More stores greet patrons on Boulevard
Paul C. Witt’s contemporary clothing store for men, Wittmore, recently opened, making it the latest new shop to come to the Boulevard. Located at 137 ½ N. Larchmont Blvd., Wittmore invites shoppers to peruse more than men’s clothes. The store also offers gifts and beauty products carefully curated with an eye toward providing a global perspective (wittmore.com).
Many newly leased shops in the Larchmont Mercantile complex are getting closer to opening. Of the 14 storefronts at 124 ½ to 148 N. Larchmont Blvd. (the former Lipson Building), two shops plan to open this month. Hidden Jeans, at 130 N. Larchmont Blvd., is a women’s clothing store featuring distressed denim and “dad jeans” (hiddenjeans.com). Flannel, another women’s clothing store, is a family-owned and operated brand focused on pairing comfort and style (flannelamerica.com).
Skin Laundry, at 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., is on track to open this summer, bringing its popular laser facials and skin care products to Larchmont (skinlaundry.com).
Another skin care company, Credo Beauty, a store selling clean, natural, organic makeup, doesn’t yet have an opening date set, but its managers estimate the shop will open by fall (credobeauty.com).
Holey Grail Donuts has been making its presence known on the Boulevard at the Wednesday Farmers’ Market with an awesome donut truck. While there is no opening date set, workers say they hope to be selling from their spot at 148 N. Larchmont Blvd. by end of summer or early fall. The family-run company uses Hawaiian taro root as a base and fries the soy, dairy and egg-free treats in coconut oil. Holey Grail’s tasting menu will change every Thursday, so there will always be something new and exciting to experience (holeygraildonuts.com).
Neither Boba the Great, which will sell the popular boba or “bubble tea” that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, nor The Scent Room, a perfumery founded by commercial model and actor Deborah Turner (thescentroom.com), has announced dates for opening.
Two other stores have leased spaces in the Larchmont Mercantile building, now totaling nine of 14 spaces leased. Velvet by Graham and Spencer sells upscale clothing and some home items such as linens, vases and utensils in its 10 other locations (velvet-tees.com). No opening date has been announced yet for Larchmont.
Topdrawer will be located at 140 N. Larchmont Blvd. With nearly a dozen stores across the United States, Topdrawer says its focus is on tactile, durable, analog (as opposed to digital) gear. When the store opens, shoppers will find shoes, paper, pens, bags, eyewear, scrapbook-style photo albums and more (topdrawershop.com).
Bacio di Latte, located at 141½ N. Larchmont Blvd., expects to open in October. Its gelato will be made daily, in-shop, using the best organic milk and cream from family farms in Sonoma. Get ready to salivate over such flavors as Sweet Cream with Nutella, Vanilla Rose, Peanut Butter and Gianduja and Lemon Sorbet (baciodilatte.us).
Levain Bakery, at 227 N. Larchmont Blvd., is going to be a hard-to-pass shop whenever it opens for business. Notable for its six-ounce cookies, this bakery made a name for itself in New York City. The Larchmont location will be the bakery’s 12th (levainbakery.com).
And just next door to Levain, itself next door to Vernetti, there appears to be some leasing action as well. As of press time, nobody had any comment, but there were indications in window signage that 229 N. Larchmont Blvd. might become the home for a new take-out establishment featuring organic drinks. Chiki Chiki Boom Boom is a beverage company founded by Hancock Park residents Andres Isquieta and Juan Jaramillo. This may just be a pop-up, or it may be permanent. Look for updates next month.
North of Beverly
The May 2022 news scoop in the Larchmont Chronicle disclosed that Cookbook Market (“Larchmontians getting out and about even more — on both coasts”) is coming to the Boulevard. Additional progress toward the ultimate opening of this new store was evidenced last month. Posted on June 17 in a window of the former Chan Dara building at 310 N. Larchmont Blvd. is the State of California’s official notice that a new business has applied to take over Chan Dara’s existing license allowing the sale of beer and wine on the restaurant premises.
The business is that of Hancock Park residents Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, plus their sommelier partner Helen Johannesen (Jon & Vinny’s and Helen’s on Fairfax Avenue). Cookbook Market will offer Larchmontians a collection of upscale produce, small-producer dry goods, and grocery staples like deli meats, wine and sauces (cookbookla.com).
BEER AND WINE LICENSE transfer from Chan Dara is being requested for new Cookbook Market.
Category: News
