The James Hotel soon will be a member of a very exclusive club: Sunset Strip hotels.
Like most Sunset Strip hotspots, the hotel will keep its patrons waiting. The 200-room inn, to be located on Sunset Boulevard and Hammond Street, still has to make its way through the West Hollywood planning process and won’t be finished for at least a year and a half.
Steven Afriat, a government relations consultant for New York-based James Hotel Inc., said the hotel would be the only one at the Beverly Hills end of the Strip. “It may appeal to someone who might think about staying in Beverly Hills, but the Sunset Strip is more exciting to them,” he said.
The hotel’s design is beginning to take shape. The entrance will be 125 feet wide, consume two-thirds of the block and be open to the street. A large atrium is planned for the center of the hotel, and from the back of the property, guests will be treated to sweeping views of the Los Angeles basin. Those views will also be seen from a fourth-floor outdoor swimming pool.
The hotel will include a seafood restaurant and a steakhouse. The restaurants will be operated by B.R. Guest Inc. Steven Hanson, president of B.R. Guest, helms James Hotel with Danny Errico, founder of fitness club company Equinox Holdings Inc.
The James currently has locations in Chicago and Scottsdale, Ariz.
Designing the West Hollywood hotel has been tricky. The one-acre Sunset Strip site slopes down. Because of that, the James Hotel asked West Hollywood to allow it to be a bit taller than originally permitted.
Partly due to the difficulty in building on the site, the location has remained vacant for several years. Crescent Heights Development had received approvals for a 183-room classic Mediterranean-style hotel, but Afriat said its financing fell through. James bought the site from Crescent Heights in 2004.
Along the Sunset Strip, the hotel landscape hasn’t seen change for many years. The Mondrian Hotel, the Standard, the Grafton, the Sunset Tower Hotel (formerly the Argyle) and the Hyatt West Hollywood are some of the most well known properties.
Afriat said the James, while hip, would also exude five-star class. “I have stayed at trendy hotels, but I have left those hotels to eat somewhere else,” he said. “They will try to have that cool to appeal to that age bracket that is staying at hotels, but still wants the steak you can get at the Palm or the seafood you can get at the Water Grill.”
Downtown Dining
Kahala Corp. is taking a big bite out of downtown’s City National Plaza.
The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based restaurant franchiser opened eight of its 10 brands in the complex last week. They are: TacoTime, Frullati Cafe & Bakery, Wafflo, Rollerz, Surf City Squeeze, Johnnie’s NY Pizzeria, Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill and Great Steak & Potato Co.
Along with downtown employees, Michael Reagan, general counsel and vice president at Kahala, said the company is hopeful that full-time downtown residents and a yet-to-be-built 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. gym will generate traffic at City National Plaza, formerly known as Arco Plaza. The company previously had a TacoTime location at the Plaza, which has of two 51-story office towers, one plaza level building and four subterranean levels.
The eight restaurant brands are intended to serve customers’ consumption needs throughout the day. For those with a nearby condo, Johnnie’s pizza can be taken away for dinner, said Reagan. And Surf City Squeeze smoothies are good for fitness buffs after a workout, he said.
Reagan pointed to Thomas Properties Group Inc. as a key factor in Kahala’s decision to add its restaurants to City National Plaza. He said Thomas, which bought the building in 2003 for $270 million, has made a commitment to renovating and bringing in tenants.
“We have spent a lot of money upgrading the entire retail level. That is roughly 100,000 square feet of retail,” said Charlie Smith, director of leasing for Thomas. “It is going to be a whole new look and feel.”
In addition to the Kahala eateries, Smith said a sit-down Weiland Brewery Restaurant will go into City National Plaza, and the lighting system and floors will be redone. Already in the Plaza are Starbucks Corp., McDonald’s Corp. and Rice Garden.
Fading Jeans
Nomadic denim specialist Earl Jean Inc., the Los Angeles-bred company credited with sparking the celebrity-driven craze for expensive jeans, is on the move again.
New York-based Jordache Enterprises Inc. has acquired the company from Greensboro, N.C.-based VF Corp. Nautica Enterprises Inc., since purchased by VF, bought Earl Jean in 2001 for $86 million and relocated its headquarters to New York.
Though playing a critical role in shaping the premium denim market, the company never saw huge revenues. When Nautica bought Earl Jean, it generated $45 million in revenues and brought in only an estimated $15 million shortly thereafter.
But Earl Jean did illustrate for today’s premium jeans companies including Vernon-based Seven for All Mankind LLC and L.A.’s True Religion Apparel Inc. the value of marketing to a celebrity clientele. At the time Earl Jean launched in 1996, Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association, said larger apparel companies didn’t grasp the concept.
“It made its name by being a celebrity line,” said Metchek. “They were straight, long-legged, very tight, very chic jeans. If you ate an olive for lunch, you couldn’t get into your Earl jeans.”
It’s unclear what the future for Earl Jean holds, but Metchek said brand manager Jordache may try to distribute Earl Jean items in mass-market outlets.
Earl Jean-branded stores will be closed, including the Larchmont Boulevard location.
*Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 224, or at
[email protected]
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