Nickel Diner from Angelenic
The scrappy little Nickel Diner, which opened a few weeks ago, is all over the news this week. First, it got a huge spotlight in the LA Times' Column One this weekend proving it's never an easy road to restaurateuring. Co-owners Monica May and Kristen Trattner tore down poop-stained walls to reveal the poem (above), and decided against cameras and security gaurds after watching drug deals and busts out the front window. They got called out for using drug-lingo names on the menu in honor of the street's reputation, but found a former Keller pastry chef to make the croissants. A bonus.
The ladies wait to see if it all pays off but aren't banking on outsiders for success. May says: "The people who live here get it. It's investing in your neighborhood." Which is why Angelenic takes the USC student paper to task for suggesting the Nickel has "a constant battle to fight outward appearance and lure customers inside," and that set off a whole flurry of comments from Downownizens: "There’s an Olive Garden near USC that she can eat at, right? Don’t want her to starve now."
· The Dish: Nickel Diner, Venokado Now Open [~ELA~]
· The Nickel dishes up a big helping of downtown L.A. [LAT]
· USC Paper Misconstrues Old Bank District, Nickel Diner [Angelenic]
