Pasadena - two restaurants closed - near Lake & Colorado (Santa Monica: live, prices)

[robertpasa]

The Wolfe Burgers on Lake Ave. closed last fall. It's now a Rounds Burgers. I only ate at Wolfe's once and wasn't that impressed. I like Tommy's more.

The Sabor Cafe recently closed. It was on Colorado across from the Target and Vroman's. It was a larger, pretty nice coffee place. Don't know what happened.

P.S. The Nine and Nine Thai place (Colorado and Oak Knoll) is a great Thai place. It recently moved a few doors westward. The old space is now Noodle and Noodle which has good pho and ramen.

[genjy]

That west Pasadena Rounds Burgers is in a bad location--off the main throughway (Colorado) and not quite as pedestrian-friendly as it needs. Its building is non-descriptive, too. It might do OK serving the lunch crowd from the nearby buildings, but if I were just driving by, I would probably never stop the car for it.

The one in East Pasadena is in a much better spot.

[robertpasa]

Originally Posted by genjy

That west Pasadena Rounds Burgers is in a bad location--off the main throughway (Colorado) and not quite as pedestrian-friendly as it needs. Its building is non-descriptive, too. It might do OK serving the lunch crowd from the nearby buildings, but if I were just driving by, I would probably never stop the car for it.

The one in East Pasadena is in a much better spot.

I don't see a Rounds in East Pasadena. There are some outside of Pasadena.

[loloroj]

Is Beedles Cafeteria still open? Used to go there all the time, and there was another one owned by the same family, I think it was Pasadena Cafeteria, further down Colorado Blvd. There was some pretty good places in Old Town, before they gentrified the hell outta the place, one was a Mexican eatery, can't remember the name any more.

[GatsbyGatz]

Prices for retail/restaurant space in Old Pasadena is ridiculously expensive. That's the irony of gentrification. Investors move in to affordable areas, these places becomes popular, money flows in, prices skyrocket forcing many businesses to close, and then all you have left is a clump of chain stores. That seems to be the cycle of America's urban centers. Gentrification is transforming all urban centers into nothing more but "urban themed" shopping malls with a few overpriced bars and restaurants thrown into the mix.

The next target: DTLA. Specifically, I predict Broadway becoming the next Colorado Blvd in the next ten to twenty years.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by robertpasa

I don't see a Rounds in East Pasadena. There are some outside of Pasadena.

Oops, that's Hook Burger--not Round Burger. I was thinking of the Hook Burger next to the Nordstrom Rack plaza in East Pas.

My bad.

[genjy]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

Prices for retail/restaurant space in Old Pasadena is ridiculously expensive. That's the irony of gentrification. Investors move in to affordable areas, these places becomes popular, money flows in, prices skyrocket forcing many businesses to close, and then all you have left is a clump of chain stores. That seems to be the cycle of America's urban centers. Gentrification is transforming all urban centers into nothing more but "urban themed" shopping malls with a few overpriced bars and restaurants thrown into the mix.

The next target: DTLA. Specifically, I predict Broadway becoming the next Colorado Blvd in the next ten to twenty years.

Sort of like 3rd St in Santa Monica... the appeal of outdoor such shopping destinations is that they are still on city streets--still authentic public gathering spaces even if they are filled with mall shops.

Outdoor "town center" malls like the Americana and the Grove can't really replicate them. They are fake--just forgeries.

[ccm123]

I loved eating at Wolfe Burgers when I lived in Pasadena. The burgers were so-so, but their pastrami sandwich was pretty close to the one made at "The Hat" (further north on Lake Avenue) and I always came for the pastrami.

[jm1982]

True I agree about the cycle of gentrification.....but I wouldn't mind if gentrication poped up in my hood in the San Fernando Valley.

Sorry for the lose of your restaurants in Pasadena. I bet a Chipotle is "Coming soon"

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by robertpasa

The Wolfe Burgers on Lake Ave. closed last fall. It's now a Rounds Burgers. I only ate at Wolfe's once and wasn't that impressed. I like Tommy's more.

The Sabor Cafe recently closed. It was on Colorado across from the Target and Vroman's. It was a larger, pretty nice coffee place. Don't know what happened.

P.S. The Nine and Nine Thai place (Colorado and Oak Knoll) is a great Thai place. It recently moved a few doors westward. The old space is now Noodle and Noodle which has good pho and ramen.

I went to Wolfe once. Really terrible burgers. Rounds originally in Hollywood under the Juicy Burger model, then opened its flagship WeHo location in early 2011. Now they're undergoing a huge expansion throughout LA county. They have affordable, fairly large, gourmet build your own burgers (premium toppings and all) with a $5 base price so people love it.