DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - When he was a child, Armen Shirvanian had a weekly ritual of having lunch with his father at Bob’s Big Boy in Glendale. It was a formative experience, and one day, when he was 8, he announced that when he grew up, he would open his own restaurant.
His father had other plans.
“He literally smacked me in the back of the head and said no, you’re going to be a doctor or a lawyer,” recalled the now 50-year-old Shirvanian. “I went to law school, but that was my father’s dream, not mine.”
Rather than make a career in law, Shirvanian focused on his passion. The legal system’s loss would turn out to be the restaurant industry’s gain, as in 1989 he opened Mi Piace on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. It was an instant hit and continues to be a popular destination.
On July 16, the Iranian-born Shirvanian expanded into Downtown Los Angeles with the cavernous Towne Food & Drink. The 7,000-square-foot space is on the ground floor of the Watermarke Tower at 709 W. Ninth St.
The $4 million project has transformed the corner space into a 200-seat restaurant that employs more than 100 people and serves what Shirvanian calls “whimsical” new American cuisine cooked up by Eric Hara, formerly of New York eateries davidburke & donatella and Pier 9. He’s teaming up in the kitchen with Ryan Morrison, a former director of culinary development for chef and restaurateur Scott Conant.
The first impression of Towne comes not from the food, however, but the façade. Working with New York-based designer Mark Zeff, Shirvanian added a raised patio that holds wood-backed benches under a bright red canopy just outside the entrance.
It adds a new touch to the 35-story Water-marke building, which was originally developed by Meruelo Maddux Properties but sold in 2010 to Corona-based real estate company Watermarke Properties for $110 million.
“We poured that terrace. There was nothing there,” said Shirvanian. “We built what we think is a European-style terrace that’s really inviting.”
The color scheme continues inside the restaurant, with brown hardwood floors, high-backed red booths and chairs and translucent white drapes that hang from the 16-foot ceilings. There are copper-colored chandeliers, and wallpaper comes in the form of a collage of black and white photographs from 1940s and ’50s films.
Next to the dining area is the lounge, where brown leather seats and a hammered stainless steel bar sit under a brown leather ceiling. Yes, the ceiling is made of leather.
A Marriage
Shirvanian had been interested in Down-town for years. In 2006, excited by the changes underway in the area, he began looking for a restaurant space. Two years later he said he nearly signed a lease for a spot at the Roosevelt Lofts on Seventh Street, but the economic downturn killed the plan.
Shirvanian said a Meruelo Maddux executive, who was a customer at Mi Piace, approached him about opening a place in the South Park property. After the building was sold, Shirvanian kept in touch with the new owners.
There was a lot to like. Shirvanian noted the proximity of the site to L.A. Live, Staples Center and the Financial District, along with thousands of nearby residents. He also saw a trend of mega-restaurants blooming in Downtown, in particular the massive Bottega Louie at Seventh Street and Grand Avenue.
“We walked into this place, obviously by then Bottega Louie had been opened, and I thought this was as good or a better corner than they have, and they have a great corner,” he said.
The restaurateur is in it for the long haul. Shirvanian signed a 20-year lease on the property. Fortunately, Andrew Ruiz, property manager at the Watermarke Tower, is equally bullish on the potential.
“I think it’s a perfect fit,” said Ruiz. “For the Watermarke it’s not only an amazing amenity, it’s a long marriage and it’s going to be good for the both of us.”
Smell the Difference
One of the most inviting things about Towne is not the way it looks or the location. Instead, it’s the smell. The aroma emanating from a wood-burning oven and grill, where dishes including halibut, chicken, crispy pork shank and steaks are prepared, fills the place.
The scent is completely intentional.
“There’s nothing like eating something that comes from a wood-burning oven.” Shirvanian said. “We knew that lasting scent would hit you immediately. That’s the first sense you eat with.”
The dishes have a classic American feel, with a tinge of comfort food, though they are elevated with a modern spin. For example, Towne’s mac and cheese is made with lobster and pasta rings. The Pigs in a Blanket is basically a hot dog, but with a lobster sausage substituted for a beef or pork frank. The matzo ball soup is built from bone marrow, wild mushrooms and a beef consommé. The ketchup, jams, jellies and yogurts are all made in-house.
“We want to be fun, but we don’t want to be pretentious,” Hara said. “We are serious about our food but it’s also approachable.”
Towne also takes its desserts seriously. The pastry chef is Tamara Davis, who was the opening pastry chef at Bottega Louie.
She bakes everything in house, creating peanut butter candy bars, ice cream and sorbet push-pops. There are also cupcakes, macarons and a house-made Twinkie.
“It’s bringing it back to your childhood roots with flavors and products that remind you of your childhood, but that are done a little bit more modern with better ingredients, better flavors,” Davis said.
Lunch appetizers start at $9 for dishes such as the bone marrow matzo ball soup, and the chicken liver popcorn is $14. The 28-day aged prime rib-eye steak runs $46.
Shirvanian said the average ticket for lunch is $18-$22 with dinner ranging from $26-$28.
He eventually plans to expand Towne to other locations. At the moment, he has no plans to put his law degree to use.
Towne is at 705 W. Ninth St., (213) 623-2366 or towne-la.com. Open for lunch 11 a.m-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Open for dinner 5-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs. and 5-11:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
© Los Angeles Downtown News 2012
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