Sneak Peek Inside Laurel Hardware’s 8445 Santa Monica Project

If you pass by the corner of SaMo Blvd. and Olive Drive, near Barney’s Beanery, you’ll notice the “Laurel Hardware” building next door looks like we’re finally in the home stretch.  I was walking by recently and noticed the front door was open; curiosity took over so naturally, I went in to take a sneak peek (and a few snaps). 

The interior is still clearly a construction site, but it’s no longer a mystery. The old office walls are gone, in place now is a main room with new framing, exposed ceilings and what looks like a bar or some type of counter.

City records seem to back up what you can now see inside. Permits show the property shifting from office use to a restaurant with outdoor seating and some kind of market or store built into the plan – ala Erewhon and Eataly.

Laurel Hardware partners Dean McKillen and Phil Howard are behind the project at 8445 Santa Monica Boulevard. Their original Laurel Hardware restaurant at 7984 Santa Monica Boulevard remains open and a favorite destination for good food with great ambience — this new spot is not a relocation. People close to the project say the plan is for a separate identity at 8445, not another restaurant called Laurel Hardware. In one real estate write up, a contact from the Laurel Hardware side confirmed the market concept when talking about the idea, but there were no further details or schedule. 

The building at 8445 Santa Monica Boulevard has had a lot of lives. Built in 1942 for Ritts Company Furniture, it later housed the dot com–era Hollywood Stock Exchange and, more recently, was used as creative office space for companies like Stampede Ventures. Since the late 2010s it’s been controlled by the Laurel Hardware / Ysabel owners and their development partners, who are now turning the old showroom and office shell into the new project.

In November, residents were concerned when they noticed four Chinese elm trees that ran along the Santa Monica frontage were being cut down. Turns out they were removed under a city permit tied to the project. The plan on file calls for new trees to be planted later, once the sidewalk work and frontage improvements are finished.

There are still plenty of questions. Earlier construction signs used the phrase “Laurel Hardware and Supply,” which may have been more about the ownership than the final name. When we were inside, there were no clues I could see and the few I did notice I’ll keep to myself out of respect for the owner’s likely desire to keep some of the details under wraps (quite literally). 

There was at one time an opening window in 2025. Looking at the current state of the job site, it’s hard to imagine anyone eating or shopping there before early 2026, although no official date has been announced. From the looks of things, I’m confident the opening will be well worth the wait.