LA's coolest new coffee shop is in someone's house.
Plus the Altadena bear moves out, Hudson's suit, and a new bar.
Happy Friday, everyone. Last night I visited the Echo Park ghost kitchen in person for the first time, because I was a) curious to see where my salmon bowl was coming from and b) Postmates delivery fees are borderline criminal. The facility distributes takeout for 35 different restaurants (including the “Silver Lake” location of Goop Kitchen), and in the fifteen minutes I was there I counted close to 50 drivers coming and going from the kitchen’s tiny, fluorescent-lit lobby. It’s an impressive operation, but also….not one that’s designed to be consumer-facing.
Tonight I’m aiming for a less aggressive lighting situation (hot pot night at a friend’s apartment), and tomorrow’s a good night to crash a Globes party at the Chateau.
In today’s issue: LA’s coolest new coffee shop is literally in a house, Julia Fox is selling David protein bars, the Altadena bear has finally moved out, a new hotspot from the Bar Cecil team, and an architectural walking tour.
As always, share the Rag with your friends and follow along on Instagram.
The coolest coffee shop in LA is now open….in an Angelino Heights ADU.
I don’t usually get excited about new coffee shops in the neighborhood — there are a lot, I have two or three favorites, and I only stray if I’m truly desperate. But Granada, which opened this week in Angelino Heights, has my brain in a chokehold.
Firstly, it’s located in a house — a great one, at that — with seating both indoors and throughout the surrounding garden. (It’s the only commercial business in an entirely residential pocket of Echo Park.) And secondly, it’s impeccably designed. The vaguely Barragan-inspired modern structure features a living room-style interior setup with a built-in banquette and armchairs, a landscaped garden with a party-sized community table, and views of the century-old Victorians that surround it.
It’s also almost entirely designed by east siders. Owners Sydney Wayser and Isaac Watters enlisted Leonard Bessemer, the increasingly sought-after designer behind Objects for Objects and Oforo, for the coffee table inside and a sculptural bench outside. Ceramicist Amy Louise Johnson used the shop’s countertops as inspiration when crafting the mugs, Chad Aaron developed the coffee program, Claire Typaldos designed the branding, Amber Canterbury took all the photos, and local pastry legend Sasha Piligian is responsible for the bites (minus Sydney’s chocolate chip cookies).
I called Sydney this afternoon to learn more about the shop, how it came to be, and yes, if it’s even legal to operate a coffee shop on Carroll Avenue.
Tell me a bit about yourselves and your background.
I’m a musician originally. My husband Isaac is also a musician, but professionally he does film and TV production design. Together, we have a design firm called Canto Co. We do interiors and landscapes. We bought [the property that houses Granada] in 2019, when it was just two apartments, and when we found out we were pregnant we decided to build an ADU in the back. We love hosting, so we designed it as public space downstairs for parties, with the private living space upstairs.
What inspired Granada, and what’s the vision as you get the business off the ground?
We have a three year old, so we were new parents coming off of COVID missing community. We felt like we had this great space, so why not share it? Especially in a neighborhood like Angelino Heights. And then we found out about the MEHKO [Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation] permit a few months ago and applied. We thought, Okay, if we can get this permit, why not open our house and see if we can build a community space where people can come hang? I’d go down to the playground every day and meet all these new parents who didn’t know where to go with their kids, who were feeling isolated and looking for community.
I wanted to build a place where people can hang out with their friends, where kids can play, and people can just talk. There are a lot of coffee shops in LA, but most of them are on busy streets — they’re not the easiest places to go with a toddler. We have a native garden where people can just hang out and make community.
What’s behind the name?
There’s a hundred-year-old pomegranate tree on the property, and “pomegranate” in Spanish is “granada.” We think our tree was planted around 1890, and I love the idea that we can all sit and experience milestones under this tree that’s seen more than any of us.
There are a lot of pieces in the shop by local designers. How’d that come about?
We’re designers, and a lot of our friends are designers. We really wanted our space to feel [connected to] the community — and encourage our community to be a part of it. Leonard made a beautiful bench, Amy Louise Johnson made the ceramics based on our countertop, Claire Typaldos did the branding — she’s a new mom and such a talented designer — and our friend Eric made the [banquette] inside. And a lot of our friends have art on the walls. Jeremy Rocine is one of them.
You’re only open on weekdays right now — will there be weekend hours moving forward?
We have a toddler who’s at school from nine to three, hence our hours. [Laughs] So that’s working for us right now. But we’d love to do a family day or a special collab on a weekend at some point.
Granada is open Monday through Friday from 9am-2pm at 1451 Carroll Avenue.
📅 Mark your calendar…
Thursday, 1/15: Sandy Hawkins, Echo Park’s self-proclaimed “hottest boy band,” is playing Highland Park’s Lodge Room (alongside Goldtooth and Friends Of) at 7pm. The band has shot each of their music videos on the east side — and I’m an especially big fan of their recent out-of-home campaign for the show. Tickets are available here.
Sunday, 1/25: Local real estate agent and architecture buff Javier Camorlinga is hosting a guided architectural walking tour around the Silver Lake Reservoir at 10:30am. The 90-minute walk will cover about two miles, include stops at a variety of modernist homes (exteriors only), and end with a coffee chat. You can sign up for a spot here.
🍽️ And now for some table scraps…
After more than a month in residence, the black bear living under an Altadena resident’s porch finally left this week. The bear, affectionately named Barry, had been hanging out in a residential crawlspace since the end of November. The neighbors weren’t particularly bothered, but wildlife control has secured the space to prevent another large mammal from moving in in the future.
Julia Fox is set to become the first celebrity face of David protein bars. The unexpected endorsement agreement will highlight Fox’s purported celibacy, according to Line Sheet’s Rachel Strugatz. I’d love to know her fee for this one.
The New York Times highlighted designer Gabriel Yuri’s pretty perfect Silver Lake bungalow on Wednesday. Yuri, the creative mind behind New Operations, is a star for keeping the original linoleum floors in the kitchen. I’d love it if more people used linoleum in their kitchens this year (designers, I’m looking at you).
If you’re planning a jaunt out to Palm Springs this winter, the Bar Cecil team just debuted a new bar next door. Beaton’s is designed as the smaller, cozier sibling to the ever-popular Bar Cecil, and it has its own unique lineup of cocktails and bar snacks. I’d do drinks here and dinner at Melvyn’s (or The Heyday if you want to keep it casual). Feel free to debate me here, but Palm Springs has become the most interesting destination within a two-hour drive of Los Angeles.
Everyone really likes Hudson Williams’s fairly affordable Todd Snyder suit. The relaxed-fit ensemble is cool without trying too hard — everyone needs workhorse suit like this. The tan colorway isn’t available (to the public) yet, but you can snag the jacket here and the pants here soon.
I love pretty much everything about this two-house compound in Beachwood Canyon. Two homes for the price of one is always a win. And beadboard walls are…also always a win.
And here’s a very charming (green) rental in Elysian Heights. It’s got character for days, it has mini-split air conditioning and in-unit washer and dryer, and it’s walkable to Valerie, Canyon, and everything else down on Sunset. Grab this one.
Have a great weekend, everyone. See you Monday <3
I absolutely love the thoughtfulness and intention behind Granada and cannot wait to visit.
Some might say Palm Springs has long been the coolest destination! https://variety.com/1998/more/news/palm-springs-weekends-1117488513/