The king of east side running wrote a book.
Plus a restored theater, a new sandwich shop, and a great rental.
Happy Friday, everyone. Last night I got dinner with my dad, and tonight I’m headed to Berenjak. I’d also like to shout out the many of you who took issue with the reader criticism of Sprouts in Wednesday’s letter. Turns out a lot of you really love it. Nothing makes me happier than a good neighborhood debate — and my DMs are always open.
In today’s issue: the king of east side running wrote a book, a coffee shop is opening in a restored theater, Yala is opening in Silver Lake, a sandwich shop comes to Echo Park, a $6mm restoration project in Altadena, and a can’t-miss rental.
Howie Goldklang is the king of east side running.
Every LA neighborhood (and micro-neighborhood) these days has a run club with a rabid fan base. Originally the domain of dedicated runners in search of training partners — which some of them still are — neighborhood clubs have quickly become go-to spaces for lovelorn singles in search of 10s, for new Angelenos in need of friends, and, increasingly, for brands to shill their wares to hyper-engaged audiences.
Well before run clubs became what they are today, however, Howie Goldklang launched Silver Lake Track Club with a few friends. It took off during the pandemic, and today it’s a heavyweight in the LA running world. Howie’s also a writer, the owner of Silver Lake’s Makisupa Coffee Bar, and the author of the upcoming coffee table book Salt and Flickers. I called him to learn more about the origins of the track club, his foray into coffee, and his favorite east side spots.
First of all, how’d you originally end up on the east side?
I grew up in New York, and I came out to LA a long time ago — I went to school at UCLA. I moved back to New York for a stretch, and I’ve been in Silver Lake since 2011. My wife’s a hairstylist, and she had an opportunity to open a salon here. I was working as a writer, and my agent moved here. So we moved. All signs were kind of pointing to LA.
Tell me about the genesis of Silver Lake Track Club.
I was a competitive runner — I ran in college and competed at a high level for a while, and eventually I gave it up. And then I saw a hat in the window of a store. There was a store called Hemingway & Sons [on Silver Lake Boulevard], and they had a hat that said “Silver Lake Track Club.” But there was no running group. It turned on this part of my brain that hadn’t been switched on in a while — I messaged a friend and was like, “Hey, let’s do something at the reservoir as a joke. Let’s do a free race around the reservoir and see who shows up.” Around 50 people showed up, and then it became [a recurring thing] we would charge 10 or 20 bucks for and donate it to the Silver Lake Reservoirs Conservancy. It was all very loose and informal.
And then Covid hit, and it was just a buddy of mine and me running. In 2021, they moved the LA Marathon from March to November, so we decided to do a training plan for November and see who showed up. We realized we should probably do it weekly, and it kind of just picked up from there. We had three people run the LA Marathon that year; last year we had 85 people run it.
And now you have Makisupa as well. Was that intended as an offshoot of the run club — like a place for runners to gather — or was it a completely separate endeavor?
It was completely separate. I’d always wanted to open a coffee shop. I originally wanted to open in the empty building next to [what was formerly] Little Pine. I met with the owner, and she….she just had a screw loose. I don’t think that building has ever been rented out. It’s just sitting there. So the idea kind of got tucked in the back pocket.
Then the pilates studio next door to my wife’s hair salon moved out, and I asked the landlord if we could take over the space. And then the club stuff kind of just happened organically. I thought it might be a little on the nose [to host the run club at the coffee shop], but everyone was like, “This is amazing, we have a bathroom, we have coffee, we have a place to put bags.”
Has running a coffee shop been the fantasy I imagine it to be?
It is in a way, with all the personalities. I’m lucky in that I get to see a lot of neighborhood people all the time. The thing that’s really exceeded my expectations is the staff. They’re just this amazing group of people who come in and take the job seriously, and they understand the coffee world in a way that’s necessary in LA, but they also have these really dynamic careers — there are woodworkers, comedians, artists, all kinds of people doing their thing. Watching them bloom is really cool.
You’re doing a lot of different things right now, is there an endeavor you’re hoping to tackle next?
I just finished a book and it’s coming out in December. It took about two years to put it together, and it was incredible. It started as a thesis that was kind of a joke and then got more serious, like “What’s the ancestral mandate that we’re all answering?” I just found myself exploring all these untouched parts of heartbreak and triumph and self-realization, and I realized that all of these things arrived for me in the most clear way as a runner. And then I started talking to the artist Eric Junker, who became the co-creator of the book with me. He made this incredible visual landscape that matched a lot of what we were writing. The book has four really long essays, and then a bunch of other things woven in around the art. I’m proud of it.
Other than Makisupa, your top three spots on the east side are…
Definitely Hot Tongue Pizza, I find myself in there a lot. Ye Rustic Inn — I’ll always have a soft spot for them. And Bandit on Sunset.
What’s worth going west of La Brea for?
Any Jon & Vinny’s location. And I like surfing south of the Venice pier.
📅 Mark your calendar…
Saturday, 11/22: You can get a head start on your holiday shopping at the special-edition Mohawk Flea, happening from 10am-3pm at 1104 Mohawk Street. Swing by for vintage clothing, home goods, ceramics, art, stationery, and….matcha.
Sunday, 11/23: If you liked hearing from Howie and you’re curious about the book, Silver Lake Track Club and Salt and Flickers are co-hosting a special run tomorrow morning at Makisupa (2894 Rowena Avenue). It starts at 8am, and you can expect free coffee, raffle items, live-pressed Eric Junker tote bags (extremely worth it) and a book signing with Howie and Eric.
🍽️ And now for some table scraps…
From the tip line — Stumptown Coffee is opening in Lincoln Heights. The popular Portland-based coffee company (which, perhaps unsurprisingly, does the lion’s share of its revenue through its robust wholesale business) already has LA outposts in the Arts District and Pasadena. The Lincoln Heights location will occupy the historic Starland Theatre on North Broadway, which has been fully restored by Industry Partners — and honestly looks amazing. You can check out the developer’s rendering of the space below:
Also in Lincoln Heights, a city councilmember wants to lease the long-abandoned jail to….a plant nursery. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez wants the city to negotiate a lease with North East Trees, a nonprofit organization that specializes in neighborhood tree plantings and urban greening. This is, quite frankly, a great idea.
After a stint at the Echo Park ghost kitchen, Uncle Paulie’s is opening a standalone sandwich shop in the neighborhood. It’ll take over a recently enlarged space at 1463 Sunset Boulevard, part of which was previously occupied by the late, great Konbi. Signage is up, and Uncle Paulie’s is expected to announce an official opening date imminently. I wonder if they’ll miss sharing a space with the “Silver Lake” Goop Kitchen.
From the tip line — Yala Coffee has (soft) opened in Sunset Junction. The Studio City favorite, known for its wildly popular Iraqi-influenced brews, has now opened its anticipated second location at 3814 Sunset Boulevard, two doors down from Seco.
I Love LA has officially (and quickly) been renewed for season 2 at HBO. Get ready for many east side location roundups to come. As Jordan Firstman wrote on Instagram, “And they say we don’t get seasons in LA?!!!!”
The Pasadena Community Foundation just announced a $6mm grant to help rebuild a 14-unit bungalow court in Altadena. The grant will cover the purchase, remediation, and reconstruction of the property, and the units will (allegedly) be finished by the end of this coming summer. All 14 units will be designated as affordable housing. There is good news out there if you look for it.
These jeans from Abercrombie are on sale for $49.99, and they’re a good straighter-leg option if everything you have right now is wiiiiide.
One of the historic Sachs apartments is for rent in Silver Lake. You should pounce on it. You’d have a (reasonably priced) one-bedroom designed by Rudolph Schindler, with sweeping views across LA and gardens designed by Terremoto. When I say walk, I mean….run.
Have a great weekend, everyone. See you Monday <3
Howie is the best! crazy how SLTC has grown the past few years
omg Berenjak looks amazing just added to my Beli