Food & Drink
It will eventually expand to lunch service with signature bowls of ramen and hand rolls served all day and shareable Japanese-influenced comfort dishes like grilled skewers, tempura, chicken kaarage, and gyoza in the evenings.
Interior designer Jared Frank dreamed up the dining room’s industrial walls with sage green touches, red accents, custom tiles and banquettes, modern sconces, and hanging lights that conjure a midcentury feel.
Since opening in 2021, BLVD MRKT has shined a light on newer culinary talent in a historic Latino neighborhood; the food hall employs an incubator program where restaurants rotate in and out of the space.
After signing the lease in May, Vaughan-Ruiz and Richard fully gutted the room, refinished the original bar top, and then installed walnut columns and tabletops to emphasize the nearly 100-year-old building’s legacy.
Chef Eric Campbell opened Barbara Gene’s Soul Food Cafe in late August selling smoky meats with a style that combines his Texas and Southern California roots on a spacious outdoor patio.
AB 1775 remedies two main problems faced by existing cannabis lounges: preparing hot food and nonalcoholic drinks on-site, and hosting live performances.
“Opening on the corner of Sunset and Highland, across the street from Hollywood High School, adjacent to a Chick-fil-A, a couple 100 yards from an In-N-Out, [and inside] a former McDonald’s building is about as emblematic as you can get of our aspiration to be the future of quick-service restaurants,” Hooper told Eater in 2023.
Both companies recruited Scratch Restaurant Group veteran chef and Los Angeles native Carlos Couts, who developed a menu of traditional Japanese dishes that employ a casual yet adventurous approach.
The all-day spot blends Latino and Asian flavors, with a morning menu of coffee, various bowls, and sandwiches before transitioning to snackier dishes and natural wines in the evening.