 Photo via Village Tavern Instagram Atwater Village is about to get a new bar/restaurant on Glendale Boulevard! The Village Tavern, opening hopefully very soon, will focus on craft beer and good food, and we are pretty darn excited!
Construction on the 1,774 square foot retail storefront started in May last year, and included an entire renovation of the former String Surgeon, which was part of the Racket Doctor next door. Owner Maurice Rodriguez had a decent challenge turning the space from a retail joint to a restaurant, and included re-zoning the space for a kitchen and full liquor license. They built benches along one side and a bar made of reclaimed wood on the other, and new plumbing, electrical and mechanical was also needed.
 Before and after  12 taps at the Village Tavern In the kitchen is Chef Marcel of Stop, Guac n’ Roll created a unique Mexican/BBQ fusion menu. In addition to rotating 12 taps dedicated to local and California craft beers (including Golden Road and Eagle Rock Brewery), a selection of bottles and cans will be available.
Maurice, who is a 33-year resident of Atwater Village, also brought in local artists to create two murals: One dedicated to the Red Car trolleys created by Devon Paulson, the other on the front patio a collaboration by Steven Melgar, Jorge Ruano, and Eyeone.
“I’m really excited about the direction Atwater is headed with lots of new shops popping up on the Boulevard bringing lots of excitement to my neighborhood,” Maurice said in an email, “I hope that Village Tavern will be a different and exciting new restaurant/bar experience on the Boulevard.”
Now that all the heavy lifting is about finished up, they are completing the final touches and are hoping to open in early May.
The Village Tavern accommodates 50 indoor seats and a 310 square foot outdoor patio with 22 seats, and is licensed from 11:30 am to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 am to 2:00 am Friday and Saturday.
The new Village Tavern is located at 3216 Glendale Boulevard.
You may have heard… Atwater Village is getting a beer festival!
It’s a great idea, especially with all the popular craft beer locations popping up in Atwater Village and the area, including Link N Hops just last year, The Morrison, and The Village Tavern (opening soon).
This is the first year for the Atwater Village Beer, Wine & Food Festival, but certainly not the last – Andy Hasroun, who owns 55 Degree Wine and Link N Hops in Atwater Village, will be holding the festival annually. Based in the parking lot of his two businesses, the festival will have a wine and beer garden for those 21 and overs where you can sample over a dozen local and West Coast craft beers (like Eagle Rock Brewery, Tap It, Firestone, Golden Road) and a selection of wines.
Food trucks including CoolHaus, Sam Choy’s, Munchie Machine, Me So Hungry, and Gourmet Genie (plus more) will be parked out front alongside Glendale Boulevard. DJ Poet and Delta Force from the Black Eyed Peas will be one of the performers on stage as well.
Advance tickets (food sold separately) are $30 regular admission (12 tastings), $40 for VIP tickets (24 tastings + extras), and $15 for designated driver (includes soda and sausage sandwich). Prices go up the day of, so they recommend buying your tickets in advance. Additionally, VIP tickets are running out!
The event is also sponsored by the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce.
We are very excited to attend – see you there!
Atwater Village Beer, Wine & Food Festival
April 28 from 1-6:00 pm
AtwaterVillageFestival.com
Click here for tickets
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The small, skinny space nestled between Kaldi Coffee and Atwater Grill on Glendale Boulevard has been recently going through a transformation from an Optometrist’s office to a brand new, organic cold-pressed juice bar.
Simply (and aptly) called “The Juice,” owners Melissa Cronkhite and Elizabeth Halpern have partnered up to completely renovate the space down to the studs. Hoping to open within the next month or so, the duo are “very excited to be part of the Atwater community.”
In addition to 12 daily menu offerings and daily specials of cold-pressed juice, they are also offering a variety of smoothies using vegan ice cream (like frozen banana and raw almonds) or as scoops. The juice menu includes offerings from the simple Carrot and Coconut, to bright greens like Apple, Celery, Kale, Romaine, Parsley, Lemon and Ginger, and Cucumber, Kale, Romaine, Parsley and Lemon. On a hot day, we’d recommend trying the Pineapple, Parsley and Mint (one recipe we often do at home!). You can also purchase 16 oz or 32 oz of fresh coconut or almond milk.
Pricing is not bad although not cheap – $8 will get you a 16 oz. juice, but it is organic, and cold-pressed juices are incredibly flavorful and healthy. If you’re breaking a sweat down at Heartbeat House just a couple of doors down, this will definitely be a great option for those looking to finish off a workout with something nutritious!
Additionally, all fruit and vegetable scraps will be going to L.A. Compost and Enrich LA to be turned into composted used for gardening projects across Los Angeles.
Welcome to the neighborhood! The Juice will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, seven days a week. They are located at 3145 Glendale Blvd.
The Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Candidate Forum for the upcoming City Council District 13 election on Wednesday, January 30, 2013.
The forum is intended to introduce candidates to Atwater Village, which is part of CD 13, and provide an opportunity for residents to ask questions. CD 13 is a huge district that covers Atwater Village, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Hollywood and more, and the person elected will be dealing with issues like public safety, infrastructure, traffic, jobs, etc.
The Chamber of Commerce is asking for stakeholders to submit questions for the candidates, which will be selected prior to the event.
To submit your questions, click here.
See you there!
CANDIDATE FORUM
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 – 6pm
Atwater Ave Elementary – Auditorium 3271
3271 Silver Lake Blvd.
ELECTION DAY
Primary Nominating Election Tuesday, March 5, 2013
For more information or questions about the Candidate Forum, email board@atwaterchamber.org or call 818.732.1413
 The annual Curbed Cup is back – an online competition where the website Curbed LA pegs eight neighborhoods against each other, competing for LA’s best neighborhood by vote. Atwater Village is in the first round of competition, and is up against heavy hitter Santa Monica.
While Santa Monica is a pretty big city compared to our little ol’ neighborhood, we’re confident Atwater Village will at least progress to the next round – right?
Here’s how Curbed LA describes the neighborhood:
Quiet little Atwater Village is like that duck looking all chill as he glides along the water (but not the LA River) with his legs churning wildly underneath–sure, it seems like just a good ‘hood for Sunday brunch, but there’s always some kind of action when you go looking for it. This was a very parks and parking year: the city created the Atwater Village Pedestrian Oriented District, which allows reduced parking along Glendale Boulevard, the North Atwater Park opening signaled the beginning of the LA River’s big comeback, the park under the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge broke ground(technically Silver Lake, but we’re calling it for Atwater), and even the bridge itself is getting an overhaul. Meanwhile, rents are getting up into the Silver Lake zone, actor Giovanni Ribisi moved in, and there were a handful of trendyrestaurant openings
Click here to vote. Atwater Village is currently winning with 61% of the votes, so keep it going!
We’ll be taking photos at the annual Atwater Village Tree Lighting Ceremony tomorrow night, Thursday, December 6, and we hope to see you there!
If you’ve been to the local Griffith Station Post Office to drop off your mail the last few months, you may be in a parking lot battle that rivals any LA area Trader Joe’s.
Yet it wasn’t always like that – the post office now offers only ten parking spots after budget cuts over this summer eliminated its lease of an adjacent parking lot. Those 20 extra parking space, which was up for sale in July, are collecting dead leaves behind a fence, completely unused.
The Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce is fed up with the traffic and safety issues the lack of parking has caused, which during the busy times of the day at the Post Office causes issues on Glendale Boulevard. In a letter to Councilmember Eric Garcetti, the Chamber expresses these concerns:
The parking lot is often in a state of anarchy, with cars stopped in the red zone by the mailboxes and cars piled up on Glendale… sometimes four deep… waiting to make a right into the lot. Adding to the anarchy frustrated postal customers often idle their cars in a live lane on Glendale Blvd to post a letter. In addition, pedestrians are often caught is the crosshairs as they try to cross the Blvd to Revere St.
Something needs to be done now to address this important safety issue. The Chamber urges the immediate posting of a Traffic Enforcement Officer on site to help direct traffic and cite offenders as needed; and for the long term we urge working with the Postal Service to find a long-term solution.
Do long lines both inside and outside the local post office keep you from going there?
Noticeably absent from the curvy bar inside the new Bon Vivant Market is, well, alcohol! The Glendale Boulevard restaurant has applied for a full liquor license, a topic which the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council will be taking up tomorrow night, Thursday, September 13 at 7:00 pm.
The Neighborhood Council’s Board of Directors will act on an advisory level when it comes to recommending Bon Vivant’s liquor license approval to the city.
Also on the agenda, a presentation from the High Speed Rail Authority, as well as electing committee members such as the Fall Festival and Tree Lighting chairs. The meeting takes place at at Christ’s Church of Griffith Park at 3852 Edenhurst Avenue.
The Atwater Village Neighborhood Council elections take place on Saturday, October 6, 2012, and all of the candidates for the Atwater Village seats have been posted on the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment website.
There are some familiar faces running for these seats, but a Candidate Forum this weekend is the perfect chance to get to know everyone and their platforms. Light refreshments will be served.
The forum takes place on Saturday, September 15 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Christ’s Church of Griffith Park – 3852 Edenhurst Avenue.
Click here for the Facebook invite.
 Image via Atwater Village News About a year and a half ago, a Pat & Oscar’s shut its doors for good in that big Costco shopping center along the Los Feliz Boulevard part of Atwater Village. In just a few days, the new Souplantation will open its doors after months of construction.
While the official grand opening will be on Monday, September 17, 2012, the restaurant chain will hold a “Pre Opening Fundraiser” benefiting the Glendale Arts. The all-you-can-eat restaurant will open on Friday, September 14 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm, and Saturday, September 15 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. With a $5.00 donation you can try out Souplantation, and 100% of the proceeds will go to the organization.
Oddly, these companies keep calling these its “Glendale” location. Pat & Oscars (pictured), thanks Glendale on its closing announcement. And the Souplantation’s Facebook announcement sparked a debate as to whether the location should be called Glendale versus Atwater Village. The company seems to have conceded to the latter.
Souplantation is located at 2901 Los Feliz Blvd.
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