Happenings around DTLA
1. SPBID’s Sounds of South Park is back
The South Park Business Improvement District (SPBID) is beginning its Sounds of South Park, a monthly series. The first event takes place on Thursday, June 8 at Prank Bar from 5-7 pm. The featured artist is “EL ABURR,” a singer, song writer, and recording artist that resides in Los Angeles. According to his website, “He writes from a perspective of cultural blends. Combining elements of Latin genres such as bolero, cumbia, and salsa and mixing them with elements of jazz, funk, and pop. His raspy yet crooner style vocals can fit within any soft ballad, or he can bring out the power in his voice with any pop hit.”
2. Baar Baar Indian Restaurant is now open
The popular New York based high end Indian style cuisine opened early May at the former Faith & Flower space at 905 W 9th Street.
3. Nickel Diner shutters after 15 years
A local DTLA favorite since 2008 officially closed on May 28th. Monica and Kris embarked on an incredible journey and will surely be missed.
A portion of a personal message from the 2 wonderful women who owned Nickel Diner was posted on their website - “We’ve stood strong and battled many things over the past few years. However, the margin for error is not as generous as it once was. Rising costs, a crowded food scene, the changing nature of downtown, have created challenges to keeping our doors open. Our restaurant model is unsustainable in these modern times. We are proud of what we’ve accomplished – with our customers, our loyal staff of over 10 years, and especially the DTLA community. We will continue to focus on feeding our food insecure neighbors – they’re the ones we worry about the most. We know we’re going to leave a little hole in the fabric of downtown and a big hold in our hearts missing all the wonderful folks we have fed for so many years.”
4. Garfield Building sold
The historic art deco styled Garfield Building at 402 W 8th Street, designed by Claud Beelman with original construction completed in 1929 has been sold. According to la.urbanize.city, The 12-story structure was sold to a Northern California investor for $19 million. The property has been vacant since 1991.
By Debra Shrout