If all those shuttered storefronts have you fretting about finding a place to eat in our city, our friends at MenuPages have shone some perspective on local restaurant openings and closings in 2009. While MenuPages indeed listed 174 closings in a year that saw some big names like Orso disappear, most of the damage was done to Fuddruckers, unremarkable attempts at regional cuisine, and demises we could have predicted, like One Sunset’s.
Fortunately, 300 restaurants opened this year and some of the big closes experienced an after-life, as L.A. Farm attached Stefan Richter to its name, Tangier became a Korean barbecue joint, Riva turned to a Fraiche outpost, Hatfield’s plans a return, and Max yielded to give Gary Menes a home at Marche. Also, food trucks weren’t included, which should boost openings up by a few dozen or so. While you pine for your favorite shuttered spot, here’s a quick numerical breakdown of how many places we lost and gained last year and where they occurred.
Restaurant openings: 300
Restaurant Closings: 174
Neighborhoods with the most closings:
West Hollywood (23)
Hollywood (18)
Neighborhoods with the most openings:
West Hollywood (29)
Hollywood (28)
Downtown (27)
Months with the most closings:
January (25)
June (22)
Months with the most openings:
April (37)
January (31)
June (31)
March (30)
