Andrew Meieran is about to reopen the doors of one of Los Angeles' legendary restaurants in a bid to once again turn it into an unconventional dining and entertainment destination.
Meieran is the owner of Clifton's Republic, the kitschy forest-themed restaurant on Broadway in the city's historic downtown core that for nearly a century served comfort food like barbecue, mashed potatoes, and Jell-O. The five-story restaurant and bar complex has been closed for the past year after a burst water pipe caused a flood that destroyed the kitchen and collapsed ceilings on three floors.
Clifton's is scheduled to reopen next month after extensive repairs and renovations. Among the changes customers will find is a basement venue that's been in development for several years and that Meieran says is “dedicated to innovation and the magic of experiences” with “entertainment, cocktails and culinary offerings.”
Meieran is keeping the details under wraps for now, but he has demonstrated a knack for creating provocative entertainment and dining venues through an obsessive attention to unconventional details, as well as a willingness to spend more money than most real estate developers. to realize their vision and preserve the historical integrity of their projects.
Meieran, a Bay Area newcomer with a background in real estate development and film, emerged on the Los Angeles scene in 2007 when he opened Edison, an underground nightclub he created in a former power plant beneath a century-old building on 2nd Street.
In 2010 he took over Clifton's from the family that had operated it since the 1930s, when founder Clifford Clinton bought the lease on the former Boos Bros. diner on Broadway and set out to create a space reminiscent of coastal redwoods. of Santa Cruz. Mountains, where Clinton spent summers growing up. After taking over, Meieran closed the restaurant for nearly four years for renovations and improvements and again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Times spoke with Meieran to discuss his plans to revive Clifton's after the current closure, as well as his thoughts on the changing nature of the bar and restaurant business during a time of change downtown. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Since the pandemic began, the restaurant business has been hit and put through changes that have made it difficult for owners to operate profitably. How do you plan to achieve it?
People need, and I emphasize “NEED” in capital letters, to be able to disconnect from their devices and balance their lives with physical and social interaction with the people who are there and present around them. We cater to people who are looking for a much more interactive lifestyle and crave physical experiences to balance the ubiquitous online presence.
A view of the interior of the Clifton Republic.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Clifton's exists in the collective memory of Los Angeles as a large coffee shop in a whimsical wooded setting, but we don't see coffee shops often anymore. Why is that? Will we return to Clifton's as we remember it?
Cafes used to be the dominant form of food delivery and service and now, with very few exceptions, they are no longer. There are clear reasons for this that are understandable and reasonable: you need tons of people in a captive audience to make a coffee shop work. You need stable, reasonable food volume and prices that you can pass on to your guests. That is completely absent in this era.
So what will Clifton's include when it reopens?
It will be fully operational as a restaurant, lounge and nightlife destination that will include the historic Brookdale Dining Room that people remember as Forest Glen, Walt Disney's original inspiration for Disneyland. We will also reopen the Monarch Bar on the second floor and the Pacific Seas “adventure bar” on the third floor. The basement will open in the middle of summer.
Obviously, downtown has changed a lot since Clifton's heyday in the 20th century, when Broadway was Los Angeles' main shopping and entertainment district. Occupation in office buildings, which used to provide a constant source of lunch time customers, has decreased substantially since the COVID-19 lockdown. What are the prospects for downtown businesses? like Clifton's?
It's obviously a very different environment than it was before the pandemic. People have changed their habits and patterns and companies have responded accordingly, some by closing and others by changing focus. It is a tectonic level shift, something that has not happened in generations and is now happening very quickly. It was initially triggered by the pandemic, but has been followed by technological changes that have altered the dining experience, such as app-based ordering, touch screens, and the potentially revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence.
It's hard for people to really recognize what's coming next and where this is all going. Obviously, that makes it difficult for a company to respond and for other people to make investments and determine where we will be in 18 months, three years or five years, which is what is needed in business.
The city center, due to the level of impact and its density, responds more slowly to change than other more agile communities. It's like turning a tanker that doesn't turn a dime. It takes a lot more effort and concentration to change your direction.
What are the chances that the Historic Core can be recovered?
Broadway, in particular, has all the ingredients that make extraordinary projects possible and extraordinary communities sitting here waiting for the right catalyst. It has density, historic infrastructure, and buildings that have intrinsic beauty and an intrinsic connection to guests, residents, and visitors. And it has the location in terms of accessibility with plenty of parking and transit service.
