Big bummer for the availability of fast, casual, inexpensive options on the seaside, as Yo! Venice! reports the shuttering of Gaby’s Mediterranean in Marina del Rey, just steps away from the sand. The chain, a quick fix for Lebanese cuisine with four locations still in operation, may have concluded that its interests were too concentrated on Washington, having closed the location for a remodel in January while preserving a store just blocks away. It is just as likely, given the region’s rising rents, that Gaby’s fell victim to yet another land-grab rampaging the Venice-Marina area. This corner of the city is fairly unique among corporate chain-crazed Marina del Rey, set up as a hub of independently-owned, local businesses like Hinano, Bin 73, and the Whaler. Sadly, we’ll be surprised if it stays that way forever.
Shuttered: Gaby’s Mediterranean at 20 Washington [Yo! Venice!]
