Hermosa Goes From Bars to Bistros

A walk down the Hermosa Beach Plaza and you will notice there is a transition under way. Fifteen years after Hermosa’s herculean attempt at revitalizing the Downtown, it’s doing it again, but this time with no city or state funds, no fanfare, and no parking or planning wars. Hermosa is getting a major facelift, store by store, all funded by the downtown business owners, both old and new.

Sangria, a downtown icon and one of the sentinel points of Hermosa’s 1995 revitalization, is surrounded by 25-foot high boards. Hammering sawing, stuccoing and welding are plainly audible on the Plaza. The new stone and sand colors of Sharkeez next door. A newly refurbished Patrick Molloy’s stands steps away from the orange Planning Commission sign affixed to The Lighthouse, signaling yet another renewal project. A few steps further west and you will see that Hennessey’s has refinished its storefront. Waterman’s has revamped the former Dragon and features skateboard racks, clear, glassy epoxy tables and imported teak from Indonesia.

On the north side of the Plaza, check out the new Palmilla, offering of boutique tequila brands and educated Mexican flavors. Upstairs, Fat Face Fenner’s sports a new front face and signage. Mediterraneo, just a few short years ago, the new kid on the block, now stands as a stable watermark of Greek-Roman architecture, still with clean lines and blue and white colors of the Mediterranean.

Why all this renewal in the face of tight credit markets and a still nascent economic recovery? The maturation of the food market is driving many of the changes. Young, passionate kitchen crews are manning the grills at almost every new (and some older places as well) restaurant and restaurant/bar: Chef Melba, Mediterraneo, Hot’s Kitchen, Abigaile, The Rockefeller, Rok Sushi, Waterman’s, Palmilla. The newer chefs have all been to culinary institutes or hotel schools. New look and new blood have made many Hermosa restaurant community members confident that the time is right to move forward.