Marble floors, columns, high ceilings, oh my! [Photo via Angelenic]
DOWNTOWN: The 10,000-square-foot, marble-floored, 250-employee Bottega Louie has a lot going for it, but the downtownizens are torn on whether the restaurant and gourmet market will work in the area (questionable economy, no parking, are there enough people to sustain it). But if it becomes something akin to a Dean & Deluca, which passed over Los Angeles for a spot in Orange County, Louie could be as much a destination for non-locals as locals. There will be a pizza bar, pastas, salads---the menu, says Angelenic, has been "tested and tweaked 100 times at minimum over 14 months in test kitchens in Orange County and Los Angeles with a kitchen staff led by Executive Chef Chris Goossen"---LA Mill coffees for the mornings, swanky cocktails at night (and vice versa). It's been almost three years in the works and cost about $3.2 to come to fruition, a high-price tag to fulfill a dream that maybe the neighborhood isn't ready for. But having the full first floor of the Brockman Building on 7th and Grand is a promising start. There were hopes for a summer debut and then possible this fall, but the target date is now early 2009.
· Plywood Tracking: Bottega Louie Downtown [~ELA~]
· Bottega Louie Restaurant and Gourmet Market: The Home Stretch [Angelenic]For more stories from Eater LA, go to la.eater.com.
