Hollywood's own Lower East Side

By Heidi Siegmund Cuda

May 27, 2004 12 AM PT

Special to The Times

On Cahuenga Boulevard, glitzy meets gritty.

In one four-block sliver of Hollywood, coffeehouse cool shares a street corner with the gay bar crowd, dinner can mean a slab of warmed-over pizza or the hottest in fusion cuisine, and the soundtrack to a summer’s evening can come from a hipster songwriter or a dynamic DJ.

And although the neighborhood may have a Chamber of Commerce-endorsed moniker -- the Cahuenga Corridor -- it possesses little of the prefab veneer of developer-driven, faux-Byzantine entertainment districts. What it does have is a dizzying array of nightclubs, saloons, shops and restaurants that is making it a destination spot rivaling the Sunset Strip.

With fresh twists on nightlife seemingly opening weekly, the Cahuenga Corridor figures to brim with summertime activity, even if patrons have to step around the occasional reminder that desperation still lives here.

“You can park your car and walk everywhere,” says Johnny Nixon, the general manager of such hot spots as Beauty Bar, Star Shoes and Tokio. “With all the options, you can decide what’s cool.”

There are plenty of options, from the glamour of clubs such as Concorde and White Lotus to the blue-collar appeal of bars such as Goldfinger’s, on Yucca Street just off Cahuenga Boulevard, and the Burgundy Room.

Even the latte set is moving in, with Karma Coffee at Selma Avenue and Cahuenga, kitty-corner from the Spot Light Room -- the scruffy hustler bar -- and Caffe Etc. nearby.

“There’s still a seedy factor,” says Paul Devitt, a New Yorker who set up shop in the area in 1999. “It’s not the Third Street Promenade -- it’s a long way from that. It’s still marginal, but it’s cool like the Lower East Side is cool.”

It’s all in the juxtaposition -- only a hundred yards from the Spot Light and the seedy West Inn Hotel is the Burgundy Room, a 14-year-old rock ‘n’ roll haven that lends Cahuenga Boulevard a neighborhood feel.

“What makes this area great is you’ve got small, owner-operated bars and every night you’ll find us out here,” says Iad Mamikunian, the Burgundy Room’s owner. “Every place is distinctly different, but everything’s got something to offer.”

Next door is the Hotel Cafe, a post-modern beatnik cafe that books excellent singer-songwriters. Owned by Iad’s brother Max and his partner Marko Shafer, the Hotel Cafe was put on the map by such performers as Gary Jules, who used the spot’s cozy stage to work his magic.

Across the street is the Room, a dark-alley bar that opened just after the Burgundy Room and is one of Hollywood’s all-time offbeat favorites.

In 2000, Devitt opened the Beauty Bar, a martini-and-manicure lounge with sparkly walls and excellent DJs, and he is also the entrepreneur behind the tony sushi restaurant and nightclub, Tokio, and the snazzy bar Star Shoes, around the corner on Hollywood Boulevard.

“The area grew up around Beauty Bar,” Devitt says. “All of a sudden you had hundreds of people coming to this area, and guess what? They found out they liked it. It gave clubgoers a fresh alternative to the Strip.”

The mid-Cahuenga area boasts a cluster of establishments with a high cool factor, including three new spots: La Velvet Margarita, DJ Big Daddy Carlos’ Tijuana-and-Elvis-inspired Mexican restaurant and nightclub; the organic coffee-health food eatery Caffe Etc.; and True Tattoo, a month-old parlor owned by tattoo artists Chris Garver and Clay Decker. True Tattoo is the neighbor of Beauty Bar and the rock ‘n’ roll clothing store Blest. In addition, the popular underground record store Vinyl Fetish is nearby.

Proximity to such bustling enterprises as Nacional, a hangout for the rich and famous, and the posh Cuban restaurant Paladar -- both just a block away on Wilcox Avenue -- helps.

And around the corner on Hollywood Boulevard are myriad other options: the comedy club Improv Olympic West; Cinespace, a dance club that offers dinner-and-a-movie theme nights; and the Ivar Club, a disco with hot weekly promotions.

Across the street on the north side of the boulevard, you’ll find a new late-night Chinese eatery called Kung Pao Kitty.

“We were sick of talking about where we’re gonna eat in Hollywood,” says owner Paul Oberman, a Hollywood production designer turned restaurateur. “So I decided to open my own restaurant here.”

Devitt had the same idea with Tokio. “We’ve already proved Cahuenga could be bar-hopping central; now we’re letting people know it can be a destination spot for dining,” he says.

Another planned eatery is Citizen Smith, a bistro with outdoor dining and live jazz due to open in October.

When you consider the only competition is Greco’s Pizzeria and Popeye’s Chicken, the restaurateurs might be on to something.

“In my eyes,” says Chris Breed, who owns the White Lotus, “you could say Cahuenga’s its own Hollywood Boulevard.”

The White Lotus is a decadent Asian-themed nightclub, with late-night dining and dancing. Breed -- who also owns the Sunset Room, a Cahuenga nightclub south of Sunset, and the Pig ‘n Whistle a few blocks away -- pulled out all the stops when he debuted the Lotus last year.

“With the White Lotus, we took a decaying structure and made something beautiful of it, bringing a touch of elegance to Cahuenga,” Breed says.

It appears to be catching. Other sharp clubs have sprung up nearby: Xes, a sexy nightclub across the street, and Concorde, a fresh hot spot owned by the folks behind Las Palmas.

Yet despite all the changes, Cahuenga hasn’t lost its funky charm. On a recent Monday night, a group of homeless people broke into an impromptu jam session in front of the Golden Touch Beauty Salon, where a transvestite was getting hair extensions at midnight.

“You can still find people smoking crack in the alcoves,” Oberman says. “But it’s changed more in the last year than it has in a decade.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The Cahuenga Corridor

On Cahuenga Boulevard

1. Concorde, 1835 N. Cahuenga, (323) 464-5662

2. White Lotus, 1743 N. Cahuenga, (323) 463-0060

3. Xes, 1716 N. Cahuenga, (323) 461-8190

4. Hotel Cafe, 1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga, (323) 461-2040

5. Burgundy Room, 1621 1/2 N. Cahuenga, (323) 465-7530

6. T Studio, 1609-1615 1/2 N. Cahuenga (opening end of ‘04)

7. Tokio, 1640 N. Cahuenga, (323) 464-2065

8. Beauty Bar, 1638 N. Cahuenga, (323) 464-7676