Tag Archive for: craft beer

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Opening Day and more Dodgers news

The new Dodgers season is upon us!

For Echo Parkians, however, baseball season is bittersweet. It’s GREAT to be able to walk to the games and we love being Dodgers fan, but the traffic and the noise and fighting for a seat at the sports bars before the game…. Well, it can get a little hectic.

Opening Day

Opening Day is the worst. So prepare yourself. On Monday, April 1 the Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants once again. Here are some details for opening day:

  • Pregame ceremony starts at 12:10 pm and will include a one minute fireworks display at 1:00 pm
  • Parking gates and stadium gates will open at 10:00 am
  • Street closures are as follows: Scott Avenue between Stadium Way & North Boylston Street; North Boylston between Academy & Stadium Way; Lilac Terrace between Stadium Way & Lookout to Stadium
  • The a-frame signs (“Local Access Only”) will be placed throughout the neighborhood
  • Early LADOT staffing at Sunset/Elysian Park & Academy/Golden State Gate C areas
  • Police officers will be monitoring all activity with a zero tolerance policy in mind
  • Scott Avenue gate will be open on opening day, but for exit traffic only

Report any non-emergency security concerns to our Neighborhood Focus line at (323) 224-2636.

Stadium Renovations

There have been a lot of changes at the Stadium, including installation of a sophisticated wi-fi network (YES!), a new clubhouse, and new “amenities” on all levels (we think that means restrooms).

All the renovations will debut at tonight’s Exhibition Game versus the Angels, which starts at 7:10 pm.

Craft Beer!

Admittedly the most exciting rumor circulating around Twitter isn’t the renovated restrooms (although that’s awesome). It’s the BEER! Word is Golden Road Brewing will be on tap, finally introducing craft beer to the craft services at the stadium (by the way, Shock Top is not craft beer).

With the growing craft brewery scene in Los Angeles, we hope this is just a starting point for Dodger Stadium to start supporting local craft beer. We’ll toast to that!

This should be an exciting year – with all the roster changes, fans are hoping this will be a winning year and the high ticket sales are reflecting just that. See you at the stadium!

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Echo Park live/work building future home vegetarian restaurant

It’s been almost a year since Echo 1030 opened its doors for leasing its 20 loft-style, LEED Certified units, and now it looks like the retail/commercial space on the first floor is getting a new resident.

According to Eater LA, the eco-friendly building located at 1030 Alvarado is the future home of an unnamed vegetarian restaurant run by DJ Goura Chandra and Raffi Roumdikian of Seven Bar. Opening hopefully early next year, the restaurant joins nearby vegan restaurant Elf Cafe and newly opened Mohawk Bend. The Eater LA article describes what the new restaurant will have to offer:

Chandra, who has been a lifelong vegetarian, says that dishes served at the unnamed restaurant are based on “all my crazy and tasty food creations,” and while he will definitely oversee foodstuffs, he will most likely not serve as the day to day chef. In addition to a conventional dining room and lounge, the restaurant will also encompass a to-go counter selling wraps, sandwiches, and salads “in our mini Whole Foods-type convinience store which will be a part of the restraunt (no dividing walls).”

And because vegetarians do like to drink, expect plenty of booze. For the most part, the alcohol program centers around micro-brews and boutique wines, but cocktails will be available as well. Chandra says that he’s a big fan of craft beers and has a big hop craving 🙂 (his smiley face, not ours). For both food and drink, he plans to source locally and seasonally. Right now the space is raw and a full build-out is to come. Oh, and because Chandra hails from a music background, he intends on lining up DJs to play “cutting edge alternative music” in the restaurant’s lounge area.

The question is… can we have this many craft beer joints in Echo Park? Between Sunset Beer, Mohawk Bend, Red Hill (upcoming), El Prado, and the many restaurants with their own great beers on tap – my wallet might suffer. Echo Park is certainly becoming a hub for craft beers and restaurants!

 

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Sunset Beer opening in Echo Park

Good news! Echo Park is getting a new beer store early next year! John Nugent and wife Jennifer, along with partners Jenna Miller-Vonah and Andrew Vonah (also investors in Eagle Rock Brewery) are opening up Sunset Beer Company in Echo Park, which will stock bottled beer for sale, as will as sport a tasting room as well (pending a liquor license approval).

The new space is located in a mini-mall along the 1400 block of Sunset Blvd, taking over the approximation 2,000 square foot ladies gym space next to Beauty Box. Nugent told us to expect everything from Unibroue Blanche de Chambly (a Belgian-style white ale from Canada) for $2.50, all the way to the fancy schmancy (and $22 a bottle) Russian River Consecration for those special occasions.

“California craft brews and Belgians are covered really well in Los Angeles and beyond,” said Nugent,” but we feel there is a gap in the market to carry obscure beers from all over the United States. The amount of new, upstart breweries from the Midwest and Southeast alone popping up at craft beer festivals is hard to keep up with. That’s exciting to us.”

So why did they choose Echo Park? Nugent and his wife have always wanted to open another wine or similar store in Echo Park – they have many friends in the neighborhood, and they couldn’t pass up the chance at this location. They plan having the “best” craft beer selection in Los Angeles, not necessarily the largest, because “our priority is quality over quantity.” They also want to make sure a majority of that beer is available in the cold coolers, so it will be ready to go.

An article on The Eastsider LA sparked some debate between some residents about introducing another alcohol establishment to Echo Park (arguments similar to those made against Tony Yanow’s new bar/restaurant at the old El Camino theater) – arguing that the establishment will increase those “rowdy drunks” in the neighborhood. Nugent responded to some of the comments, saying: “I will say that after almost six years of selling wine/beer/sake to-go and in-house in Eagle Rock from our wine store, Colorado Wine Company, we have never had an issue with our neighbors regarding excess noise or rowdy drunks.”

Nugent and partners plan on attending community meetings like the neighborhood council soon, so feel free to share your support (or opposition) by attending one of these meetings and get to know the people behind the concept.

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