Four new restaurants are coming to a redevelopment project on the 3000 block of Wilshire.
Fast casual burger joint The Habit, Mediterranean eatery Luna Grill and sandwich shop Jimmy John’s will be part of the development. Italian restaurant La Scala will relocate to the Wilshire location as the fourth tenant, according to a press release.
In the release, Kennedy Wilson senior vice president of brokerage Christine Deschaine said the development will benefit the entire Santa Monica community.
“This is exciting news for the overall Santa Monica community as we are helping to launch the first Habit and Luna Grill restaurants in Santa Monica,” she said. “The area has been lacking variety in the restaurant space, and all four of these eateries bring a variety of options to serve both the daytime office population and local residents.
The Habit, Luna Grill and La Scala will take the place of SOUTH sports bar, while Jimmy Johns will open in the former location of Subway. Though construction is underway, Kennedy Wilson sales associate Clare Collins said she doesn’t know when the development will be completed.
Collins said The Habit has been trying to open a Santa Monica location for a number of years. Doug Branigan, the chief development officer at The Habit, said the West Los Angeles has been a “hole” for the restaurant.
“We haven’t pushed over that far west, so it’s kind of a market that’s been open for us,” he said. “We’re very excited about bringing The Habit to Santa Monica. Our everyday value is something people appreciate. So we think we’re going to do very well over there. We have good recognition and I think the people over there have been looking for a Habit for a long time.”
Branigan said The Habit has opened 21 restaurants already this year and hopes to open eight to 10 more before the year ends. He said the “energy,” between the four restaurants will benefit them all, and will help encourage customers to come back and try all four.
This will be the first Jimmy John’s location in Santa Monica, according to their website. Luna Grill has a number of locations in Southern California and the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Collins said the location was extremely attractive for restaurants looking to add a new location.
“There’s over 42,000 people just in a mile,” she said. “And then, on top of that, there’s another 43,000 employees. So that’s in one mile, and as you kind of look on the map, there’s lots of restaurants around 26th street and of course west of that, but there’s really a scarcity east, toward the 405. So we’re kind of filling a void right there.”
Ranging from approximately 1,200 to 2,250 square feet, the spaces face Wilshire Boulevard between Stanford and Berkeley Avenues at 3001 and 3023 Wilshire Boulevard.
editor@www.smdp.com
