NoHo Supermarket Site Becomes Yet Another Gym

Apparently we were very wrong.

The news we are getting is that the former HOWS space in NoHo has been leased by a gym.  We had heard that Gold's Gym had previously pulled permits; the news I am hearing now is that the site will be the latest branch of 24 Hour Fitness.

Considering that no less than four membership based gyms operate within a two - three block radius of the site one wonders why the need for a grocery store was not met.

As it stands, the broker handling the sale, Eric Reuveni, made a statement that most of the residents "do not know how to cook." Thus, HOWS or any other grocery store isn't right for the area.

Unbelievable.

A Market Comes to NoHo?

Fresh on the heels of news that HOWS, the former occupant of the grocery store space at NoHo Commons, is closing all but one of the rest of it's stores and essentially going out of a business as a chain, comes very reliable information that next week the announcement will come that a new food retailer plans to open in the space.

Could it be Henry's Farmers Market?

We had heard earlier this year rumors that Henry's was coming to the location.  But Joe B. from Mayor Sam said that permits had been pulled to build a Gold's Gym there.  However today we have learned from sources that principles involved in the transaction have confirmed a market is coming and that the name will be announced next week.

Henry's, a chain with roots going back before World War II, operates 35 locations in Southern California with a retro-themed, natural foods approach similar to Whole Foods but at a lower price point.  Indeed Henry's had actually been owned by Whole Foods before it was aquired by a subsidiary of Smart and Final in  2007.

With a new market moving in and the demise of the HOWS' chain it's sweet justice for a community who was blamed for killing its best chance at an upscale type grocery store.  Looks like it wasn't our fault after all.

Let's hope they re-open the wine room, too!  Glass of pinot grigio please!

NoHo Commons: It's Fresh and Easy

Our secret inside snoops are telling us that indeed a Fresh and Easy store is going to take over the space in NoHo Commons to be vacated by the ailing HOWS Market.  Stay tuned.

Panera Bread's Toilet Gender Discrimination

I sent the following email to Panera Bread's customer service department just a few moments ago:

I'm a regular customer at Panera and sometimes come to use the wifi to do work on my computer in your pleasant environment. When I sit for several hours I usually buy a meal a well as drinks and sometimes another meal or snack later.

Today I have done just that at your North Hollywood location when I ordered a meal. I asked to use the restroom and was told it was not working. I asked if i could use the women's restroom and was told no that was not allowed. I was told to go to the Coffee Bean next door which wasn't practical since I had ordered a meal and had my computer out which I wasn't about to either leave unattended nor pack with me to go to the Coffee Bean.

Therefore I am forced to finish my meal and then leave unable to finish my work and having a less than pleasurable experience at Panera. I will probably be back but this is a bit disappointing. I also find it discriminatory to provide restroom facilities to one gender but not another.

A Theatre Grows in NoHo

Workers seen beginning construction this morning on a new retail/office center anchored by a Laemmle Theatres multiplex near the North Hollywood Metro Station. This development is the final piece of the CRA's "NoHo Commons" project which has brought several hundred apartments and shopping including the legendary HOWS Market to the NoHo Arts District.



(Photo by Jack Witt)

Valley/Laurel Plaza Plans Slammed by Local NIMBYs

At the risk of sounding like the old, dead Republican Mayor (something I really try not to do here as I blog out of that character) I have to say though I understand some of the local concerns and fears about plans to remake Valley and Laurel Plazas north west of Downtown NoHo, I don't agree with them.

JH Snyder - who is revered as a near god here in the District for bringing us HOWS and NoHo Commons - wants to work his magic on the two legendary shopping centers I knew and loved as a child of North Hollywood (yes some of us are still here).

Who among us can forget the party store at Valley Plaza, the movie theatre on Bellingham (where I first saw Star Wars) and of course hanging at Laurel Plaza at the Ice Capades Chalet and seeing the new puppies, kittens or snakes at Safari Pets home of Safari Arnie from the Elementary News.

When I was a wee one my mom and grandmother would attend fashion shows at the tea room at May Co. My mother told me all the ladies at Laurel Plaza would say "What a beautiful baby."

Time, economic forces and the 1994 Northridge Earthquake brought an end to all of that. Valley Plaza crept into oblivion and all that could be saved after the quake of Laurel Plaza was the then May Company later Robinsons-May now Macy's. The quake and the recession put an end to one plan to restore Laurel Plaza back in the 90s.

Snyder's plan in a nutshell is to basically bulldoze all of Valley Plaza and replace it with an upscale outdoor mall similar to The Grove or Snyder's BellaTerra (pictured) in Huntington Beach, anchored by a new Macy's. Once that's complete, Macy's would vacate the current location which we could converted to condos while the surrounding massive parking lot would be populated by more condos, apartments and townhomes - as well as a new city park.

Besides the usual nannypoo NIMBY nonsense tied to this project (such as big-box-a-phobia because God forbid an upscale version of Costco is interested in a spot) is concern that a sliver of Valley Plaza Park connected to the eastern berm of the 17o freeway would be vacated by the new Valley Plaza and replaced with a brand new, state of the art neighborhood park at Laurel Plaza. If you haven't seen the parkland to be replaced, don't bother. Its really nothing more than grass and some trees choked between parking lot and the freeway. Its not where junior goes to play ball but rather where meth addicts hang out to score their next fix.

Though some of the surrounding neighbors bring up an almost irrational, hateful opposition to the project overall there is no doubt it is something that would benefit all of us in the community and the region was well. I personally am tired of having to drive to places like West Hollywood or Santa Clarita or Pasadena or anywhere else I have visited in this state to see something like this. Its high time North Hollywood has the kind of upscale retail and entertainment options every other community has.

Snyder has a great track record already in North Hollywood. I trust him to create something wonderful on the other end of town.

What's Up With Phil's Diner

The 1920s vintage diner designed by Charles Amend served customers of all types for decades until subway construction and redevelopment changed the neighborhood surrounding its Chandler Boulevard location and the workers who were it's primary customers disappeared.

For a short time in the late 90s, now retired restraunteur Ned Forman (who created Ned's on Magnolia, now recast as EAT) joined with the Hallenbeck family who turned an old office building on Cahuenga into a historic recreation of an 1800s general store to restore and re-open the diner. For the same reason the previous owners couldn't make it go, the Hallenbecks and Forman had to shut down the restaurant.

Phil's was located where NoHo Commons parking garage sits now. It was boarded up, placed on blocks and now sits on undeveloped land owned by the JH Snyder company over on Weddington Street next to the Television Academy.

Talk has been that Phil's could be part of the next phase of NoHo Commons which will include a movie theatre, additional retail, housing and office space. In the meantime those of us around long enough to remember Phil's hope it comes back. It would be a great touch to incorporate this piece of history into everything new and wonderful in NoHo.

NoHo Buzz

Curbed LA has a snarky post about the NoHo Lofts here in the Fourth Council District. Wise developers took a former spice factory and have created an eclectic but fabulous collection of live-work spaces. These spaces should not be confused with the Lofts at NoHo Commons, brand new construction, but equally part of the ever expanding boho NoHo buzz that has descended on North Hollywood.

Indeed, the pueblo was recently aflutter over the opening Tuesday of the new HOWS Market at NoHo Commons. Local Fitness Trainer and Jaycee President Jack Witt tells us the store has some great sushi at great prices.