Chocolatiers Look to Raise Bars at New Factory

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A pair of Willie Wonkas has made its way to the Arts District.

Brothers Rick and Michael Mast, 39 and 36, respectively, have set up Mast Brothers artisanal chocolate factory and shop in a 6,000-square-foot warehouse at 816 S. Santa Fe Ave., near trendy restaurant Bestia and Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

The outpost, which opened last week, is the third launched by the duo since founding the New York brand in 2007. The other is in London.

The downtown shop will sell truffles, chocolate beer, and bars that come enclosed in artfully designed wrappers. But all that decadence comes at a premium: A 2.5-ounce bar retails for $8.

Rick Mast, who lived in Long Beach about 15 years ago, said he’s wanted to open an L.A. location for a long time. The brothers have held the lease on the building for almost two years, which is how long it’s taken them to come up with a plan for the location. The siblings ultimately settled on a public space that beckons Angelenos to see how their chocolate is made from scratch, a technique known as bean to bar. Tours will be offered daily on the hour.

Mast said the transparency has nothing to do with a cocoa controversy the company found itself in late last year, when it was accused by a food blog of using melted commercial chocolate inside its bars.

“This is not part of an effort to quash that at all,” he said. “Just last year alone we welcomed over 100,000 people to see how we make our chocolate” in Brooklyn and London, he said.

Mast said he thinks Angelenos will be open to seeing that chocolate is more than just cheap candy bars.

“There’s an eagerness and curiosity for new ideas and innovations in general happening in Los Angeles,” he said, “particularly in the Arts District.”

Honoring Rams

Next week’s annual Treasures of Los Angeles awards event put on by the Central City Association has a new honoree: the Los Angeles Rams.

That’s right, the Rams, who haven’t even played a professional football game in the region since leaving 21 years ago. Sort of like President Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after only nine months in office.

So why honor the Rams now?

“What we’re really honoring here is the return of professional football to the Los Angeles region,” said Carol Schatz, chief executive of the association. “We think it’s an exciting development given all the efforts to get football back to L.A. over the last two decades. It’s important for the region to have football back.”

Accepting the award on behalf of the Rams will be Kevin Demoff, the team’s executive vice president of football operations and chief operating officer. No word on whether Rams owner Stan Kroenke plans to attend the May 12 event, which is to be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

The Rams were a late addition to the list of honorees at the gala; the others announced months ago include developer Wayne Ratkovich, chief executive of Ratkovich Co., Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, pastor at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown; and Business Journal Publisher Matt Toledo.

Open During Construction

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has begun doling out money from its Business Interruption Fund to small businesses in Little Tokyo impacted by construction of the Regional Connector Transit Project, according to Metro’s blog The Source.

The connector is a $1.5 billion rail tunnel that will connect the Blue, Gold, and Expo lines.

Launched in February of last year, the program has awarded 135 grants totaling more than $2.5 million to businesses directly impacted by construction of the Crenshaw-LAX Line, Purple Line Extension Section 1, and, now, the regional connector in Little Tokyo.

One of the first grants in the area went to KC Stylist at 706 E. First Street, where construction activities have been ongoing since early this year. The business received a check earlier this month for more than $44,500. Six other businesses, including Chado’s Tea Room, received checks in April.

According to Metro, qualifying businesses must demonstrate two years of continuous operating history; have 25 or fewer total employees; and good standing with local, state, and federal taxing and licensing authorities. Financial records must also show a loss of revenue directly related to the period of construction disruption.

Metro said it expects to pay out an increasing number of grants as construction progresses along the Second Street-Broadway segment of the regional connector.

Staff reporters Marni Usheroff and Howard Fine contributed to this column. #DTLA is compiled by Managing Editor Omar Shamout. He can be reached at [email protected].

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