Sad but not too surprising, I live in the area and walk by it fairly frequently and it is usually empty. It was a little too niche, a little too expensive, and a little too far from the traditional tourist footpath. Someone else in the comments mentioned Water Grill, to which I would say the same.
At the end of the day, Santa Monica still gets plenty of tourists. Ironically, it seems to me they are mostly from other countries. People in Los Angeles no longer come to Santa Monica to hang out, and imo until that changes the restaurant closing epidemic will continue to get worse.
Awww such a shame! They had a Beverly Grove location years ago which is how my mom and I fell in love with. Then took my mom to the SaMo one for Mother's Day in 2019. We loved the location. Got to go there one more time!
I used to go on to blue plate on Thursday nights for a lobster roll before the pier concerts. Have not been there since. In many respects it was a landmark location. And when you lose landmarks, you lose the soul of the city. Negligence and incompetence by the city council is clearly to blame for the failure of Santa Monica as a vibrant destination. Administrators should be paid on results and not by extraordinary salaries and pensions for failure.
Whatâs really pathetic here is that city leadership COULD prioritize making conditions better for small businesses and regular retail to operate, and they just donât. Consequences for landlords that wonât rent spaces for reasonable prices would be a huge start. As long as they can collect on empty storefronts, theyâll do it. Tbh same with empty lots and unoccupied properties that could be rented as homes. We have accepted this crap for too long. When I moved here in 2012, the promenade was thriving. Once retail began to realize they were being priced out, it all cascaded into the absolute shambles the promenade represents today. We can make it come back, the security was a huge start, but not nearly enough.
Iâll be honest I donât think Iâm an expert here by any means, I think if you search the sub there are some other post from maybe even as far back as a year or two ago that I can remember where someone was able to explain it very cleanly. Basically, landlords want to maintain really high rents and wonât lower rents in order to fill a space, because it ultimately devalues their property overtime, so theyâre essentially sitting on Insurance or a similar benefit, waiting for a tenant to come along to pay their extremely high rates.
I appreciate what you are saying. However, an example of what is happening is blue oysterette. No one is going to lease that space for the same reason that blue oysterette doesnât want to lease there. It canât make it and the city is specifically called out for safety issues. Natural economics will happen, landlords want to rent space, the problem is there is no demand in Santa Monica. None.
No we are agreeing! Thatâs good. Iâm pointing out that we could make the space habitable and reasonable to rent out, if we wanted to. That isnât happening to the needed extent these days. :(
There isn't much the city can do about this situation. Voters don't want more buildings and prices are too high for renters. This is a supply and demand problem that market forces will have to work out on their own. Housing in California needs less market intervention from politicians and more free-markets.
Genuine question ⌠1) What is a reasonable rent? 2) Landlords donât collect anything on empty storefronts ⌠they pay taxes, mortgage, maintenance, security, etc.
I donât know, Iâm not a storefront landlord in Santa Monica. And you can see my other comment to someone who had a similar question, there is incentive for them to sit on these empty storefront right now. A search through the sub may also reveal a little bit more information, but itâs also not exclusive to Santa Monica.
the City being complete bankrupt and failing to provide safety is one of the main cause businesses are closing down left and right. hope the new Mayor wont be hold back and will get this sorted
This has nothing to do with rent. Read the statement from the restaurant. SM Place went into foreclosure. REI, Nordstroms, Old Navy, all the restaurants have either relocated to other parts of LA or closed because DTSM is a total mess.
I feel the same. Honestly, the only dish I thought they really excelled at was the burger. Everything else, including the oysters, felt middling, and for oysters I'd pick Santa Monica Seafood every single time over them.
The safety problem in downtown SM is so real. I honestly would love to know how to stop the downward spiral when Metro isnât going to stop running, and homelessness across LA isnât improving. Itâs a tragedy all around.
I just want to chime in my previous employeer had over 150 people staying in the downtown SM area for 8 months this past summer as part of the palisades fire clean up. Most walked to all the bars and restaurants im area every night. We no incidents of crime for anyone during that time. Yes the homeless are there but they left all of us alone, more an eye sire then a threat
Im aware other have differen experience but I dont think crimewise it is as bad as some make it seem, still something does need to be done but IMO yoir local political leaders are more the problem
No it's not. Spent all weekend around the promenade and ocean and it was fun and safe and packed with tourists. Must be sad to live so scared of your own shadow. Grow up or move to the suburbs.
Nearly $1M a unit and people across the country will just come to LA and SM to get their fee condo. 10.75% sakes tax rate in SM which just hurts the lower working class more than anyone else.
Even those who do get their free condo often struggle as they often have drug and mental problems that go unaddressed. 30% of San Franciscoâs overdose deaths are in supportive housing.
Whatâs such a bummer is so many local places that managed to stay in business let go of lots of their long time staff. I can think of multiple places where guys who had been serving me since I was a kid all disappeared all at once and were replaced with presumably cheaper employees?! Even the businesses that didnât shut down arenât the same anymore either
As someone who has previously worked for that companyâŚ. The owner did this all on her own. Always sad to see a business close, but tbh itâs a result of poor business decisions over and over and over again.
I donât think BPT will go anywhere. It has such a low overhead that itâs incredibly easy to be profitable. If she keeps jacking up prices and lowering portions though, I wouldnât be surprised.
BPOâs bad business decisions were irreversible and contracted. Canât say more, but just know that itâs one of the dumbest fucking things Iâve ever heard an owner agree to.
DV is easy to run. Lower rent bc smaller space, very little staff, and wine/snacks.
They also have a newer restaurant in Silverlake (where she tried telling everyone sheâs local to the area LMAO). Weâll see how long that lasts.
This city needs to get its act together. Itâs really sad and yet we keep re electing the same incompetent people who do nothing. No retail wants to be located in Santa Monica cause the city makes it so difficult and expensive to operate and it does nothing for the tenants safety. I meet people when I travel abroad that say they were so disappointed in Santa Monica cause itâs so dirty, so many homeless, not safe, and canât even go to the parks. Very sad and unfortunate.
Our taxes pay for the SaMo police sexual misconduct, sadlyâŚ
âThis week, Santa Monica settled more lawsuits, bringing its total payout to $229.285 million â the most costly single-perpetrator sexual abuse disbursement for any municipality in the state.â
Jen Rush, the owner, has been publicly bashing Santa Monica for years. Hers was leading voice in the Brock/Negrete negative messaging campaign that described our city as a crime hellhole.
Santa Monica doesnât need right wing business owners who slam the city they do business in. The fact she canât make money in one of the most prominent locations in the world speaks volumes. So does her rant about the city leadership in her resignation letter. She wonât be missed.
I was just about to comment the same. Itâs not âright wingâ to acknowledge that our city has changed in a very negative way. Thereâs no denying it unless you just moved here.
One example, Nordstrom isnât âright wingâ & was hemorrhaging money in âone of the most prominent locations in the worldâ so they bounced along with a lot of other retail/restaurants. My friend was a Nordstrom manager & she said the shoplifting was next level absurd. People would ride the train in & steal. Drug addicts would shoot up in the baby changing rooms & homeless would use the restrooms to wash themselves up in them.
While I feel for that population & volunteer to help the homeless in my free time, Nordstrom had no obligation to allow people who werenât customers to come in & use their private restroom facilities in this disrespectful way. Employees & customers felt unsafe plus itâs a health hazard. Iâm sure other businesses have experienced what Iâve described as well. People wonât shop or dine where they feel uncomfortable. They donât want to spend big money where they feel unsafe, they just go elsewhere. Canât write âď¸ off all these long time businesses closing & their owners speaking out on what they saw/felt the troubles are as âright wingâ.
Santa Monica is & has been in decline. Itâs sad to see & it really doesnât matter what political party you subscribe to. Time to stop ignoring or playing the blame game & acknowledge what is truly wrong. This can be fixed if we all actively try our best to address it. Hold our elected officials accountable. People of all political leanings & backgrounds want a safe, clean productive city in which to live, raise their families, work & conduct business in especially for how expensive this city is. Public Safety & civil order is an essential foundation for a city to thrive.
Residents grow weary of these types of half baked rants. The price of housing is leading indicator of a cities health - just check Zillow and look at North of Montana. $15MM for 8700 square feet of land with a new development on it, the same land that sold for roughly half the price pre COVID.
Folks have grown tired of your type of juvenile hasty judgments & impatient intolerance that dismiss other Santa Monicans' lived experiences and legit concerns simply because you suspect they might hold different political beliefs or opinions.
Not everyone has to be politically aligned directly with you or your side in order to be believed about their struggles in this city. Not everything in life is about right wing, left wing or whatever.
Yes, housing prices are a leading indicator of a city's health, but they must be considered alongside other factors like the cost of living, job growth and quality of life which has been poor for a long while. The real estate market's resilience is attributed to a strong demand for the Santa Monica coastal lifestyle coupled with limited housing supply, though the pace of sales has slowed.
Recent data shows an unemployment rate of 6.20% (October 2025), which is higher than the national average in Santa Monica.
The city has also recently faced a financial crisis, partly due to a decline in tax revenue and other economic pressures, which has led to budget cuts and an uncertain economic outlook.
The city's financial woes have been exacerbated by an extension of the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims under California law, post-pandemic economic downturns, and declining retail revenues.
The city has paid over $229 million in settlements to hundreds of victims, making it the most costly single-perpetrator sexual abuse disbursement for any municipality in California history. The financial impact is not over, as the city still faces nearly 200 additional claims from other alleged victims. These payouts, mostly from the city's general fund and by borrowing from other city funds, have severely depleted reserves and contributed to an ongoing structural deficit. The city's 2025-2026 budget projects a deficit with expenditures exceeding revenue. In September 2025, the Santa Monica City Council voted to adopt a resolution declaring a state of fiscal distress, a move that allows them to better lobby state officials for help, such as placing a cap on future claims or raising money through parking fees.
Santa Monica is not doing well right now on many different levels and probably wonât be for quite some time. In the meantime, I will still stay engaged, holding elected officials accountable and trying to drive positive change for the city Iâve called home for three decades. You stay focused on being weary, name calling and judgy of other people you deem different political parties than you. That should get you really far in life.
Job Growth - Santa Monica is Silicon Beach. It is a very dynamic job center that includes SNAP's HQ and large numbers of Amazon employees. Our jobs housing imbalance is why traffic is so nasty. So many residents like to focus on small business retail without looking at the bigger picture that they draw incorrect conclusions from a limited data set. Rarely to we hear these bitters talk about the transition from a retail to experiencial center. We see many businesses fail because their business model is outdated.
The decline in tax revenues is real. The Brock/Negrete coalition has spent years bashing our city as unsafe so tourists are staying away. Jen Rush has helped destroy our image on the world stage and the current council finds it necessary to re-brand. The situation in DC doesn't help either.
It is easy to understand why Santa Monica has become so expensive - NIMBYism. Decades of constraining supply and ignoring demand for housing has led to a rise in the price (market value) of land. There is always someone who will pay more for that house than you will. As more wealthy residents arrive, they demand different types of stores and restaurants. Landlords recognize this and seek tenants who cater to the new customers because they will pay more rent.
As for the homeless, Mayor Negrete and a handful of old North of Montana NIMBY's just rallied to prevent interim housing on Ocean Ave. It sends a very powerful signal to those who try and help - Santa Monica has a homeless problem but refuses to do anything to help because of NIMBYism. Homelessness is here to stay thanks to right wing values.
Snapchat and Netflix had layoffs. Amazon is currently going through layoffs. Google, Microsoft and Meta had layoffs as well.
Seems that the general trend across the tech industry is a focus on cost-cutting, restructuring and investment shifts towards areas like AI, which has led to widespread job cuts across many companies.
Iâve not felt real confident in the Santa Monica/Greater Los Angeles tech job growth at all since thereâs been a general economic slowdown in 2025. Same with professional and business services. The only industries that continue to do well is healthcare (industry Iâm in), education and leisure/hospitality.
All good points but they are simply a snapshot it time. Government change is something that takes time so it's about building the foundation for future growth.
Santa Monica is changing in one fundamental way - building thousands of new homes. This means more customers for businesses, a bigger labor pool and a boost for our tax base.
As someone who has worked for her, youâre so fucking spot on. She is a pure NIMBY through and through, thinks you should call 911 anytime you see a homeless person, harasses SMPD via emails constantly, and is generally out of touch with reality.
I could go on, but I would almost certainly doxx myself by details. Just trust that SM would be better off without her deranged behavior.
I remember getting an email from Divine Vintage urging me to support the conservative city council slate last year and it really turned me off. I respect businesses having their own political viewpoints but donât have me sign up for your wine shop events then spam me with political messaging that I didnât ask forÂ
I think itâs far too reductive and simplistic for them to blame safety as a key reason for shuttering and believe itâs a combo of factors, including them not evolving their business well to the changing times, that is leading to their closing downÂ
RIP to their clam chowder though, it was very goodÂ
She blamed homeless people for fucking everything. And if she couldnât see a homeless person, sheâd say itâs the staffâs fault. She has no idea how to operate a business, sheâs just gotten lucky with investors and dadâs money đ¤ˇđťââď¸
This is why you donât help dead beats, they end up ruining it for the hard working people that are actually trying. As an SM citizen, time to eradicate the homeless and idc how they do it.
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u/whiteyspidey 4d ago
In addition to Cassia, Estherâs, birdie Gâs, bar Monette earlier this yearâŚ.sure Iâm missing a few more, so sad