Bossa Nova and Hamburger Haven, two classic West Hollywood restaurants, may be demolished.
A community meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11 to discuss a proposed change to zoning for the Robertson Lane hotel and retail project that would replace the buildings housing Bossa Nova at 655 N. Robertson Blvd. and Hamburger Haven, which is around the corner at 8954 Santa Monica Blvd., with a three-story commercial building with underground parking.
Robertson Lane is a project of Faring Capital, the developer with a number of projects in West Hollywood including the French Market office, retail, and restaurant project, the Bond Hotel and Residences, and a three-story commercial building at 637-641 N. La Peer Drive. WEHOville has reached out to Faring several times for information about the proposed new building but has not received any response.
The community meeting will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
Bossa Nova, whose menu has a Brazilian orientation, has been in business for more than 25 years. It also has locations at 7181 Sunset Blvd. and 10982 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles and in Hawthorne. It also has signed a lease to open a location in Downtown Los Angeles’s South Park area.
Bossa Nova is known for its outdoor patio, which faces The Abbey on the other side of Robertson Boulevard. “The fast-food look isn’t too jazzy, but the food is, with a menu embracing Brazil, Mediterranean, Italy, the United States, and points between,” says a review from Los Angeles Magazine. “Have a Havana sandwich, a Copacabana cheesesteak, linguica frita with yucca (sautéed sausage with Brazil’s nutty and omnipresent yucca flour), or lasagna. Shrimp, fish, and chicken can be added to a host of salads, and just about anything can be cooked on the grill. Coconut flan for dessert.”
Hamburger Haven occupies a building constructed in 1961 that was considered for possible designation as a historic resource but ultimately did not qualify because it did meet national, state, or local criteria for such a designation.
It is one of the last casual burger joints in West Hollywood, known for being inexpensive and also for being a place where Justin Bieber has stopped to grab a burger.
A visitor from Sitges, Spain, called Hamburger Haven a “West Hollywood institution” in a review on TripAdvisor. “Some people call this ‘drunk food’, I call it a good old American hamburger!” he wrote. “This isn’t a chain, but a walk-up, take-out place that has one of the best hamburgers in Los Angeles. Most people come here late at night for a quick carb fix after a night of bar-hopping, but it’s really good any time of the day.”
Just what West Hollywood needs…ANOTHER hotel and MORE TRAFFIC !!!!!
Like anything else in West Hollywood,long-time buildings and businesses will come and go.Haven Burger will go away,but there are other options.LA Buns, a small burger shack near Trunks can fill the bill for someone looking for a quick bite.Not sure about Bossa Nova,but I think there are several places on Sunset Blvd. that can take its place.
Real estate is a hot commodity in the city right now,so look for more development,good or bad,to occur.Something great 30-50 years ago is not so hot now.
I’ve been eating at Hamburger Haven since it was Hamburger Habit decades ago. They have one of the best hamburger combos in the city and their fries are the only ones to remain steaming hot long after purchased. I can’t understand all the hate towards this place (unless you are all gym queen vegans). Albeit, they have shabby furniture outside but who cares when the food is good and affordable?
I enjoy Bossa Nova’s food. Thankfully there are two other locations close by that I can Postmates from. Who eats dine-in anymore anyway?
Bossa Nova is one of my favorite restaurants in West Hollywood. It has great food, large portions you can share, and decent prices. The patio is also very cozy and the staff is very warm. Hamburger Haven, on the other hand, has always been looked at by everyone I know locally as either a tax shelter or a front for something more shady. The seating is dilapidated plastic patio furniture that never looks clean; the food is not memorable (ate there once and never again); and there’s never more than one or two people eating there – most likely tourists… Read more »
I am confused. Don’t the owners of these properties have any say? This is typical Los Angeles behavior which is why in the film “Clueless” she says “I live in Beverly Hills where Some of our columns are over 20 years old”
Hope they put something nice and elegant in that location. Hamburger Haven is an eyesore.
Until West Hollywood ccreates forced occupancy laws there should be no more big development. Half the retail spaces developed on the east side of WeHo stand empty. They refuse to rent to small mom and pops and will only do business with big chains. It’s killing the neighborhood.
Good riddance. Looking forward to something good to take over both
Love both of these places. Agree that hamburger Haven has spent zero money to make the place look better though. I’m not sure how I feel about all these changes to Weho, especially how straight people are taking more and more control over the area and the bars.
That may be because you don’t have any idea of the haven that West Hollywood has been for gay people looking for community not offered to them in many parts of the nation. No one is hating on straight people by wanting to retain that haven. And, anyway, why lose the character that Hamburger Haven presents? Its not like there aren’t enough flashy and glossy new places to go to in this neighborhood. Holding on to something that’s been around for so long is a fun reminder of where this neighborhood has some roots in the past. It’s part of… Read more »
You are 100% on the money with your answer!
I’m all for diversity as long as they’re just like me.
Glory Hallelujah. The straight people are taking more control and we are loosing our “Natural Habitat”.
Bossa Nova has been one of my go to restaurants for almost 2 decades. In spite of this, I look forward to a new & larger building at that corner. Replacing the Hamburger Haven building will be a major improvement. As far as the future of Bossa, I am confident that the restaurant will be able to find a new home nearby. They might even end up in Robertson Lane.
A big building gets you excited ? Um what? A real person doesn’t talk like that. Hmmm. Where do you work?
Great so two more buildings that are historic to the city and help to make it what it is may be mowed down for yet another half empty glass box and overpriced hotel
Oh please
What history happened in these buildings?