APRIL 5TH, 2024

FRIDAY

FRIDAY’S VIBES

🥳 WE. MADE. IT.
HAPPY FRIDAY, CUTIE. 👋 

🚀 TRENDING 

🐇*indicates political in-the-know w/o political opinions
💌 indicates sent from a curator, free to submit!
ℹ️*indicates information with no link/content

⚡️THE HOV LANE

EATS

😋 LOCAL HEADLINES

• 🧔‍♂️ 2024 JAMES BEARD AWARD FINALISTS: The 2024 James Beard Award finalists were announced, and the Los Angeles area received several notable nominations. Chef Lord Maynard Llera of Kuya Lord, a Filipino barbecue restaurant in Melrose Hill, is a finalist for Best Chef: California. Gusto Bread, an artisanal bakery in Long Beach, is a finalist for Outstanding Bakery. Additionally, Strong Water Anaheim in Anaheim was nominated for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. The James Beard Foundation, established over thirty years ago, presents these prestigious awards to celebrate and elevate the people behind America's food culture. In 2023, Los Angeles saw three winners: Margarita Manzke for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, Anajak Thai's Justin Pichetrungsi for Best Chef: West, and Ototo for Outstanding Wine or Other Beverages. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago on June 10th.

• 🍷 AUGUSTINE WINE BAR: Augustine Wine Bar in Sherman Oaks is finally starting to rebuild after being destroyed in a fire last May. The beloved neighborhood wine bar, known for serving some of the rarest and oldest vintages from around the world by the glass at reasonable prices, as well as offering dishes like fourteen-day dry-aged strip steak, has received the necessary permits from the city to begin the rebuilding process. According to a post on the restaurant's Instagram, the owner David Gibbs says ‘It's been a long time coming, but it is indeed a lovely day: the city has approved our plans, permits have been issued, and at 7am we started rebuilding. There is still a long, long way to go, but at least we're moving now. And that's a pretty great feeling.’ Gibbs, a musician and lifelong wine collector, also co-owns other establishments like Sushi Note, Mirabelle Wine Bar, Augustine Wine Car and Syd Norman's Pour House. However, it remains uncertain when Augustine Wine Bar will officially reopen its doors.

• 😋 REMINDER: MASTERS OF TASTE: A reminder that the seventh annual Masters of Taste will take place this Sunday at the Rose Bowl. This delicious event features over one-hundred culinary masters, restaurants, sweet masters, beverage masters, wineries, and craft breweries. The festival will directly benefit Union Station Homeless Services, a non-profit organization that has provided homeless services and housing for over fifty years. Hosts of the event are Chef Bret Thompson and Lucy Thompson-Ramirez, a husband and wife team who recently opened a new upscale seafood restaurant called Pez Coastal Kitchen in Pasadena. Tickets are going fast.

 🚀 LOCAL OPENINGS

• 🥥 VENICE: A new tropical-themed grille is heading to Venice’s Washington Square. To be located at the former location of the Venice Pier Restaurant, Nalu Vida Bar & Grille, will incorporate elements of Polynesian and Central American culture, with a menu of curations like Piña Colada Calamari, Caribbean Shrimp, and a Fried Adobo Chicken Sandwich. The bar will also feature tiki-style + shaved ice cocktails with tropical color interiors and live musical performances on the weekend. This new Venice venture is a collaboration between the President of Venice Duck Brewery + CEO of Casa Rica Tequila. Though a definite date on an opening date has not yet been announced, one is expected soon.  | 💻️ View Website | 📸 @naluvidavenice

• 🌯 GRAIN LAB’S REOPENING: Grain Lab, a beloved family-run restaurant that had been a staple in Burbank for over a decade, is making a triumphant return, this time on the bustling West Side of LA. After a brief hiatus, the restaurant has undergone a transformation, transitioning to a ghost kitchen located off Pico and Sepulveda Blvd, housed in CloudKitchens' Westside Eats building. Grain Lab's comeback menu features a California casual menu with an Asian twist, offering an array of bowls, salads, and burritos, all crafted with fresh ingredients. | 💻️ View Menu Online | 📸 @grainlab

• 🎡 SANTA MONICA: The Coco Club is a new rooftop lounge that has opened last night in Santa Monica, taking over the former space of the Onyx bar. Located atop the Beacon by Sonder Hotel, the Coco Club offers sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and features a tropical-inspired cocktail menu designed by veteran bartender Dushan Zaric. The space has undergone a design refresh, trading in the previous Onyx's black pleather sectionals for lighter blue sofas and a cheery orange-and-white checkered floor. The outdoor terrace and lounge area now includes artisan-crafted rattan stools along the balcony railings, perfect for taking in the sunset and watching the nearby Pacific Park Ferris wheel light up at night. | 💻️ View Website | 📸 @thecocorooftop

🍟BIG BRANDS

• 🥪 ARBY’S: Arby's is offering a Free Sandwich Month promotion in this month where Arby's Rewards members can receive four free sandwiches with purchase throughout April. The promotion is aimed at both longtime Arby's fans and skeptics, with the goal of converting skeptics into fans by allowing them to try Arby's sandwiches for free. Arby's Chief Marketing Officer Ellen Rose stated that the promotion is Arby's biggest rewards promotion to date and an opportunity for skeptics to try Arby's menu items they've been curious about. The promotion includes classic Arby's roast beef sandwiches as well as other menu items like the Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich, Chicken Bacon Swiss Sandwich, and Greek Gyro.

• 🍩 KRISPY KREME: Krispy Kreme is introducing a limited-time Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut to celebrate the upcoming total solar eclipse. The doughnut is an Original Glazed doughnut dipped in black chocolate icing, adorned with silver sprinkles, piped with a buttercream made with OREO cookie pieces, and has a whole OREO cookie in the center. The doughnut will be available from today through Monday, and can be purchased individually or as part of a specialty dozen featuring six Total Solar Eclipse doughnuts and six Original Glazed doughnuts. This is the second time Krispy Kreme has created a special doughnut to celebrate a total solar eclipse, having previously released a chocolate glazed doughnut for the 2017 eclipse.

  • RELATED: 7-Eleven, Pizza Hut, MoonPie and others get in on the solar eclipse offerings.

• 🥧 CRUMBL: Crumbl is at it again with a brand new limited-time offer, Key Lime Pie. The new non-cookie dessert will be available beginning April 1st and running at all Crumbl locations through this Saturday. The Key Lime Pie will not replace the fan favorite Key Lime Pie cookie, but simply further expands Crumbl’s vast rotating menu of delicious gourmet desserts beyond cookies. 💌 

EVENTS

 🔥TRENDING 

• ⏰ NOON UPDATES: Updates to both calendars, for today and this weekend, will be placed throughout the day, starting today at noon. Reminder, if you have any events that you would like to include, please add ‘[email protected]’ as a guest and invite us. Or, you can email me directly, [email protected] with all pertinent information. Upon approval (no political events/wonkiness), they will be seen on the calendar.

📆 BIG LIST OF EVENTS

ACTIVITIES

• 🌎️ SANTA MONICA: Branding Los Angeles, a marketing agency, is organizing an Earth Day beach clean-up event in Santa Monica on April 13th. The event aims to bring together community members, volunteers, and the Branding Los Angeles team to remove litter, plastic, and other debris from Santa Monica's Ocean Park Beach. The event will run from 8:00am to 10:30am and include coffee, donuts, and an orientation. This is part of Branding Los Angeles' ongoing efforts to engage the community and give back, which also includes an annual holiday toy drive and fundraising for families affected by the Lahaina fires in Maui.

• 🦒 LA ZOO: The inaugural Sip & Stroll at the Los Angeles Zoo will take place next week Saturday on April 13th. This adults-only tasting adventure will allow guests to wander through the zoo's grounds while sampling specialty cocktails, craft beers, and creative mocktails from over thirty-five beverage partners. The event will also feature food trucks, a paint party, and live entertainment including KCRW DJs, DJ Johnny Hawkes, and the AstroYachts. Guests can enjoy animal viewings until sundown and keeper talks, as well as explore the LAIR reptile and amphibian house until 8:00pm. VIP ticket holders will have early entry and access to an exclusive lounge area with premium drinks and culinary offerings. The event is organized by the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association to support the zoo's mission of saving species and enriching communities to nature.

• 🥮 PALISADES BRANCH SOLAR ECLIPSE: The Palisades Branch Library will be hosting a viewing event for the upcoming solar eclipse this Monday. The maximum eclipse will occur around 11:12am local time in our area. For those of us in the LA-area during the solar eclipse, we can expect to see around 58% of totality. The library will be offering a limited number of eclipse glasses on-site. In addition, the library is also streaming the NASA feed from areas where the eclipse will be visible at 100%. Attendees are encouraged to come early and enjoy some snacks generously provided by the Friends of the Library.

• 🏳️‍🌈 WEHO GETS POETIC: West Hollywood is celebrating National Poetry Month in April with a variety of events and initiatives. The city issued a commemorative proclamation on April 1st, which was presented to the West Hollywood City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng during a City Council meeting. Throughout this month, the city will pay tribute to living poets by showcasing selections of their work on street pole banners along Santa Monica Boulevard, with this year's honorees being Shonda Buchanan and Mariano Zaro. Additionally, the city has scheduled several events to engage the community in celebrating poetry, including a book release party, a Poetry Spa event, and the WeHo Reads literary series featuring a diverse lineup of poets and authors.

COMMUNITY

• 🌨️ SNOW + SHOWERS: A spring storm is expected to bring chilly temperatures and a fresh blanket of snow to the mountains of our area, now until tonight. The storm system is forecasted to bring the chance of thunderstorms, gusty winds, and hail, as well as cooler temperatures that are ten to twenty degrees below normal for this time of year. The cold air associated with the storm will limit the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, resulting in relatively low rain totals of around half an inch in most areas. The storm has the potential to bring snow into our region, with snow levels dropping to 3,000 feet and potentially creating treacherous conditions through the mountain passes. A winter storm warning and winter weather advisory are currently in effect until this evening for the mountains, and elevations above 3,000 feet may experience significant snowfall.

• 🚧 134 FREEWAY CONSTRUCTION POSTPONED: The California Department of Transportation has postponed this weekend’s closure of the 134 Freeway in LA County. The closure has now been tentatively rescheduled for the weekend of April 19th. The planned closures were/are intended to allow construction crews to install a new drainage system under the freeway, which will require closure of multiple lanes and ramps on the eastbound side of the roadway. Caltrans did not provide a specific reason for canceling this weekend’s planned closure, but officials had previously stated that the work would be weather-dependent. ℹ️

• 👩 NEW MAYOR IN GLENDALE: Elen Asatryan has been selected as the new mayor of Glendale, California. She is the first Armenian American woman to serve on the Glendale City Council and is also the first immigrant woman and the youngest woman to serve as mayor. Asatryan was born and raised in Glendale and graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science. 🐇

• ✈️ NON-STOP BUDGET TO VEGAS: Avelo Airlines is launching a new nonstop service between Burbank and Las Vegas starting on May 3rd. The budget airline is offering promotional one-way tickets starting at $57, inclusive of all taxes and fees, for travel booked by April 10th and completed by July 31st. This new route will be the fourteenth destination reachable from Hollywood Burbank Airport, and Avelo is looking to quickly expand its network from this Southern California hub.

• ♻️ PASADENA: The City of Pasadena is hosting a free e-waste recycling event on Saturday, April 13th from 9:00am to 3:00pm in Parking Lot I outside the Rose Bowl Stadium near Brookside Park. Residents can safely dispose of a wide range of electronic items including computers, televisions, printers, and more. The event also provides free paper shredding services to help prevent identity theft. To maintain safety, only cars may enter the event - no walk-ups are allowed. The event is sponsored by the City's Department of Public Works.

• 💸 $500,000 GETTY PRIZE: The $500,000 Getty Prize has been awarded to the Arts for Healing and Justice Network (AHJN), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that works with youth that are underserved. The prize was chosen by this year's Getty Prize winner, artist Mark Bradford, who praised AHJN's efforts to directly impact change within the juvenile justice system’ through the power of arts education. AHJN, formerly called the Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network, was founded in 2012 and seeks to provide alternatives to incarceration, build resilience and wellness, increase community health, eliminate recidivism, and center arts as a change strategy for young people. The organization utilizes a collaborative model that aims to ensure a steady flow of interdisciplinary support and engagement for local children and teens, with twenty-member agencies providing high-quality arts education including creative writing, spoken word, visual arts, theater, digital media, dance, and music.

DEVELOPMENT

• 🏡 SOUTH PARK: A new affordable housing project is under construction on South Main Street in South Park. The project, named RHEA, is being developed by Eleos and will consist of a four-story building with fifty-three one-bedroom apartments reserved for low-income and extremely low-income households.The project site is an L-shaped property spanning 6,168 square feet. The building will feature a small parking lot, a recreation room, and a roof terrace as on-site amenities. The project has obtained Transit Oriented Communities incentives, allowing for increased height, reduced open space requirements, and additional density beyond zoning limits. Though under construction, the exact market availability of the units has not yet been announced.

• 🎞️ STUDIO CITY: The Los Angeles City Council approved plans for a mixed-use redevelopment project at the Sportsmen's Lodge site in Studio City on Wednesday. The project, known as the Residences at Sportsmen's Lodge, will demolish the existing 190-room hotel built in the 1960s and replace it with a 520-unit apartment complex, including 78-units designated for very low-income tenants. The development will also include approximately 46,000 square feet of commercial space.

• 📺️ MID-WILSHIRE: Hackman Capital Partners has unveiled an updated plan for the redevelopment of the landmark Television City campus in along Fairfax and Beverly Boulevard. The revised proposal, designed by Foster + Partners, reduces the total amount of office space by 150,000 square feet by removing one of two planned 15-story towers. This change, along with revised transportation plans, is expected to reduce the number of daily car trips generated by the project. The updated plan also softens the complex's appearance around the perimeter, trading out fencing for landscaping, trees, and buildings with habitable spaces, including commercial uses along Fairfax and Beverly. Additionally, the new design shortens perimeter-facing buildings while maintaining views of the historic Television City buildings where iconic shows have been filmed.

• 🏡 STUDIO CITY: REDA Residential, a subsidiary of Real Estate Development Associates, has purchased the 68,000-square-foot Fox Hills Plaza in Culver City for $49 million. The firm plans to redevelop the seven-acre shopping center site into hundreds of residential units. The property was previously owned by Bristol Parkway Propco, which had acquired it in 2022 for $56 million with the intention of redeveloping it. However, those plans did not come to fruition. The $49 million sale price works out to $721 per square foot, or $7 million per acre. REDA Residential, along with an undisclosed private family office investor, purchased the site located near the 405 Freeway and across from the Westfield Culver City Mall.

• 👟 HOLLYWOOD: Puma, the German sportswear giant, announced that it will open a new creative space called Puma Studio in the Hollywood area in early 2025. The purpose of this new facility is to bring Puma's product, design, and marketing teams closer to the most influential communities and celebrities in order to inspire products and campaigns for the strategically important U.S. market. In addition to the creative workspace, Puma Studio will feature a bespoke space for VIP clients to have exclusive access to upcoming Puma products.

• 🏡 ARTESIA: City Ventures (HQ: Irvine), a builder of eco-forward, solar, all-electric homes, will break ground on a new live/work townhome redevelopment project called Eginhouse in Artesia, which is located roughly twenty miles south of DTLA. The 4.2-acre property will consist of 59 three-story townhomes, including twenty-two live/work units, plus 4,544 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Currently, Eginhouse is the only redevelopment project located in the northern end of Artesia, and it is situated within the ABC Unified School District, with Cerritos College nearby.

• 🚇️ METRO FUNDING: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is receiving $900 million in federal funding to boost its infrastructure, fund new projects, and improve safety ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The investments will help prepare the city's transportation system for the influx of visitors during the games, as the Olympic organizers have made it clear there will be no-car zones throughout Los Angeles. The funding, which comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law and recent appropriations bill, will be used to complete many Metro projects before the Olympics, with the goal of making public transportation the natural go-to for Angelenos. The hope is that hosting major sporting events like the 2028 Olympics, the 2026 World Cup, and the 2027 Super Bowl will serve as test runs for the vital role Metro will play in moving people around the city.

BUSINESS

• 🛒 DOWNEY: The City of Downey is in negotiations with Costco to bring the wholesale retailer to the area. The former All American Home Center property on Firestone Boulevard is being considered as a potential location for the new Costco store. Former Downey city manager Gilbert Livas is reportedly involved with the project. The city council recently voted to hire Livas as an economic consultant through the end of 2024.

• 🏨 HILTON ACQUISITION: Hilton has acquired a majority controlling interest in Sydell Group, the owner of the NoMad Hotels brand. Los Angeles was recently home to a NoMad hotel before its recent closure in September of 2022. Under the deal, Sydell will be responsible for the design, branding, and management of the NoMad brand, while Hilton will lead the development. Hilton expects to build up to one-hundred NoMad hotels globally over time, with about ten already in advanced stages of discussion with Sydell. The acquisition marks Hilton's entry into the fast-growing luxury interior design and service segment, as the NoMad brand is known for its unique luxury experiences. The NoMad brand will be fully integrated into Hilton's commercial platforms, including the Hilton Honors loyalty program. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. I have reached out to the Hilton Group to identify any plans for NoMad in Los Angeles and will keep everyone posted if/when I hear back.

• 👠 BEVERLY HILLS POP-UP: Tamara Mellon, the co-founder of Jimmy Choo, has opened a new pop-up store in Beverly Hills. The boutique, which opened on Wednesday, is designed to showcase Mellon's spring/summer 2024 shoe collection, featuring a range of classic pumps, wedges, flat sandals, loafers, and block-heeled sandals. Mellon stated that Los Angeles has always been a prime market for the Tamara Mellon brand, and the pop-up store will allow the brand to better service customers in the area. Mellon previously had a retail location in Los Angeles that later closed, and the new pop-up is part of her efforts to utilize brick-and-mortar stores as part of the brand's growth strategy. | 📸@tamaramellon

• 👻 SNAP INC: Snap has announced that its 6th annual Snap Partner Summit will be held on September 17th at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. The event will bring together Snap's community of partners, creators, and developers to share new products and celebrate the Snapchat community. In addition, Snap has announced that its 7th annual Lens Fest event, focused on AR development, will be held on September 18th + 19th, immediately following the Partner Summit. The Partner Summit is expected to focus on Snap's AR development efforts, which remain a key priority for the company.2 The Partner Summit keynote will be livestreamed and available online, and in-person attendees will have the opportunity to participate in interactive demos, workshops, and other activities.

ENTERTAINMENT

 🎬️ HEADLINES

• 📺️ KRISTEN WIIG: Kristen Wiig, the former Saturday Night Live cast member, will be hosting the show this weekend and joining the exclusive Five-Timers Club, a group of elite hosts who have appeared on SNL five times. Some of the other notable members of this club include Christopher Walken, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, and Tina Fey. In the promo for this week's episode (above), Wiig reflects on the milestone with current SNL cast member Bowen Yang and musical guest Raye.

•  👨 JAKE GYLLENHAAL: Amazon MGM Studios has signed a three-year, first-look film deal with Jake Gyllenhaal's production company Nine Stories. The deal gives Amazon MGM Studios the first right of refusal on all narrative feature films produced by Nine Stories, for both theatrical and streaming releases. This deal also comes on the heels of the success of Gyllenhaal's recent film Road House, which has become the most watched original movie debut on Amazon Prime Video with over 50 million global viewers in its first two weeks. Prior to Road House, Gyllenhaal had also collaborated with Amazon MGM on the theatrical release of Guy Ritchie's The Covenant.

• 👅 KISS: Kiss has sold its brand and song catalog for $300 million. The deal includes the rights to the band's name, likeness, merchandising assets, and over one thousand songs from their music catalog. All rights were purchased by Swedish entertainment group Pophouse, who is said to be behind an AI avatar show for KISS, which is scheduled to launch in 2027. The band also has a biopic within the works.

• 🌙 THE TONIGHT SHOW + CONAN: Conan O'Brien, the former host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show, will be a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon next Tuesday to promote his new travel series Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max. This comes fourteen years after O'Brien was controversially ousted from The Tonight Show in 2010 to make way for the return of Jay Leno. Despite the acrimonious circumstances of his departure, O'Brien and Leno no longer speak to each other, though O'Brien has acknowledged there were moments of resentment but also an amazing partnership with NBC in the past. O'Brien's return to The Tonight Show also marks the show's move from LA to New York when Fallon took over as host in 2014.

SPORTS

HAVE A GREAT WKND, LA!