City Approves Laurel Hardware, Kitchen 24 Restaurants

Two new restaurants are on the horizon for West Hollywood after minor conditional use permits were approved by the city's community development director Wednesday afternoon.

A standing-room-only crowd packed the conference room in City Hall to hear the cases before Development Director Anne McIntosh for the new Laurel Hardware Restaurant in center city and a Kitchen 24 restaurant in Boystown.

Laurel Hardware Restaurant will be an upscale burger and salad restaurant with a vintage hardware store theme and decor. It's going into the old Laurel Hardware location at 7984 Santa Monica Blvd. (at Laurel).

According to plans, the cafe section in the front portion of the restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch while the larger restaurant portion with seating for up to 136 people will be open for dinner. 

Parking concerns

Twenty people spoke during public comment, many excited about a new restaurant going into that part of town, but also worried about parking in an area that has chronic parking shortages.

Current zoning requires the restaurant to provide nine parking spaces for every 1,000 square foot of space. At almost 3,500 square feet, Laurel Hardware would have to have 32 spaces. Restaurant representatives propose to lease 19 spaces after 6 p.m. a block away at an auto body shop on Hayworth.

Area residents cried foul, worried about patrons parking in residential areas even though such streets are permit-only after 7 p.m. “It’s irresponsible to open a restaurant without parking,” said one resident. Another resident suggested, “Maybe the restaurant can provide a discount for anyone coming without a car.”

“We do allow people to submit applications for off-site parking,” said McIntosh. “We want more than anything, I believe, to utilize the parking spaces we do have in the city. We do encourage people, instead of not having enough parking, let’s try and see where in an area we can find some additional parking spaces.”

Alcohol concerns

Other residents cited concerns about alcohol sales so close to several schools, including the about 200 feet away. Laurel Hardware representatives pointed out that several other nearby restaurants also serve alcohol, including the , and The Hudson.

In the end, McIntosh approved the petition, but stipulated that the restaurant owners return in six months for review. Residents have 10 days to file an appeal to the Planning Commission.

Afterward, Sandy Hutchens, a consultant working for Laurel Hardware, told Weho Patch, “I hope they don’t appeal and we can get this wonderful restaurant opened.”

Kitchen 24

McIntosh also approved the new Kitchen 24 restaurant’s petition to operate late night hours from 2-6 a.m. This restaurant would go into the space at 8575 Santa Monica Blvd., adjacent to the . Several restaurants have come and gone from that location over the years, the most recent being Primo Bistro.

Kitchen 24, a branch of the trendy 3-year-old restaurant on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, would offer diner fare at reasonable prices and also provide room service to Ramada guests.

In approving the 24-hour operation, McIntosh required that the restaurant stop service in the patio area at 2 a.m. Kitchen 24 also agreed to hire extra security between 12 a.m. and 7 a.m. McIntosh also stipulated that the owners return in six months for review.

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