••• PopUp Bagels is opening in the former Blaze Pizza space (3925 State Street) at the Five Points Shopping Center, reports Restaurant Guy. The chain currently has 23 locations nationwide; there’s more on PopUp Bagels in this 2022 New York Times article, which calls the bagels “smaller, airier and crisper” than a normal bagel, with a texture “somewhat like that of a baguette.” The NYT subsequently named the bagels among the city’s best.
••• Acme Hospitality will soon have an L.A. restaurant in its portfolio: Picala, in “the innovative Cumulus District, located between Culver City and West Adams, with doors set to open in late March 2026.” The food will be Spanish. As for Cumulus, it’s more of a giant development than a neighborhood: “Home to ARQ, a 31-story high-rise, and VOX, a lively [?] 7-story mid-rise, it blends modern living with more than 50,000 square feet of shopping, dining, fitness, and entertainment. At its heart is Zócalo, an inviting park and gathering space.”
••• I hear that a) the redevelopment of 113-117 W. De La Guerra—current home of Elsie’s Tavern and former home of The Green Table—is no longer happening, and b) the 113 W. De La Guerra storefront, where The Green Table’s kitchen was, will showcase restaurant pop-ups.
••• Michael Tusk of San Francisco’s Cotogna, one of those restaurants that everyone loves (and is now hard to get into at dinner), will be cooking at El Encanto on March 21. No word yet on how to reserve a spot. And anyone interested in visits by notable chefs should join Companion Hospitality‘s mailing list—lots of interesting collabs are in the pipeline (at Bell’s, Bar Le Côte, etc.).
••• Something called Reframe Bistro is opening at 535 W. El Roblar Drive in the Meiners Oaks area of Ojai.
••• Apples to Zucchini Cooking School is moving to the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara (at Constance Avenue and State Street).
••• The crackdown on street kitchens is going great! (I hesitated to mention this because someone will probably call me anti-immigrant, and I’m not. But if health regulations are important for brick-and-mortar restaurants, they’re important for street kitchens, too. To look the other way is unfair to the businesses forced to follow the rules.)
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