I like to think of Atwater Village as a place that hipsters go to grow old. I’ve been living here for about four years, and even in that short time I’ve seen enough change to make me feel old.
When I first started living the neighborhood, Club Tee Gee was a dive bar, with table lamps, rock memorabilia, and a super outdated music box. But in 2018, the wonderful hole in the wall dive was purchased and remodeled into a clubby hollywood-style club with the same name. The music much louder, the drinks pricy, and the side room turned into a dance floor. Don’t get me wrong— it’s a very fun bar to get litty at, but it’s certainly changed the patrons of this neighborhood.
And with that change came a couple more revamps— Village Tavern, previously a happy hour gem for cheap tacos and tequila, has turned into an upscale Mezcaleria. And while I do love Mezcal, Sagrado has an air of formality that is just not congruent with the previous digs. The drinks are good, but the experience is just so much more catered now, It’s try-hard in a way that is uncomfortable and bizarre, especially compared to what Village Tavern once was.
Palette couldn’t keep up with the rent, despite being fairly priced for the superfood they were offering. The easy, hyper healthy lunch buffet was replaced by Blossom’s third location in 2021.
Individual Medley, my favorite gift store, had to close for similar reasons. The silver lining— the owners split into two new shops. Wine & Eggs, the expensive bodega for natural wines, and Dreams, a new gift shop that has less stuff than their last place did, but still occasionally wets the beak.
Earlier in 2022, Kaldi Coffee closed after twenty years— the only coffee shop in the neighborhood that offered indoor seating for digital nomads. Fair enough— it was the second best out of four coffee shops in the neighborhood, with Proof ahead of it and Cafecito behind it. But still, it leaves a gap in the neighborhood for a place to sit and work. Apparently, a new late-night restaurant will open later this year, a post-mortem Kaldi collaboration with the owner of Dune.
But the biggest new eyesore in Atwater, is a place you might have heard of— Blu Jam Cafe. The Melrose parasite has opened its SEVENTH location in my neighborhood. It replaced a truly phenomenal restaurant called Good Measure. It gave All’aqua a run for its money and had the nicest outdoor dinner seating on the block. On the contrary, Blu Jam feeds off the Sunday farmers market crowd and offers overpriced, mediocre breakfast.
But the real reason Blue Jam bothers me isn’t because of the lack of service, or the ironic fact that they are a diner that refuses to stock Maple Syrup. Mostly, I believe that Blue Jam’s opening is the prime reason that after ten years, one of the most unique community-oriented restaurants in Atwater saw it’s demise. A place dear to me— dear to many of us angelenos: Thank You For Coming.
So, what’s next?
Well, I think I know. Right next to Proof and Out of The Closet, some construction has been afoot for the past year. I did some digging, and it seems as though Atwater will get its very own SodoSopa. I can’t imagine this will be beneficial for us pseudo Glendaliens, as these new shops have a way of pushing old ones out.
A new, fancy, expensive shopping mall gives me mixed feelings about the future of dining in Atwater Village. I worry about once place in particular— Tacos Villa Corona. The only true single dollar sign restaurant on the block. The cheap but amazing chilaquiles burrito is a weekly staple for me. And although this little mom & pop always has a line of 5 or more, I can’t imagine it’s going to last very long selling $5 burritos with so much competition across the street.
Lived in Atwater from 2004-2020 and stumbled upon this as I wondered what had become of some of my old favorites. The Tee Gee news felt like a punch to the gut. Sad to hear how things are evolving
Damn this one hits different