christian Philippo: We are in the middle of The Broad museum complex, right across from a beautiful park with 100-year-old olive trees. The restaurant features big windows with lots of light and is decorated with fantastic paintings and murals, and our

open kitchen with its beautiful wood-burning rotisserie is a key part of the dining room. Plus we have a two-story wine cellar and 22-tier vegetable garden in the mezzanine. Q: When should you start planning a summer event? A: The sooner the better. Anyone who wants to have a party of more than 10 should book at least two weeks in advance. The larger the party, the more time is required. Q: How many people can you accommodate, and what does it cost? A: Because of our open kitchen, Otium doesn’t have private rooms, but we do have a semi-private room surrounded by glass that will seat up to 50 people. We have a chef’s table in front of the rotisserie that can host 12 and a communal table in our bar area that seats 10-12. We also have a patio that seats 30 and our lounge area can hold 40, but that’s more of a lounge experience. A buyout of the restaurant will hold up to 240 seated and

photo by Gary Leonard

Christian Philippo is general manager of Otium, which opened in November next to The Broad museum. He’s been in the industry all his life — his family bought a restaurant in the north of France when he was 1 year old.

300 standing. We can also host a large event, as many as 500, in the park adjacent to The Broad, but that requires at least two months to plan. Continued on page 12

10 Downtown News

UNIQUE SPACES & SUMMER ENTERTAINING

A New Italian Addition

came up with something that really stands out: the Brera Mulo. It’s our take on the Moscow Mule but made with a choice of gin, vodka or whiskey. The spiciness of the ginger makes it a perfect summer drink.

The Arts District’s Officine Brera Gears Up for Its First Summer By Tom Fassbender fficine Brera is a new addition to the Arts District. The restaurant from Factory Kitchen’s Matteo Ferdinandi and chef Angelo Auriana opened in February and has won extensive praise. The eatery, located right next door to the L.A. Gun Club, specializes in wood-fired, meat-centric dishes from Northern Italy as well as other regional staples such as potato gnocchi, bread dumplings and risotto. The fledgling establishment is entering its first summer, and Events Coordinator Adan Valdez is gearing up for a busy season.

Q: How did you get into this business and this job? A: I’ve been working in restaurants for about nine years, and I was working at Factory Kitchen when the owner, Matteo, brought up the idea of events coordinator to me. I shadowed other coordinators at different locations before I started handling the larger groups at Factory Kitchen. When Matteo and chef Angelo opened Officine Brera in February, I started here.

Q: What common mistakes do people make when booking an event? A: I work hard to prevent those kind of mistakes from happening. When people book an event, I send them an inquiry page that outlines all the details, and I walk them through the steps. The only real problem we’ve had is when guests show up late. That can make the host antsy.

Los Angeles Downtown News: What can Officine Brera offer that’s unique among Downtown restaurants? Adan Valdez: Our food is very unique. You just can’t get chef Angelo’s Northern Italian recipes anywhere else. Q: When should you start planning a summer event? A: For us, calling a month in advance will usually be enough time, but it all depends on what else is happening on the dates you’re looking at. During the upcoming USC graduation week, for example, we’re totally booked up. So if you need a specific date, it’s smart to contact us as much as four months in advance. Q: How many people can you accommodate for a seated dinner, and what does it cost? A: We have two private rooms inside our main dining room, each able to seat up to 24 guests. These rooms can be combined into one room for parties of as many as 50. The rooms are $1,500 each for the weekdays and $3,000 each for a Friday or Saturday night event. That includes food and beverage minimums. We’re also building another room, Officine Alimentari, that will be able to hold 220 guests.

May 9, 2016

Q: What key lessons have you learned about working with clients, especially in terms of groups? A: You have to be very flexible. Some clients know exactly what they need, but others might not and will ask you a lot of questions. photo by Gary Leonard

Adan Valdez is the events coordinator for Officine Brera, an Arts District destination specializing in Northern Italian cuisine. It has private dining rooms and a meat-centric menu.

Q: What trends are you seeing for the summer? A: We’ve had a lot of interest in patio parties, both for dinner and lunch. People really appreciate the warmer weather. Q: Are there any adult beverages you recommend for the summer? A: Our bartender, Luigi, likes to create new cocktails, and he just

Q: What’s the toughest part of the job? A: Time management for sure. Sometimes we’ll be faced with tight deadlines, especially with companies who use a third-party booking service. Q: Do you have a party planning or entertaining nightmare that turned out okay, or one that was just a flat-out disaster? A: I haven’t had a total disaster yet. I can’t think of anything that would cause me to stress out. All my parties have gone very smoothly. I’m hoping to keep it that way. Officine Brera is at 1331 E Sixth St., (213) 553-8006 or officinebrera.com.

The Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, a 10-day extravaganza showcasing 26 international artists representing 15 countries and 4 continents, returns to Los Angeles in May.

piatigorskyfestival.usc.edu

May 9, 2016

Downtown News 11

UNIQUE SPACES & SUMMER ENTERTAINING

South Park by Way of Buenos Aires

A: Waiting too long to finalize the details and failing to communicate changes, especially at the last minute. Often the client’s sense of urgency is less than ours. Sometimes we’ll be planning 30 different events, and people don’t realize that, so things can fall through if the lines of communication are not there.

New Arrival Barcito Offers an Argentinian Flair By Tom Fassbender outh Park’s Barcito opened in September. The laidback gastropub takes its inspiration from Buenos Aires, and the menu offers Argentinian delights such as empanadas, arancini and milanesa, as well as a rotating list of draft cocktails. The restaurant, which just instituted a gratuity-free policy, is near Staples Center and the Convention Center, so it hosts a lot of events. Owner and General Manager Andrea Borgen talked about how to throw a summer party.

Q: What aspects of the job do you appreciate the most? A: I love seeing the entire process through, but at the very end I really enjoy being on the floor, meeting the person I’ve been dealing with. Also, as a restaurant owner, any time you see a large group of people enjoying your food and drinks and having a great time is really rewarding in itself. Q: What’s the toughest part of the job? A: Any time that you do fall short — and it happens. Things go wrong, and picking yourself up and realizing those are opportunities to learn can be really difficult.

Los Angeles Downtown News: What can Barcito offer that’s unique among Downtown restaurants? Andrea Borgen: We’re inspired by the corner bars of Buenos Aires and we’re trying to re-create that culture. We just launched Aperitivo Hour, a happy hour of aperitif-driven cocktails along with some small-bite appetizers. photo by Gary Leonard

Q: When should you start planning a summer event? A: It’s never too soon, but generally speaking, planning more than a month or two from the event is fine. But if the date you want is important, then the sooner the better. Q: How many people can you accommodate, and what does it cost? A: We have a cocktail area, a seated dining room and two patios, one of which is seated. If we use all that for seating, we can accommodate 120-150 guests or up to 300 for a standing cocktail party. For inside-only parties we can host up to 80 seated and 200 standing. Our pricing is $26-$41 per person for food and $18-$47 for drinks, depending on the client’s needs. Q: Are there any adult beverages you recommend for the summer? A: We change our draft cocktails seasonally. Right now we’re of-

Andrea Borgen opened Barcito with the goal of bringing the ambiance of a Buenos Aires neighborhood bar to Downtown. She can accommodate up to 300 people for a cocktail party.

fering a rosé sangria with stone fruit and peach that’s really easy drinking and a yerba mate-infused vodka with lemon and mint. And white wine is always a great patio drink. Q: How did you get into this business and come to own Barcito? A: I started with Hillstone Restaurant Group, working in South Florida and New York. Then I was general manager for Danny Meyer’s restaurant group before I made my way back to L.A. with the intent of opening my own spot. And it kind of worked. Q: What common mistakes do people make when booking an event?

Q: Do you have a party planning or entertaining nightmare that turned out okay, or one that was just a flat-out disaster? A: One time we had two different small events scheduled for the same night. One group was supposed to be 50 people, having drinks, and another group was supposed to be 25 with food in the dining area. But the day the event came around, we had a combined 300 people inside the restaurant. It was out of control — we didn’t have enough staff and everyone was pushing against the walls. I felt like it was complete and utter chaos, but luckily I was able to chat with both party planners and they were thrilled. There was a lot of synergy between the groups, so they both got the event they wanted. Q: Any advice for anyone who wants to get into the business? A: I recommend taking any small jobs that you can — catering, server, intern — to get a peek into what this world looks like and if it’s the kind of thing you can be passionate about. The industry tends to promote from within, and growth comes when you least expect it. Barcito is at 403 W. 12th St., (213) 415-1821 or barcitola.com.

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May 9, 2016

UNIQUE SPACES & SUMMER ENTERTAINING

It’s a Spring Thing New Restaurant Has a Courtyard Feel and Provence-Inspired Menu By Tom Fassbender pring, the recently opened Historic Core restaurant from Church & State owner Yassmin Sarmadi and chef Tony Esnault, specializes in the lighter side of French cuisine. Located inside the Douglas Building at Third and Spring streets, it focuses on Southern France’s Provence region with a Mediterranean flair. Spring’s main dining room is decorated with trees and a fountain under a lofted glass ceiling, alongside an open kitchen. Sarmadi has designed an ideal place to host a summer party — and a great place to enjoy rosé wines.

Los Angeles Downtown News: What can Spring offer that’s unique among Downtown restaurants? Yassmin Sarmadi: Our dining room is inside the atrium of the Douglas Building, and when you enter you think you’re in a building but all of a sudden you’re in a courtyard with trees under an A-frame lofted roof. It feels like a garden where the weather is always perfect. Q: When should you start planning a summer event? A: Planning at least a month prior to the event is a good time frame, but of course the more time, the better. Anything less than a month and we may run into not having the availability for the day and time you want. Q: How many people can you accommodate, and what does it cost? A: We can seat up to 180 in our main dining room, and we have a private room that can seat up to 40. These two can be combined for larger parties. We also can host up to 60 guests in our lounge with a cocktail party setting. I wish I could give a price, but it varies so greatly depending on things like the day of the week, whether it’s lunch or dinner and what the clients want.

OTIUM, 9 Our pricing starts at $45 for five items served family style, but cost really depends on what the client needs, the time of the day and the day of the week. Q: Do you have any adult beverages you recommend for the summer? A: We always create the menu based on the season, and this includes drinks. We’re designing a new cocktail for the summer, but it’s not ready quite yet. Q: How did you get into this business and this job?

Q: What trends are you seeing for the summer? A: I haven’t seen any trends, but because our dining room feels like the outdoors, I like to suggest having an event that incorporates rosé wine. Summer is the perfect time for those wines, and our food pairs wonderfully with them. Q: Do you think alcohol should be available at corporate events? A: This is a French restaurant, and you would be hard-pressed to find French people having a meal without at least a little wine. Alcohol in moderation can complement your meal, and you can have a wonderful dinner with wine pairings and still have it be a nice corporate event. Q: How did you get into this business and come to own Spring? A: I was working for a couple of different companies that provided lending to restaurants, so I started to develop a good understanding of the business and realized how much I enjoyed talking with owners about their businesses. I always had a great love of restaurants and how they make people feel, so I made the decision to open my own restaurant, Church & State, almost eight years ago. Spring is my second restaurant. Q: What common mistake do people make when booking an event? A: We try to be very thorough in covering all the bases before the event, but sometimes people will try to create something very specific that we know might not work for the kind of event they want. It’s always beneficial to listen to what the events coordinator and staff recommend. Q: What aspects of the job do you appreciate the most? A: The most enjoyable part for me is being in touch with our guests. I like being on the floor, talking to people, making sure

A: I’m born in it. My parents bought a restaurant in the north of France when I was 1 year old, so it’s my life. In Los Angeles I’ve worked as general manager of Patina and opened République and Redbird. When chef Tim Hollingsworth asked if I wanted to open Otium with him, I said yes. Q: What key lessons have you learned about working with clients, especially in terms of groups? A: Every day is a challenge, every day there’s excitement, every day holds something new. The key is to really understand what the customer wants in order to make sure that we can provide it in the best way possible. It’s

photo by Gary Leonard

Yassmin Sarmadi recently opened Spring, her second restaurant following the Arts District’s Church & State. The establishment specializing in food from France’s Provence region has a dining room with trees and a fountain.

they’re having a good time, suggesting wines that would pair with their meals, and helping clients come up with a menu. I enjoy the financial aspects of running a business, too. Q: What’s the toughest part of the job? A: We have really good people working for us, but it’s been challenging to keep staff long-term because so many new restaurants have opened in Los Angeles in the past year or so. Good staff is always in demand. Spring is at 257 S. Spring St., (213) 372-5189 or springlosangeles.com.

very important to establish a relationship with the client and continue to follow up with them until the last thank you note comes through. Q: What aspects of the job do you appreciate the most? A: When the clients leave and tell me how much they loved the experience and when they understand and appreciate all the details we’ve put into the restaurant. Also getting their feedback so we can get better and pass that new experience along to our guests. Q: What’s the toughest part of the job? A: Consistency. What we did yesterday we

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have to do today — and be better. Q: Do you have a party planning or entertaining nightmare that turned out okay, or one that was just a flat-out disaster? A: We recently had an event with 60 people booked for the patio, and it was supposed to rain. We communicated the news to the event planner and offered to bring in a tent. They decided not to do that, so we were ready to make adjustments to move the party inside, which was very stressful. But at the last minute it ended up not raining, so it all worked out. Otium is at 222 S. Hope St., (213) 935-8500 or otiumla.com.

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May 9, 2016

UNIQUE SPACES & SUMMER ENTERTAINING

A Visit to Thailand (via Portland)

items are designed to be paired with our drinks, so we recommend it.

Pok Pok Dishes Authentic Cusine in Chinatown’s Mandarin Plaza

Q: Do you have any adult beverages you recommend for the summer? A: Our bia wun machine is really popular. It means “jelly beer” and makes refreshing, slushy beer cocktails — people really like that in the summer. Our tamarind whiskey sour, with housemade tamarind mix, fresh lime and bourbon, is also excellent.

By Tom Fassbender ok Pok in Mandarin Plaza, a branch of chef Andy Ricker’s celebrated Portland eatery, opened in October. It offers an authentic and delicious Thai food experience — served family-style for maximum enjoyment — alongside a selection of innovative cocktails and drinking vinegars. The restaurant has two floors, with a bar on each, so it’s an ideal spot to hold events. Andre Wells, Pok Pok’s manager of catering and special events, is looking forward to his first summer party season.

Q: What common mistake do people make when booking an event? A: People planning the event need to understand the people they’re hosting. Not providing us all the information — like the dietary needs of the guests — can have a negative effect on the party. It’s not fun for anyone if the guests can’t eat the food and it’s difficult to change the menu the day of the event.

Los Angeles Downtown News: What can Pok Pok offer that’s unique among Downtown restaurants? Andre Wells: We have a really fun environment with an upbeat and really hip lounge where we serve really great house cocktails. We have a “Drinking Food Menu,” which features small bites designed to go with our drinks. Also, Pok Pok has two floors, so we can close off the upstairs to accommodate large private parties, even at the last minute. Q: When should you start planning a summer event? A: Anytime Sunday through Thursday, we can usually fit any sized party in our upstairs dining area with as little as two days’ notice. On the weekends it can be trickier because we’re busier, but we have managed to put together large parties a couple days ahead of time. Q: How many people can you accommodate, and what does it cost? A: Our upstairs room is very spacious — we can host 100 people and still have room for cocktail service. If people want to do something outside during the summer, we have a patio that can seat 50. As for pricing, we take care of that individually and work

Downtown News 13

Q: How did you get into this business and this job? A: This is something I’ve always had a passion for. I minored in hospitality management in college. I’ve done a lot of event planning and worked as operations manager at The Grand at Cal State Long Beach. I started off here at Pok Pok as a bartender, and when they found out I had a background in event planning, they offered me the manager of catering and special events position, which I’ve been doing for about five months. photo by Gary Leonard

Andre Wells at Pok Pok, a modern Thai eatery that opened in Mandarin Plaza last year. It has a “Drinking Food Menu” that pairs small bites with cocktails.

with a client’s budget. We currently have packages for larger groups priced from $22 to $28 per person. That includes gratuity and tip. Q: Should alcohol be available at corporate events? A: Yes, it’s good to have a cocktail or two. We have our own house cocktails that people really enjoy, and a lot of our menu

Q: Do you have a party planning or entertaining nightmare that turned out okay, or one that was just a flat-out disaster? A: We had one of those issues where the people planning the party didn’t consider the needs of the guests. People were unhappy with the food choices and they weren’t having a good time. We did our best to accommodate them and had to modify many of the dishes on the fly, which was stressful and a lot of extra work. In the end, though, we brought it all together. The guests enjoyed the food and the event — many of them still come back and ask for me by name. Pok Pok is at 978 N. Broadway, (213) 613-1831 or pokpokla.com.

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14 Downtown News

May 9, 2016 photos by Melissa Richardson Banks

In Arts District, A Mural Uproar Anger Erupts After Artwork Is Whitewashed; Building Owner Says It Reached Out to Community By Eddie Kim n the afternoon of Saturday, April 16, an orange lift rolled into the parking lot of the Neptune Building at 713 E. Third St. in the Arts District. Over the course of several hours, a man with a roller brush worked the lift up and down along the rear wall of the building, painting over the Technicolor mural known as “Cream of the Crop.” The whitewashing drew a crowd, and people took to social media to cry foul. Who, they asked, was responsible for this, and why hadn’t the community been informed? “I was mostly shocked because I, and evidently many people, had no clue it was coming,” said Melissa Richardson-Banks, a longtime resident and arts advocate who also runs the website Downtown Muse, and who photographed the whitewashing. “This was an instance where someone thought that communicating with the neighborhood was not necessary or needed.” The building is owned by the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, which bought the property in 2013 for $12.8 million and moved in after a renovation earlier this year. Neighbors are now asking why the new arrival didn’t bother to court public opinion before whitewashing the mural. Ray Ciranna, the general manager of the pension, said the entity did reach out to neighborhood organizations about a year ago. He said the consensus seemed to be that it was fine to take down the mural as long as the pension commissioned a new one. The artwork, which covers the entire eastern façade of the four-story building, was completed in 2011 by two teams: Dabs and Myla, an Australian husband-and-wife duo, and the German brothers How & Nosm.

“Cream of the Crop,” a mural at 713 E. Third St. from artist teams Dabs and Myla and How & Nosm, was completed in 2011. It was whitewashed in April, surprising many people in the community.

“My understanding is that you either loved it or hated it, and we viewed it as something that we could go ahead and get another work up on the wall,” Ciranna said. “Certainly with a new mural, there’s a lot more community outreach that’s necessary. We thought it was just going to be part of debuting the new building to the community.” The pension worked with Jonathan Jerald, the secretary of the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District Space, a nonprofit that represents the community. Jerald has frequently worked on licensing film shoots in the area, including getting the rights to use “Cream of the Crop” in commercials. He said he spoke in the past with building representatives about their desire to change the mural, though not as a formal advisor. LADADSpace is now officially an advisor for the pension as it arranges its next mural. Some community members, how-

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ever, have blamed Jerald for not alerting other organizations and the public about the whitewashing. Jerald denies hiding anything, and said replacing the work was discussed with Arts District leaders including LADADSpace Board President Tim Keating. “It was no secret for a year and a half that there was a new owner working on the building. I deny being part of some grand conspiracy to destroy that great work of art,” Jerald said. The pension, too, said it did not try to keep the news from the community. “I want to focus on moving forward,” Ciranna said. “I have no intention of leaving a boring beige wall.” Angry Artists In 2006, Downtown Los Angeles erupted after Kent Twitchell’s “Ed Ruscha Monument” was whitewashed off a building in

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May 9, 2016

Downtown News 15

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255 South Grand Avenue Leasing Information 213 229 9777 South Park. A legal claim was filed and Twitchell ultimately won a $1.1 million settlement from a number of parties, as the demolition violated laws requiring that an artist be given notice before a work is destroyed. All rules appear to have been followed in the current case. The pension gave the artists 90 days’ notice, and there are no additional contractual agreements that require preserving the work, according to the city Department of Cultural Affairs. Current law gives property owners the right to keep, change or whitewash artworks on their buildings. Created before the passage of a city ordinance to permit and protect murals in 2013, “Cream of the Crop” was brokered by Daniel Lahoda, who has helped shepherd the creation of numerous murals in Downtown. The project was independently funded by Lahoda and the artists. Dabs and Myla declined to comment through their partner and representative, Roger Gastman. Stacey Richman, an attorney for How & Nosm, condemned the whitewashing. “The [artists] sponsored everything themselves; they were not paid. This work was FOR THE COMMUNITY,” Richman wrote in an email. Richman also suggested that commercial interests may have played a role in the whitewashing, providing Los Angeles Downtown News with a March 28, 2014, email between Jerald and a representative for How & Nosm in which Jerald said the community will move to whitewash “Cream of the Crop” if the artists continue to ask for large sums of licensing money — they had been requesting $15,000 for the work to appear in a Mini Cooper campaign — every time it shows up in a commercial or photo shoot. “We will, with the support of city officials and FilmLA, ask the property owners to paint out your murals, which otherwise would have survived at least a few more years,” Jerald wrote. In an email last week, Jerald acknowledged the correspondence, but denied that any commercial interests would have motivated the takedown of “Cream of the Crop.” “The idea that I asked to have the murals painted out because it threatened our film revenues is absurd,” he said. “There have been maybe two shoots in the last couple of years that wanted to include the building.” Jerald also maintains that he and LADADSpace are not trying to steer an artist of their choosing into getting the commission for the Neptune Building wall, but that they are simply advising the pension as it whittles down a list of artists. The nonprofit is being paid $500 for its work, he said. The pension, along with its advisor team, is considering which artists might be right for the wall, and aims to bring in community groups such as Art Share L.A. and open up judging to the public. An outreach effort to help choose the work is now being managed by Arts District BID head Miguel Vargas. There is no timeline for a fresh mural, but public meetings to discuss ideas and artists are coming soon, Ciranna and Jerald said. eddie@downtownnews.com

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May 9, 2016

Not a Hipster Bar, But Chocolate Bars New York’s Mast Brothers Open an Upscale Sweets Factory in the Arts District By Eddie Kim rom the moment you peel back the striped salmon-hued wrapper, Mast Brothers’ “Smoke” chocolate bar lives up to its name. Hold it to your nose and you’ll sense wisps of a green wood fire. Take a bite, and barbecue smoke coats the mouth as the chocolate melts into robes of cocoa sweetness. It’s one of the 18 kinds of chocolate made in the Arts District at the just-opened Mast Brothers factory. Before that chocolate takes a recognizable form, however, it begins as cacao pods harvested in a far-off location. In the case of Smoke, that’s Papua New Guinea, where the stifling humidity means beans must be dried over wood fires. That initial process imbues them with smoke, a flavor that persists even after the beans have been processed into a silky mahogany liqueur. Mast Brothers, perhaps the country’s most prominent “bean-to-bar” chocolate maker, opened a 6,000-square-foot factory and retail space on Saturday, May 7, in a bright white warehouse at 816 S. Sante Fe Ave. In addition to selling chocolate, it offers tours guided by workers such as Retail Manager Tess Gargrave, who on a recent afternoon meticulously described each step of the production process. “There’s a respect to the natural flavor of the beans, including those smoky ones from Papua New Guinea,” Gargrave said, beaming over a little plate of chocolate samples given at the end

The 6,000-squarefoot Mast Brothers chocolate factory and store opened at 816 S. Santa Fe Ave. over the weekend. It is the third and largest factory for boutique chocolate makers Rick and Michael Mast.

photo by Gary Leonard

of the tour. “That’s actually the story that made me want to work here.” Mast Brothers was founded in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2006 by brothers Rick and Michael Mast. They specialize in using ultra-high-end cocoa beans — others are shipped from Tanzania and Madagascar — to create their bars, some of which flaunt funky flavors like goat

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milk and olive oil. Each bar comes wrapped in heavy paper adorned with beautiful patterns, from swirling lines of wood grain to Matisselike flashes of color and geometry. The chocolate maker has factories in Brooklyn and London, and last year sold more than a million bars worldwide, Rick Mast said. The Downtown Los Angeles facto-

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ry is their biggest facility yet. Approximately 15 people work on site. “We’re trying to dig roots here with a fullblown production line that we can invite the entire community in to see,” Rick Mast said. “To find buildings like that, and to find a community that’s looking for new ways to approach old things like tea or coffee or pizza, the Arts District was really a no-brainer.” The high-end production and packaging come with a price. Mast charges about $8 for a 2.5-ounce bar, with larger and smaller sizes offered. The factory also offers tours every day of the week, every hour from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tours are $5, and the proceeds go to the nonprofit School on Wheels. Even Chocolate Beer The factory is easy to miss from the street. There’s a little neon sign that reads “Chocolate,” but no other markings. Inside, colorful chocolate bars sit stacked on wooden cubes in the retail portion of the business. It opens onto the production floor, awash in white paint and polished concrete. Along the northern edge are five pod-like rooms trimmed in black, each representing a step in the production process, from de-shelling the dried beans to pouring the finished chocolate into molds. The last room, curiously, features stainless steel tanks with large taps. “This is our chocolate ‘beer’ that we’re brewing from the beans, like coffee, to serve on draft, carbonated,” explained General Manager Richard Fell. Rick Mast was a former music student who jumped ship for culinary school, landing at the Manhattan restaurant Gramercy Tavern and a

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Downtown News 17

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General Manager Richard Fell and Retail Manager Tess Gargrave at the Arts District factory. Owner Rick Mast said the team expects to roast 300-500 kilos of beans a day.

Chocolate maker Tony Guajardo pours the finished liquid chocolate into their molds.

photo by Gary Leonard

stint working with chocolate sorcerer Jacques Torres. Michael Mast was a high school math champion with a knack at seeing business opportunities. They didn’t start with chocolate, however. Their small Brooklyn apartment initially hosted a suite of other projects — burbling homebrew ales, racks of aging cheeses, mismatched jars packed with fermenting pickles. Soon, the brothers were piqued by bean-tobar chocolate-making, a murky world of customs law, international politicking, mythical “bean-runners” and fussy production methods. “When we got to chocolate, it was pretty in-

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teresting to realize that chocolate is beloved around the world, yet people don’t want the kind of familiarity with chocolate as they do with their produce or their beef,” Rick Mast said. “That was fascinating, that huge gap between love and understanding.” The brothers signed the lease on the building about 18 months ago and spent $1 million to get it ready for operations, according to Rick Mast. They expect to roast between 300-500 kilos of beans each day at the facility, he added. The spotlight has attracted derision along with praise. The high price point of their bars makes them an easy target, as does their pitch-

perfect Williamsburg hipster looks — all lumberjack beards and tortoiseshell glasses. No wonder that some national media outlets have dissected and debated Mast Brothers’ intentions and products to death, questioning whether their bars are worth the price tag. Even London’s The Guardian weighed in, declaring with trollish intention that Hershey’s is a better chocolate. Craft chocolate industry figures, meanwhile, also emerged from the woodwork with withering dismissals of Mast Brothers’ product, especially after recent allegations that the brothers had sold bars blended with commercial chocolate (the Masts said that they used commercial chocolate in early trial runs, but not after that). Rick Mast is good-humored about the criticism, giggling at the notion of the Arts Dis-

trict rolling its eyes at another bourgeois boutique business. The point of the facility is that it makes the secrets of chocolate production accessible to all, even those who don’t want to spend $10 on a bar, he said. “Whether they say it or not, people want to consume something better and they deserve it,” Mast said. “So when they encounter something that has a lot of thought in it, and they’re talking to passionate people, it’s a universally great experience.” He and his brother fell in love with chocolate made from the best beans on the planet, Rick Mast says. Now they want to show everyone else why. Mast Brothers is at 816 S. Santa Fe Ave. or mastbrothers.com. eddie@downtownnews.com

cLaSSIc fILmS in downtown’S hIStorIc theatreS

June 2016

LAST REMAINING

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wednesday, June 8, 8pm

top Gun (1986)

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CALENDAR LISTINGS

the Don't Miss list

EVENTS

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

Ace Hotel 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com. May 13, 9 p.m.: The ever-soulful Charles Bradley returns to Los Angeles with His Extraordinaires. May 14-15, 9 p.m.: With one collaborative master stroke after another, Andrew Bird continues to perplex and delight, especially given that he was once associated with the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Au Lac/Café Fedora 710 W. First St., (213) 617-2533 or aulac.com. May 14, 9 p.m.: Justo Almario joins UCLA’s Charles Mingus Ensemble. Belasco 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 746-5670 or belascous.com. May 12, 6:30 p.m.: This show marks the L.A. stop on Motion City Soundtrack’s farewell tour. Bid goodbye to the new New Found Glory. May 13, 9 p.m.: Tonight’s Insomniac-endorsed “Dreamstate” may be for you. Blue Whale 123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka St., (213) 620-0908 or bluewhalemusic.com. May 9: McKinley, Martin, Sydnor. May 10: Monk Institute Jam Session. May 11: Juice Box. May 12: Vahagni. May 13: Larry Goldings Trio. May 14: Hans Garner Trio. May 15: Shai Golan.

Avant-Garde Dance and the Cellos Come Downtown, and We Remember Prince

By Dan Johnson calendar@downtownnews.com photo by Vincent Dixon

TUESDAY, MAY 10 Kate Tempest at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org. 7:15 p.m.: Neelanjana Banerjee of Kaya Press pitches questions at London rapper, poet and newly minted novelist Kate Tempest. WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 KPCC Presents Ask Me Another Ace Hotel, 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com. 7:30 p.m.: NPR host Ophira Eisenberg trots out the celebrated radio show for a live taping that includes none other than Maika Monroe, Jeff Goldblum and Weird Al Yankovic. Yes please. Sherry Turkle at MOCA MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2700 or zocalopublicsquare.org. 7:30 p.m.: Author Sherry Turkle recently took home the sixth annual Zocalo Book Prize on the merits of her tome “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.” in which she enumerates the hazards of screen-obsessed living. Appropriately, she’ll be lecturing on the finer points of rediscovered discourse. THURSDAY, MAY 12 Art Walk Historic Core or online at downtownartwalk.org. 5 p.m.: Whether you’re in the market for a high-ticket Emmeric Konrad painting for your mother-in-law’s 90th birthday or are scouring the world for just the perfect piece of bric-a-brac to redefine your Star Wars knick-knack collection, Art Walk has you covered. FRIDAY, MAY 13 Robbie Tripp at the Last Bookstore Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., (213) 488-0599 or lastbookstorela.com. 7 p.m.: Not to be confused with King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, Robbie Tripp is a “wordsmith” peddling his recent pop-manifesto “Create Rebellion.” SATURDAY, MAY 14 Liz Pollock at the Central Library Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or chscsite.org. 10:30 a.m.: The Culinary Historians of Southern California happily host Liz Pollock and her lecture “Julia Child: A Well-Thumbed Checklist of Books and Ephemera.” Appropriately, there will be a themed reception immediately after the talk.

May 9, 2016

photo © Nada Zgank

For a kid from London, Richard Thompson has a staggering amount of credits in the Americana scene. Beyond his work with the likes of T-Bone Burnett and Bonnie Raitt, Thompson has contributed to albums from Nick Drake, Gerry Rafferty, Everything But the Girl, David Byrne and many more. A troubadour in the truest sense of the word, the man with the immense discography and deep-seated lust for musicianship pays Downtown a visit on Saturday, May 14. Seventh Street’s Teragram Ballroom will play host to the beret-clad bard for what promises to be an eclectic set recapitulating more than four decades of music. At 1234 W. Seventh St., (213) 689-9100 or teragramballroom.com.

If Prince didn’t mean to cause us any sorrow, if Prince didn’t mean to cause us any pain, then why did he have to die at the youthful age of 57? This is a probing question we will likely never have answers for. As substitute to rationalization, the Bay Area DJ Dave Paul heads down the 5 this weekend to offer up a double dose of Prince mourning at Resident. On Saturday, May 14, at 9 p.m., Paul’s Prince and Michael Jackson Experience takes a turntable tour of those late artists’ catalogs complete with peripheral and contextual tracks. Paul returns at noon on Sunday for Purple Afterlife, a strictly Princespun event (OK, maybe Vanity 6 too). At 428 S. Hewitt or residentdtla.com.

The world’s cello elite assemble in Downtown Los Angeles this week as USC and the L.A. Philharmonic host the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival for the first time since 2012. Many of the festivities center around USC’s Bovard Auditorium, but Downtown proper gets its due with four performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall from Friday-Sunday, May 13-May 15. On Friday, Leonard Slatkin leads the L.A. Phil and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum through Bloch’s “Schelomo.” On Saturday, four-string master blaster Truls Mork joins Slotkin and his merry band of musicians for the “William Tell Overture” and Elgar’s “Cello Concerto.” Sol Gabetta pops in for more “William Tell” and compositions from Martinu and Berlioz before the esteemed Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott cap off the weekend on Sunday evening. At 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7300 or laphil.com.

If something were described as “like a chance meeting with a slightly drunken man in a quiet bar where a conversation begins and gradually a disjointed story emerges,” you’d say welcome to any weekday in Downtown Los Angeles. This, however, is how choreographer Steve Paxton describes his show Bound, which lands at REDCAT this week for three performances. Bound was first mounted in 1982, and this week it will be performed by Slovenian dancer Jurij Konjar. Expect an unlikely fabric of motion with independent performances strung together into a whole that relies on bizarre imagery, fetching if obscure music and an overarching commitment to dance disarticulation. Shows are Wednesday-Friday, May 11-13, at 8:30 p.m. At 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

image courtesy Overton Loyd

22 Downtown News

At once cartoonish and psychedelic, the aesthetic of artist Overton Loyd is an ecstatic patois blending the bizarre and lucid. Now through September 18, the California African American Museum in Exposition Park hosts Rhythm of Vision: The Artistry of Overton Loyd. From his Detroit roots to his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and his present mantle as creative director for George Clinton, the exhibit explores Loyd’s vision and its interwoven destiny with popular music. The galleries, including the work “Dewayne ‘Blackbryd’ McKnight” (shown here) at CAAM are open Tuesday through Sunday each week. At 600 State Dr., (213) 744-7432 or caamuseum.org.

photo courtesy USC

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

May 14, 3 p.m.: Wolves Wolves Wolves. May 14: Kate Crash & The UFO Club, Electric Children, Buffy Winkler, Shock Treatment and Turbulent. May 15: Dead Frets. The Novo 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or thenovodtla.com. May 12, 9 p.m.: We feel obliged to tell you that tonight’s artist, Aesop Rock, is not hip-hop MC A$AP Rocky. May 13, 8 p.m.: If Fat Joe and Remy Ma were serious about this so-called tribute to Big Pun, they would probably be developing a nonprofit aimed at targeting food deserts and ending childhood obesity. May 14, 8 p.m.: Nemr Abou Nassar is a stand-up comedian, though you’d never guess it from his press photo, which appears to be an un-ironic fusion of his face with a tiger. The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com. May 11: The L.A. music scene’s favorite Albanian-American

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elaborate and heroic mythology that suddenly becomes spurious when it claims that the singer-songwriter’s “‘Fight Song’ was, without a doubt the inspirational song of 2015.” May 10, 7:30 p.m.: Country star Keith Urban (who puts the urban in urbane) discusses the creative process behind his latest album. May 12, 7 p.m.: Ne-Yo and other noteworthy folk from the music-turned-TV world give us their two cents with a talk called “Empire: An Inside Look at the Making of the Music Phenomenon.” May 13, 7 p.m.: Of Miracles fame, Warren “Pete” Moore joins Claudette Robinson for a chat about Motown. Mayan 1038 S. Hill St., (213) 746-4287 or clubmayan.com. May 13: It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that tonight’s Viva La Cumbia event is not a loving tribute to country western music. Microsoft Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6030 or microsofttheeatre.com. May 11, 8 p.m.: The Neighbourhood combine a number of promising constituent parts into a tepid musical gumbo. May 14, 9 p.m.: Iranian singer Googoosh is back to rock you like a hurricane. Wait, that’s a different band. May 15, 7 p.m.: Arman Hovhannisyan, Armenia’s take on “hov.” Orpheum Theatre 842 Broadway, (877) 677-4386 or laorpheum.com. May 10, 5:30 p.m.: Utility emergency response teams will be delighted to know that the hissing sound reported in the 800 block of South Broadway is not a gas leak, but a number of attendees for RuPaul’s Drag Race Finale aggressively hissing, “Yasssss queen.” Redwood Bar and Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 652-4444 or theredwoodbar.com. May 9: Moondrake. May 10: Gonzo Phonic. May 11: Ford Madox Ford. May 12: Honey Chain, The Ex-Gentlemen and Sapphic Musk. May 13: The Nashville Ramblers, The Rosalyns and Didley Daddies.

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Bootleg Bar 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.org. May 9: Gavin Turek, welcome back. May 10: Moderns live in the post-Purity Ring world. That is not a Jonas Brothers reference. May 11: Sorry to the prospective owners of Downtown’s next big gay bar, but perky Vancouver pop outfit Bear Mountain appears to have stolen your name. May 12: Mr. Hudson, here are the rules: If you appear on the same night of the week at the same venue three times in one month, it’s a residency. If you just appear willy nilly on random nights, it is not. May 13: Sol recently dropped his music career to travel around the Indian Ocean. His takeaways? We’re not sure, but we’ll wager he travels with a healthy supply of Cipro these days. May 14: Upbeat cover party Saved By the ’90s brings bubbly hits from the last millennium. We, meanwhile, hold out for Ruined By the ’90s, a look at awful pop music. May 15: Cross Records translates to “Pixies fans.” Escondite 410 Boyd St., (213) 626-1800 or theescondite.com. May 9: As part of the recovery process, the Jazzaholics would like to apologize for every little sixteenth note that hurt someone they loved. May 10: Sycamore, a tree native to these parts and apparently also a musical act. May 11: The Sheriffs of Schroedingham’s own Ross Garren will gladly autograph your harmonica. May 12: Ponderosa Aces spelled backwards is Seca Asorednop. May 13: Johnny Moezzi & The Drones are a musical tribute to the Borg — resistance is futile! May 15: Ben Bostick, come on down! Exchange LA 618 S. Spring St., (213) 627-8070 or exchangela.com. May 13: Boom Jinx. May 14: J. Phlip. Grammy Museum 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org. May 9, 7:30 p.m.: Rachel Platten’s artist bio is filled with

Downtown News 23

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

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JMSN returns. May 12: Only that real ish with Iamsu!. May 13: Would you like to sample some of Illenium’s melodic trance music? If so, you know where to go. May 14: With a slogan taken directly from a class of hip, youth-friendly mega-churches, we’re promised that “Electroluxx is more than a party, it’s an art-filled, immersive nightlife experience.” Resident 428 S. Hewitt St. or (323) 316-5311 or residentdtla.com. May 9: Beware of Darkness, Flames of Durga and Audiomammal. May 10: Ballerina Black, Swerve and The Electric West. May 11: Beat Connection, Harriet Brown and Vokes. May 13: Little Hurricane. May 14: Prince and Michael Jackson Experience. May 15, 12 p.m.: Purple Afterlife with DJ Dave Paul. May 15: Residuels, Melted and The Side Eyes. Continued on next page

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LISTINGS, 23 Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 614-0737 or sevengrand.la. May 10: For the last time Cedd — The Makers are not stealing urinal cakes from the Seven Grand supply closet. The Smell 247 S. Main St. in the alley between Spring and Main or thesmell.org. May 13: ZigZags, Tongues, Rexx and Greaser. May 14: Souvenirs, Janelane, Love Nothing and Grave School. Teragram Ballroom 1234 W. Seventh St. or teragramballroom.com. May 10: Radical Face presents a compelling album trilogy of magical realism in a tradition of narrative that harkens back to America’s finest literary traditions while obscuring the fact that the creator himself is from Jacksonville, Florida. May 11: Sound Soiree to Benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. May 12: The Broad Museum’s Callings Out of Context music series unites an unlikely tandem of Dan Deacon and Junglepussy. May 13: Veteran rocker Bob Mould continues to awe us with his name’s ability to conjure images of water damage. May 14: At this point, Richard Thompson has little to lose.

FILM

Downtown Independent 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com. See website for schedule. IMAX California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 744-2019 or californiasciencecenter.org. Journey to Space 3D brings audience members along on an E-ticket ride of exploration to the red planet. Ewan McGregor is the voice of Humpback Whales 3D. Not that the whales aren’t significant enough in their own right, but Obi-Wan narrating means we’re dealing with serious power brokers here who know a good whale story when they see it. MOCA 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2700 or moca.org. May 12, 7 p.m.: MOCA and the Los Angeles Filmforum present Tacita Dean in a night showcasing her films. Regal Cinemas LA Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-6070 or lalive.com/movies. Through May 12: Captain America: Civil War (2:10, 2:40, 5:40, 6:10, 9:20 and 10 p.m.); Captain America: Civil War 3D (11:50 a.m., 12, 12:25, 1:40, 3:25, 4, 4:40, 5:10, 6:55, 7:30, 8:10, 8:40, 10:45 and 11 p.m.); Keanu (11:50 a.m., 2:20, 5, 7:50 and 10:30 p.m.); Mother’s Day (12:50, 3:40, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m); Ratchet & Clank (1:30 and 7:10 p.m.); Compadres (12:30 p.m.); The Huntsman: Winter’s War (12:40, 3:30, 6:20 and 9:10 p.m.); Barbershop: The Next Cut (3:10 p.m.); The Jungle Book 3D (11:55 a.m., 2, 4:50, 7:40 and 10:50 p.m.); The Jungle Book (1, 3:50, 4:20, 6:40, 9:40 and 10:20 p.m.); Zootopia (12:10, 3, 5:50 and 8:30 p.m.).

THEATER, OPERA & DANCE

Bob Baker’s Sketchbook Revue Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 250-9995 or bobbakermarionettes.com. May 14-15, 2:30 p.m.: The Sketchbook Revue promises a cast of marionettes that will alternately delight and terrify. Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. May 10-14, 8 p.m. and May 15, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: It’s your last chance to see Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ latest work. The lead character (a slave played by Sterling K. Brown) fights for his master and the South in a bid to win his freedom, then begins a long, Homeric journey. There is even a talking dog. Through May 15. La Boheme Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8001 or laopera.org. May 14, 7:30 p.m.: What makes this version of the tuberculosis-fueled opera warhorse different than all others? The presence of L.A. Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel as guest conductor during shows on June 10 and 12. There’s also soprano Nino Machaidze playing the role of Mimi. Through June 12. La Cage Aux Follies East West Players, May 12-14, 8 p.m. and May 15, 2 p.m.: Tim Dang, in his final season running the topnotch Asian-American theater company, helms the season-closing musical take on drag queens, family and the French Riviera. Not only was it the inspiration for The Birdcage, so too has La Cage Aux Follies won a Tony Award. Through June 26. Sleepaway Camp Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com. May 10, 9 p.m.: Feast on this irreverent stand-up comedy cavalcade takes up residence at the Downtown Independent. Steve Paxton: Bound REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. May 11-13, 8:30 p.m.: Choreography titan Steve Paxton returns with a revival of his celebrated 1982 work Bound.

May 9, 2016

CLASSICAL MUSIC TUESDAY, MAY 10 Chamber Music for Brass Walt Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. 8 p.m.: As advertised, the emphasis for this short-staffed evolution in classical musicianship falls on brass or “them metal, songy things” as your Nevada cousin refers to the set of instruments. WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 Philharmonia Baroque: Handel & Part Walt Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. 8 p.m.: For three decades now, Nicholas McGegan has conducted and directed Philharmonia Baroque. To celebrate, his musical children have enlisted countertenor Andreas Scholl and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter to slam through a bit of Handel. Everyone likes Otters. THURSDAY, MAY 12 Camerata Pacifica Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu. 8 p.m.: A very fine chamber orchestra takes on a bevy of compositions including Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence.” FRIDAY, MAY 13 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival: Bloch 8 p.m.: Leonard Slatkin and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum join the L.A. Phil for Bloch’s “Schelomo” and Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique.” SATURDAY, MAY 14 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival: Elgar

Downtown News 25

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM Walt Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. 8 p.m.: Truls Mark steps in on the middle-gauge four string to help Slatkin and co. power through Rossini and Berlioz as well as Elgar’s “Cello Concerto.” Spring Choral Concert Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu. 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.: Seven groups from the Colburn School make good on what they’ve learned this year with some singing that is likely better than anything on KISS FM. Korean American Youth Symphony Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu. 7 p.m.: As if conjuring the Korean Air tower from the bowels of Wilshire Boulevard, these lads and lasses close out their 10th season. SUNDAY, MAY 15 Le Salon de Musiques Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (310) 498-0257 or lesalondemusiques.com. 4 p.m.: This intimate chamber music performance highlights the work of Maurice Ravel. Supple minds will delight in an accompanying lecture on Senor Ravel. Dry livers will rejoice at the steady flow of champagne. Piatigorsky International Cello Festival: Concertos III Walt Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. 2 p.m.: Martinu, Berlioz and Rossini. Three names of famous dead composers whose work will be played tonight via the impressive cello-ship of Sol Gabetta. Those who guessed “Who are three people who’ve never been in my kitchen?” are incorrect.

Piatigorsky International Cello Festival: YoYo Ma and Kathryn Stott Walt Disney Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. 7:30 p.m.: Stott and Ma do a dastardly tandem that will leave you glued to your seat. Maybe not glued, but darn close.

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