The panels across the space on Santa Monica Boulevard that once housed Raffi’s Jewelers, Balliamos dance studio and Unicorn Alley, an “adult” store, have gone from dark gray to a bright orange that proclaims it as the location of Bottega Louie. Meanwhile, the façade of Motherlode, one of West Hollywood’s few dive bars, now has been shrouded with light gray wood, making it invisible to passersby. But those on the inside of Motherlode how have a surprising view of the sky as its bar front is being reworked and a canopy installed.
It’s still unclear when the shrouds will be removed and the exterior of those adjacent places will be revealed. But illustrations from the architects of both spaces give us a taste of what’s coming. Bottega Louie, whose architect is Bulli Architecture, has a bright and open façade that offers a view through to West Hollywood Park. It very much reflects the image of what some describe as a hip Manhattan restaurant / bakery. Motherlode, whose architect is Sigma Design, has brown walls and an expanded front patio covered by a black canopy, reflecting the stated desire of its owner and employees to keep their dive bar vibe.
Motherlode will be bracketed on the west by P.U.M.P., the reality TV garden, bar and restaurant, while Bottega Louie is likely to be bracketed on the east by Tom Tom, another bar and restaurant venture of reality TV celebrity and P.U.M.P. and Sur restaurateur Lisa Vanderpump. In West Hollywood, reality comes in many flavors.
The Bottega Louie space, which went through years of evolution from the small stores to the proposed Cooley bar and restaurant, still has at least one struggle in front of it. The West Hollywood West Residents Association has reached out to City Hall to protest the decision to void some of the noise-calming measures that city was prepared to demand of Cooleys. Those include a tall glass wall to block sound from the restaurant’s rear patio into adjacent West Hollywood Park.
Is the city of WeHo going to just let Lisa VanderPump take over the whole city w/ more bars and restaurants? Can the city do anything to promote and encourage small businesses such as coffee houses or bookstores to take space? WE DONT NEED MORE BARS AND TRENDY, UPSCALE RESTAURANTS IN WEHO! We Ho has become like the Santa Monica Promenade – only more commercial and tacky!!
Weho is not Manhattan….goodbye boys….the party is over.
J Simmons, you didn’t pay attention at all to Vanderpump rules. Tom Tom is a completely other space, and since that show was filmed 7 months ago, nothing has happened to the space. It is still blue on the outside, and empty on the inside.It had nothing to do with the Motherlode or Bottega Louie, which are both being renovated as we speak.
Thanks, I don’t pay a lot of attention. Just kinda horrified by the show. But it’s bravo, so addictive watching is inevitable.
“I heard” on Vanderpump Rules, this season, Lisa V – was turning the space into a new bar called “TOM-TOM” for two cast, I mean waiters on the show , as a leg up. The season just started …if this is a spoiler for the two numskull bar tenders with no work ethics – YOU JUST SPOILED THE SEASON! I mean, I imagine for those who watch the lowest brow reality show ever.
I moved back here to L.A. in the summer of 1978. The Motherlode was the second bar I went into, Back then it was called Rascals. Rascals was what I referred to as a “Fern” bar. Plants were hanging from the ceiling the entire depth of the place. Ah, the Memories.
What about the noise from the dog park?…..Come on!, I’d rather see the homeowners association tell people inside the library to be quiet.
Has anyone heard the noise from the basketball court? I’m surprised a restaurant would be a problem.
A wall to block sound from the restaurant’s rear patio into adjacent West Hollywood Park?
Give me a break. What a waste of time & money to fight/require this.
Is that an accordion glass door front on Motherlode? It’s about time!
Things change. I’ll miss the 19th century look of The Lode.
Motherlode looks cheery. LOL