The Broad (Art Museum) Announces Timothy Hollingsworth (formerly of 3 Michelin Star French Laundry Restaurant) as Executive Chef of Its Restaurant (REVISED)

Three announcements are being released by Eli Broad's Grand Avenue art museum this Monday, but  today's LA Times article by Christopher Hawthorne big news is... the kitchen in free standing restaurant in the plaza's park space will have as its executive chef, Timothy Hollingsworth. 

Hollingsworth, formerly of the world renown French Laundry (once called the world's finest restaurant by the New York Times), not only managed to retain the restaurant's existing 3 star Michelin rating (currently one of only eight in the country), but he twice won the US semi-finals for the Bocuse d'Or (the Olympics of cooking) and also tied with one other American for the highest scored received by an American at the finals even before he was made the head chef at the French Laundry.  

The New York Times has more on this aspect of the story:

Mr. Broad has invested in friends’ restaurants over the years, but he is now entering the field in a bigger way: He has formed a joint venture with Bill Chait, the force behind Bestia, Republique and Picca, to develop a restaurant next to the museum.

Other partners in the restaurant are alumni of Thomas Keller restaurants: Rory Herrmann, formerly of Bouchon Beverly Hills, who has signed on as director of culinary operations, and Timothy Hollingsworth, the former head chef of The French Laundry in the Napa Valley, who will serve as executive chef.

While the menu is still being developed, Mr. Hollingsworth described the vision as distinct from the Thomas Keller model. “It’s not going to be an ultrafine dining restaurant or the taco concept I talked about opening up, which I will still do in the future. We’re thinking more about approachable food with familiar flavors,” he said.

Mr. Hollingsworth said there were plans to involve the community directly, by hiring locally and serving subsidized lunches — “healthy, well-cooked meals” — to schoolchildren who visit the museum.

Hollingsworth's appointment as the executive chef (and the selection of Roy Hermann as the director of culinary operations)- despite Hollingsworth's statement they are not aiming for the type of dining experience at the French Laundry - still gives DTLA a chance to have a Michelin rated restaurant - for one reason.  If anyone can design a menu of 'approachable food' worthy of Michelin stars, this is the team that might be able to accomplish that. 
Below is the opening of Hawthorne's article - and the other two announcements.

The leaders of Eli Broad's planned Grand Avenue museum of contemporary art, to be called simply the Broad, will make news in three separate ways on Monday.They will unveil designs for a new plaza adjacent to the museum by architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro and landscape architect Walter Hood. They will name Bill Chait, who runs Bestia in the arts district, to oversee a new restaurant on the plaza with Timothy Hollingsworth, former chef de cuisine at French Laundry in the Napa Valley.And they will announce that the opening of the museum has been pushed back from this fall to an unspecified date next year.

And the rest of Hawthorne's article is here. 

The Next Big Step for Broadway - Jobs & Businesses

Roger Vincent of the Los Angeles Times interviews Councilman Jose Huizar about the overall progress of his Bringing Back Broadway initiative - and the latest planning 'tool' to not just bring business and jobs to the upper floors of Broadway - but to older buildings everywhere in Los Angeles. 

February 6, 2014.

Broadway, the sparkling entertainment district of mid-20th-century Los Angeles, had a long fall.

As residents moved to the suburbs, opulent movie palaces dating to the early days of the film industry closed their doors. Upscale shops were closed, and department stores decamped for newer neighborhoods in the 1970s and 1980s. Businesses catering primarily to Latino immigrants kept the sidewalks active, but most buildings fell empty above the first floor.
Much of downtown has enjoyed a renaissance since 2000. New residences, bars and restaurants have peppered downtown from L.A. Live to Chinatown, but the dream of making Broadway a hot spot again has remained elusive. Now, five years into a Bringing Back Broadway initiative launched by politicians, preservationists and property owners, there are signs of reawakening prosperity.
On the Broadway blocks between 2nd and 12th streets are a growing number of new bars, restaurants and stores. Near Olympic Boulevard, the trendy Ace Hotel just opened in a former office building and movie house, and plans for another boutique hotel a few blocks away were announced in December.
An Urban Outfitters clothing outlet set recently up shop in the former Rialto Theatre. Hip Swedish retailer Acne Studios launched a flagship store in the Art Deco landmark Eastern Columbia building, a former department store turned luxury condominium tower.

And here is the important new reform that is about to be initiated - allowing developers the same type of flexibility for developers to restore old office buildings for offices - and not just residences - as did the first Adaptive Reuse  Ordinance of 1999.  And everything that has happened in the past 15 years has been a result of that first ordinance - champion by Carol Schatz and the Central City Association.  Even the proposing of that ordinance was enough to convince me to leave Malibu and move full time to Downtown. 

In an effort to hasten the recovery and revive still run-down sections of Broadway, city officials in December revamped real estate development guidelines intended to make it easier for landlords to reactivate their old buildings. The policies are intended to help Fire Department and Department of Building and Safety staff members consistently interpret the rules for upgrading old buildings that don't meet modern safety codes.
"We are knocking the dust off of decades of layers of red tape and impossible and conflicting codes that have resulted in our historic buildings on Broadway sitting empty for far too long," said City Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes downtown.
In an interview with The Times, Huizar — chairman of Bringing Back Broadway — talked about new real estate development guidelines that were adopted in December and how Broadway is evolving as downtown Los Angeles gets its mojo back.

You described these new guidelines as the biggest thing downtown since the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance of 1999 that opened the floodgates to renovations of historic buildings. What do you expect their primary benefit to be?
This is the linchpin that will allow for full revitalization of these historic buildings on Broadway where about 1 million square feet on upper floors have been empty for decades. It will be easier and cheaper to put them to use again.
Why did we need more guidelines?
The city was requiring that once buildings were upgraded they must be brought up in full to modern codes, but it wasn't clear which codes would be applied. Owners got different answers from different city staff members. There was a lot of uncertainty and confusion. It was easier for a lot of building owners to simply rely on lease activity on the first floor.
What was the main source of the confusion?
There were conflicts in the codes themselves, the California historic building codes that cities are supposed to interpret and use. Were we to use those codes or modern codes? Then there were different interpretations by different city departments.
Why won't that happen again?
Now people can work with a staff person — a plan checker — dedicated to helping them through the process in Building and Safety and the Fire Department. They'll help people navigate the guidelines. Safety will remain a priority.
Presuming this works, what is Broadway going to look like in five years?
You will see a real mix of activity among people from a mix of backgrounds, including tourists and residents who live on Broadway. There will be creative offices upstairs, new restaurants going up. There's going to be a wide variety of activity.
Some people have expressed fear that gentrification will drive out low-income residents and rob Broadway of some of its more recent ethnic flavor.
Concerns about gentrification were overstated initially. We are opening up historic buildings and floors that haven't been used in decades, not removing people. There will be a change, but we're adding more people and more services.

For the rest of the story with an update on the streetcar and the upcoming trial run of the new streetscaping plan for Broadway - click here.

Why Does an Atlanta Filmmaker & a GQ Reporter from NYC Understand Downtown LA Better Than Writers & Reporters in LA?

Both the January GW Magazine article on Downtown LA by New York raised Brett Martin and the the February debuting film by Atlanta producer Will Packer (read this morning's LA Times article by Richard Vernier) understand and appreciate our unique community  - our own small town in the heart of the big city we have built in Downtown Los Angeles - in ways many local LA writers and reporters - still too blinded by past perceptions  to be able to see.  Here is the opening of Vernier's article:

A movie Valentine to Downtown L.A.

'About Last Night' is among the first films to depict Los Angeles' revitalized business center, showcasing gastropubs, bars and historic spots in a 10-block radius around 6th and Main.

By Richard Verrier

February 5, 2014, 5:00 a.m.

A bustling community of dog parks, gastropubs and historic lofts where people actually walk to work?

That's hardly the typical depiction of Los Angeles, at least in the movies.
Yet that is precisely the unconventional image of L.A. that emerges in the upcoming romantic comedy "About Last Night," a remake of the 1986 film starring Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins that explored the world of dating among four singles.
Though the original movie was based on a David Mamet play set in Chicago, the contemporary remake joins the 2009 film "(500) Days of Summer" as one of the first to depict the revitalized L.A. downtown, which is enjoying a commercial and cultural renaissance fueled by an influx of residents and merchants. The Screen Gems movie, which stars popular comedian Kevin Hart, premieres Feb. 14.

"About Last Night" was shot almost entirely downtown, showcasing such locations as the Santa Fe Lofts, Casey's Irish Pub, Broadway Bar and Cole's. The $13-million movie also was the first to shoot in the new Grand Park.
"L.A. has not been known for its downtown urban life, but there is really a resurgence," said producer Will Packer, who lives in Atlanta and is best known for the 2012 comedy "Think Like a Man." "There are lofts, gastropubs and night life — a real culture here now — so it felt like the right time to showcase that. We wanted the film to be an organic slice of life, like being on a street corner and seeing the way young people interact, drink, party and eat."
The "About Last Night" remake filmed over seven weeks in the fall of 2012. With the exception of Dodger Stadium, the entire movie was shot within a 10-block radius of the corner of 6th and Main streets, where the crew had set up a base camp.

 

That's highly unusual in that most movies film at multiple locations spread miles apart. But selecting locations within one small area enabled producers to keep transportation and other costs down.
"If we couldn't walk to it from 6th and Main, it was out of range," said Brian O'Neill, the film's location manager.
One of the principal locations was the Santa Fe Lofts, where Danny, the lead character played by Michael Ealy, lives. His friend Bernie (played by Hart) lives nearby in the historic Pacific Electric Building.
Filming in one area for several weeks can be risky. The downtown area already is heavily filmed, occasionally prompting complaints from local residents and merchants about disruptions caused by crews.

With that in mind, O'Neill sought to partner with local businesses such as Casey's and Broadway Bar by giving them roles in the film — as themselves.
"I reached out to the local community and approached them with the idea of: 'Do you want to be a partner in this movie? We're going to shoot your property as is,'" O'Neill said.

And the rest of the article is at the below link.:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-et-ct-onlocation-downtown-la-20140205,0,3213674.story#ixzz2sSlhSqcn

By Richard Verrier

February 5, 2014, 5:00 a.m.

A bustling community of dog parks, gastropubs and historic lofts where people actually walk to work?

That's hardly the typical depiction of Los Angeles, at least in the movies.
Yet that is precisely the unconventional image of L.A. that emerges in the upcoming romantic comedy "About Last Night," a remake of the 1986 film starring Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins that explored the world of dating among four singles.
Though the original movie was based on a David Mamet play set in Chicago, the contemporary remake joins the 2009 film "(500) Days of Summer" as one of the first to depict the revitalized L.A. downtown, which is enjoying a commercial and cultural renaissance fueled by an influx of residents and merchants. The Screen Gems movie, which stars popular comedian Kevin Hart, premieres Feb. 14.

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll 

"About Last Night" was shot almost entirely downtown, showcasing such locations as the Santa Fe Lofts, Casey's Irish Pub, Broadway Bar and Cole's. The $13-million movie also was the first to shoot in the new Grand Park.
"L.A. has not been known for its downtown urban life, but there is really a resurgence," said producer Will Packer, who lives in Atlanta and is best known for the 2012 comedy "Think Like a Man." "There are lofts, gastropubs and night life — a real culture here now — so it felt like the right time to showcase that. We wanted the film to be an organic slice of life, like being on a street corner and seeing the way young people interact, drink, party and eat."
The "About Last Night" remake filmed over seven weeks in the fall of 2012. With the exception of Dodger Stadium, the entire movie was shot within a 10-block radius of the corner of 6th and Main streets, where the crew had set up a base camp.

PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times 

That's highly unusual in that most movies film at multiple locations spread miles apart. But selecting locations within one small area enabled producers to keep transportation and other costs down.
"If we couldn't walk to it from 6th and Main, it was out of range," said Brian O'Neill, the film's location manager.
One of the principal locations was the Santa Fe Lofts, where Danny, the lead character played by Michael Ealy, lives. His friend Bernie (played by Hart) lives nearby in the historic Pacific Electric Building.
Filming in one area for several weeks can be risky. The downtown area already is heavily filmed, occasionally prompting complaints from local residents and merchants about disruptions caused by crews.

VIRTUAL TOUR: Hollywood's Walk of Fame

With that in mind, O'Neill sought to partner with local businesses such as Casey's and Broadway Bar by giving them roles in the film — as themselves.
"I reached out to the local community and approached them with the idea of: 'Do you want to be a partner in this movie? We're going to shoot your property as is,'" O'Neill said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-et-ct-onlocation-downtown-la-20140205,0,3213674.story#ixzz2sSlhSqcn