Where recording studios and record stores once lined up near Hollywood Boulevard, LA's Vinyl District now attracts night owls and travelers with bars, hotels and restaurants.
It's been a while since people waited to get in under the glowing “Citizen News” letters. In fact, a few years ago, people in the area around Selma Avenue didn't even want to park their car, let alone stand in line anywhere. But the so-called Vinyl District south of Hollywood Boulevard, driven by the plans of Ten Five Hospitality, underwent an exciting metamorphosis in which in the end everything seems different than before, but not bad at all.
The area was originally known for its high density of recording studios and record stores. Next to The Record Parlor, the cult music retailer Amoeba, which opened here in 2021, is reminiscent of the time when you could and wanted to hold music in your hands. The halls of what was once one of Los Angeles' largest newspapers also stood empty for a long time. A complete renovation turned the approximately 2,790 square meter building into an industrial-chic venue and added the “Mother Wolf” restaurant.
This alone would be reason for a large rush at the door. Led by chef Evan Funke, who reinvented Italian cuisine for American standards at the well-known “Felix”, he concentrates here on the cuisine of Rome, where he himself learned on site. The result impressed not only local celebrities but also visiting Europeans. There is no queue in front of the inconspicuous frosted glass door on which a she-wolf is nursing Romulus and Remus. You should reserve about a month in advance.
The line of people clearly leads to another entrance, namely that of “Bar Lis”, a rooftop bar on the roof of the “Thompson” hotel, whose ambience is reminiscent of a French version of a Wes Anderson film in Marinière velvet. It is the counterpart to the “Mes Amis” restaurant on the ground floor. You're about to rediscover smoking again, so you can get up from the table more often and enjoy the wonderful view of Hollywood outside. It's worth queuing for this alone, but also for the parties, which are brought up to speed by DJs. The conversation in the queue is a homogeneous mix of American accents and languages spoken by those who have arrived.
Two hotels opened their doors: the “Thompson” and the “Tommie Hollywood”, both part of the Hyatt group. While the lobby of the “Thompson” alone looks like a well-curated living room with dark wood and a fantastic selection of illustrated books, the “Tommie” is aimed more at a young clientele who like things hip but reduced. Those on Workation first sit in the lobby with a good number of sockets and near the fireplace and the coffee bar, then in the evening in the “Ka'Teen” restaurant they enjoy Yucatán-inspired cuisine such as mushroom birria and leg of lamb with salsa verde in the middle of a jungle of all kinds of palm trees.
We then go back to the roof to have the last – or first – round of mezcal cocktails in the rooftop bar “Desert 5 Spot”. The in-house band plays country and rock. Regulars in their late twenties step out of the elevator wearing cowboy hats. The chance to see young America lovingly and ironically celebrating an old version of the American dream is as unique as it is thrilling. When the sun has set, the famous letters in the Hollywood Hills shine. They represent the promise that this city will continue to reinvent stories – including its own.
