The Brief

It was another great year for food in Los Angeles, and I did my best to try as much of it as possible. Several small independent businesses continued to make waves with delicious plates worthy of praise, from quality bites throughout Los Angeles and Orange County to ones outside city limits worth seeking out.

As we see 2023 near its end, I’ve compiled 23 of my favorite dishes and dining experiences from the past year into one banger of a list.

Let's dig in!

1. Apollonia’s Pizza square slice

Not all square slices are created equal, but the one from Apollonia's Pizza might be the best I’ve had recently. It’s both perfectly crusty on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. Get the pepperoni slice and add burrata and hot honey, and it will feel like you are eating a decadent pizza cake.

2. Mortadella sandwich from Pane Bianco

The mortadella sandwich at Pane Bianco is as heavenly as it is large.

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Words almost fail to describe what it's like when consuming this sandwich from Chris Bianco’s sandwich spot at The ROW near downtown Los Angeles. But I’m still going to try. From the pillowy soft bread that’s so heavenly, you feel like you can take a nap in it, to the apricot mostarda, which is both savory and sweet at the same time, paired with the slightly smoky flavors of the mortadella and a side of pickled vegetables that provides an equal amount of salty crunch after each bite.

3. Danny Palumbo Substack Newsletter

Technically, not something I ate. But it still lands on a list recapping my favorite food discoveries of the year. Palumbo is a pasta chef who makes pasta from his small apartment and sells it online, which I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t yet tried. However, his substack newsletter, The Move, has become a favorite of mine for his musings on all things food, not to mention the L.A. dining scene. A bonus has been the different recipe ideas he tries out and shares with his readers. He recently featured his take on YouTube chef Matty Mattheson’s Butter Chicken recipe, which Palumbo recommended serving with bolillo rolls from Ralphs. Genius stuff.

4. Mental State Coffee

I’m almost tempted to gatekeep this one because it’s that good, but I can’t hide it anymore. Mental State Coffee is an L.A.-based coffee purveyor who sells his beans over Instagram. He specializes in different varietals from Mexico. They are some of the most flavorful beans I’ve tasted recently.

5. Cookies from Fat + Flour

The soft yet crispy cookies from Fat & Flour are the perfect treat.

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6. All Seasons Brewing Company in Mid-City

All Season Brewing Company on La Brea Boulevard is a great place to hang with family and friends.

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Brian Feinzimer

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As someone who’s been going to the breweries since I was of legal age, I’m always searching for new ones, especially now that I have a family. Finding a good place for all of us to hang out and feel comfortable remains at the top of my priorities. All Seasons Brewing Company is just that type of place. Located in Mid-City, and family friendly, it offers plenty of brews, a full bar, and some great eats from Chica’s Tacos, with plenty of meat and plant-based options that will no doubt satisfy all the taste buds in your group. While enjoying your food and drink, take advantage of their skee ball, which will be way more fun than you remember.

7. Giardiniera from Grá in Echo Park

The fresh tasting Giardiniera salad at Grá in Echo Park makes for the perfect accompaniment with a glass of natural wine.

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Gab Chabrán

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The pickle tray meets salad dish at the Echo Park pizza restaurant Grá is a sharable plate served at the beginning of the meal. The fresh-tasting dish with vegetables containing all types with different textures, including romanesco cauliflower, green beans, and carrots, manages to steal the show from the rest of the meal. It’s the perfect accompaniment with a glass of wine.

8. Steak Dinner from Jocko’s in Nipomo

My family took a trip to the Central Coast for Thanksgiving. Aside from wine tasting, we ended up at a Santa Maria-style BBQ institution, Jocko’s. It's one of the last places to specialize in the California-specific barbecue style and still manages to wow its diners every night with various cuts of meat and great sides.

9. Oysters from Del Mar Ostioneria in Los Angeles

Enjoy some of the freshest-tasting oysters at Del Mar Ostioneria, the tan-colored food truck in the same lot as a wedding chapel on La Brea Avenue. Make it official with these oysters, splashed with the bright combination of Clamato, lime juice, chopped cucumbers, ponzu sauce, and a sprinkling of crushed chiltepin pepper. Slurping down a couple of these babies will only enhance the feeling of exuberance.

10. Totti from La Parolaccia in Long Beach

The Roman-style, family-owned Italian osteria in Long Beach is a heartfelt restaurant. A great example is the Totti, a half-calzone and half pizza. The calzone side is stuffed with cheese, mushrooms, and ground sausage. The pizza side contains mushrooms, sausage, and cheese, showered with peppery arugula. The dish is named after a famed Italian footballer, Francesco Totti, and will make you feel like a champion after having it.

11. The Caramelo from Tacos La Rueda in Bellflower

The Caramelo steals the show at La Rueda taqueria in Bellflower.

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Sonora-style Mexican food has continued to ascend in popularity. La Rudeda is a small but mighty strip mall-based taqueria in Bellflower. Owned and operated by Omar and Alan Cejudo Hernandez, it is a love letter to their home state, with their soft-tasting flour tortillas to their smoke-kissed carne asada. Try the Carmelo, a great combination of both, with silky guacamole and Monterey jack cheese.

12. Flatbread from Forn Al Hara in Anaheim

The flatbreads from Forn Al Hara come with a variety of different sizes and toppings.

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Located in the Little Arabia section of Anaheim, Forn Al Hara is a Lebanese restaurant specializing in various flatbreads. They come in lots of different sizes and toppings. The most popular option is the manaeesh, which typically comes with topped spices, cheese, ground beef, or sausage. However, a standout for me is the labneh with asel, a combination of strained yogurt, similar to cream cheese, covered with thick, rich honey. It’s so simple yet so undoubtedly satisfying.

13. Birra de Chivo Bowl from Saucy Chick Goat Mafia

The birra de chivo bowl at Saucy Chick Goat Mafia in Pasadena is as comforting as it is filling.

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When word got out that Saucy Chick Goat Mafia, the mash-up team of two of L.A.'s most exciting pop-ups, had set up shop in a new location, I knew I owed them a visit. Saucy Chick, specializing in Indo-Mex style cooking, is known for its various spiced roast chicken dishes. Goat Mafia is Juan Garcia, a fourth-generation birriero, using his recipes from his family’s roots in Jalisco, MX. The team met at Smorgasburg, Los Angeles, before setting up shop for a small stint on the west side, and they have now landed at their new location in East Pasadena. Garcia’s talent is on full display with the Birria de Chivo bowl, featuring the perfectly tender and flavorful goat meat containing sui generis levels of gaminess, giving the dish its personality and depth with each bite. It's paired with rice that has hints of cumin alongside the exceptionally creamy Mayocoba beans and soft, warm corn tortillas that provide for the perfect taco-making accompaniment.

14. Dollar Hits in East Hollywood

The selection of skewers is vast at Dollar Hits, a family owned DIY Filipino barbecue restaurant, in East Hollywood

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The semi-outdoor DIY Pinoy barbeque restaurant is one of my favorite dining experiences of the last year. When you arrive, you choose from an array of pre-cooked items from chicken, beef, pork, fish, and tofu skewers that run about $1.25 a pop. You grab an aluminum tray (the size of a small roasting pan), collect as many as you can handle, and pay. Afterward, head out to the outdoor seating in their parking lot, where you’ll find long rectangular grills filled with burning hot coals. Find your place at the grill, plot down your collected skewers, and let nature take its course. It all heats and chars quickly, so you must keep an eye on it while you bask in the coolness of this tremendous L.A.-specific experience.

15. Shins pizza in Cypress Park

More pizza? Yes, but this time, we’re headed to Shins in Cypress Park, the northeast L.A. neighborhood located directly off the 5 Freeway, smack dab in the middle of Highland Park and Glassell Park. Yes, there are a lot of parks to keep track of, but once you clear that hurdle, there is some delicious ‘za at the end of that rainbow. (The walk-up counter is next to another favorite spot of mine, Barra Santos, a Portuguese restaurant.) While you can order whole pies, Shins features all their pizzas as a slice option, so it’s easy to try a few. The Mortadella slice is a standout, and here’s why: the white pie contains mozzarella, garlic, and a healthy dollop of ricotta, then is topped with an entire slice of Mortadella. It’s a move that feels both lackadaisical and intentional at the same time. Perfect for a hip slice joint for the budding east side neighborhood. But once you get past the pastiche factor of your surroundings, biting into the crusty yet chewy slice will make you realize it's worth the hype.

16. Teriyaki Plate from 2 Scoops of Rice

There are plenty of teriyaki plates, but coming across this one from the Polylesian-style barbeque pop-up felt extra special. The owners are Samoan and pop up throughout the L.A. area, so watch their IG. The plate I ordered came with perfectly charred barbecue chicken and short ribs that were expertly marinated, tender, and juicy, along with a side of fried shrimp whose batter effectively encapsulated the shrimp at a level I hadn’t yet experienced. The dish comes with two scoops of rice, as mentioned in their name, topped with furikake, a Japanese seasoning typically made with toasted sesame seeds and nori, and a small portion of Hawaiian mac salad. Share with another person or save it for leftovers as it travels well.

17. Oxtail mac and cheese egg roll from Chef Zagga Irie Vibez

A couple of years back, I heard about Chef Zagga Irie Vibez, a Jamaican cuisine pop-up based in Bellflower. I was immediately intrigued by how tireless and committed the young upstart chef from the 562 was about sharing his cuisine. Zagga is known for his exquisite jerk chicken and oxtail. However, it wasn’t until his recent Fall Festival that he unveiled his oxtail and mac cheese egg roll. While I tend to shy away from such culinary mash-ups as they tend to be heavy on grease, Zagga’s eggrolls are light and airy and maintain the integrity of their key ingredients, allowing both to shine through perfectly. Not a regular menu item, but you can bet at his next fest I’ll be first in line to have them again cause they are that good.

18. Padma Lakshmi Mango Lasi Cupcakes from Sprinkles

Padma Lakshmi mango lasi cupcakes from Sprinkles were the perfect sweet treat for the Diwali celebration this year

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When it comes to cupcakes from Sprinkles, I’m not always one who you’ll find first in line. The boutique cupcake chain, known for its cupcake ATMs, was all the rage a decade ago. So it had been a minute since we’d had one of their deliciously lush desserts. As part of the Diwali celebration, TV personality Padma Lakshmi partnered with the company to create her version of a cupcake that celebrates her Indian heritage. Based on the popular yogurt-based drink, the cupcake contains rich mango cake piped with a creamy curd center and a blend of cinnamon and cardamom-spiced yogurt frosting. It’s an extremely beautiful bite.

19. Almeja Chocolata from Holbox

Almeja Chocolata (Chocolate clams) from Holbox are great for slurping down with friends

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The James Beard semi-finalist Holbox is located in the Mercado La Paloma and rarely misses when it comes to their dishes, like the sweet and salty tasting clams, great to toss back with friends with a beer.

20. Pulpo a la Gallega at Serrano

At the Spanish pop-up Serrano, run by chef Jorge Serrano, there’s much to choose from regarding his menu since it’s all so good. Ultimately, what stuck out for me in 2023 is his pulpo dish, made up of the velvety textures of expertly cooked octopus atop a soft bed of mashed Yukon gold potatoes, sprinkled with smoked paprika and drizzled with arbequina olive oil.

21. Specialty Dynasty Xiao Long Bao at Paradise Dynasty

The multi-colored dumpling from the Singaporean food powerhouse, Paradise Dynasty, is an incredible dish not just because of the amazing flavors of each XLB. Still, the multi-colored hues of each make the experience all the more memorable. Truth be told, I’ve always been a sucker for this dish, and these are some of my favorites in recent memory.

22. Agua Chile Negro from Simón in Silver lake

The Silver Lake seafood lochera is another favorite dining experience this year. All of their tacos are for around five bucks and are filling and inventive, such as their whole soft shell crab and fish al-pastor, all wrapped in freshly made blue corn tortillas that sparkle with flavor. However, if you are looking to get the most out of your visit to the little blue truck, then try their agua chile negro made with shrimp bathed in smoked tomatillo sauce.

23. Tacos Los Cholos in Anaheim

On a recent visit to Anaheim, I visited the temple of smoke known as Taco Los Cholos. I give that name to its devotion to grilled meats, some of the best I’ve had in recent memory. From the perfectly charred carne asada to tender-as-the-night ribeye tacos, they make for one helluva bite. Upon arrival at your table, they don’t look like much, just tortilla and meat. They're not looking to dazzle your Instagram discovery page. Instead, they are packed with a ton of flavor and can still fit into the palm of your hand. All that to say, you need these tacos and once eaten, you'll frequently be willing to risk it all by braving the traffic just to get a taste.

A portion of Sunset Boulevard reopened overnight after LADWP crews finished repairing a water main break in West Hollywood that shut down the area for more than a week.

The water trunk line broke more than a week ago on Thursday, July 16, flooding streets and opening a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard. LADWP says crews will need to return in the coming weeks to complete permanent paving and other work.

LADWP also said it's accelerating the installation of a new trunk line to replace the 110-year-old pipe. The infrastructure project, which was originally scheduled to begin installation in 2031, is currently “60% designed” and will take approximately four years to complete.

How to get help

Those affected by the water main break can file damage claims with LADWP.

West Hollywood contact info:

• Residents should email safety@weho.org
• Businesses can contact business@weho.org

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Armed with flashlights, dozens of community members stepped into the darkened Westlake Theatre on Thursday, sidestepping puddles and broken glass as they imagined what the century-old movie palace could become.

Inside, much of the theater looks frozen in time. Dust coats the staircases leading to the balcony, while rows of worn seats still face the stage beneath peeling painted ceilings and decorative plasterwork. Above the auditorium, a faded Anthony Heinsbergen mural offers a glimpse of the theater’s past.

Los Angeles nonprofit theater company Strindberg Laboratory hopes to change that.

The organization wants to purchase the historic Westlake Theatre and transform it into a community arts and nonprofit hub. Their proposal calls for preserving the space while adapting it into a shared civic center that could host live performances, film screenings, neighborhood council meetings, lectures, arts workshops and office space for community organizations.

The effort is in its early stages.

The building has not been purchased, no major funding has been secured and organizers say community input will help determine what the project ultimately becomes before fundraising begins. The group’s proposal estimates acquiring and restoring the theater would cost between $6 – $8 million.

“This is just the first gathering,” Michael Bierman, founder of Strindberg Laboratory, told The LA Local. “It’s not an exclusive club. We welcome everybody and anybody. Everybody has something to input in their community.”

Bierman wants to create a coalition to see the project come to life. Several organizations have already expressed interest, he said, and about 50 people attended Thursday’s tour, including representatives from the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Homies Unidos, LA Commons, the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, Central City Neighborhood Partners and other community groups.

The Westlake Theatre opened in 1926 as a 1,949-seat vaudeville and movie palace overlooking MacArthur Park, according to the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. It operated as a movie theater until 1991, when it closed and was converted into an indoor swap meet. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency bought the property in 2008 with plans to restore it as a live entertainment venue, but those plans stalled after the agency was dissolved in 2012.

In 2018, the property was sold to 634 Alvarado LLP, an entity controlled by Jamison Properties and today, the ground floor houses a swap meet with small businesses, including clothing vendors, tailors and a barbershop, while the historic auditorium remains unused.

Bierman said the next step is forming a steering committee before seeking philanthropic, local, state and federal funding. If organizers can secure enough partners and financing, he hopes the coalition can purchase the theater by winter. Restoring the building, he said, would likely take several years.

An interior view of the historic Westlake Theatre, which has been closed for at least three decades. The space is vacant on July 23, 2026.

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What neighbors want to see

For many who attended Thursday’s tour, the proposal was also personal.

Aurora Corona, a former Pico Union Neighborhood Council member, remembers visiting the theater as a child.

“It just brings back memories of the glory of the way it was,” Corona said. “The history is here. So for me, revitalizing and bringing back to what it was is like a dream.”

She said she hopes the restored theater could host performances, international films, festivals and local artists while reflecting the surrounding community.

Sara Zapata Mijares arrived in the Westlake neighborhood from Yucatán in 1969, when she was 17 years old. She remembers when MacArthur Park served as a gathering place for families in the neighborhood.

“This used to be a park where my dad and I used to come and have picnics and he would play ballgaming here with a lot of families,” she said. “I remember coming to the park and coming to watch movies here.”

Zapata Mijares said reviving the theater could also help nearby businesses. Visitors to the nearby Mexican Consulate, she said, could help boost the local economy if they stayed in the neighborhood to shop or eat after their appointments.

The idea to transform the theater into a community hub grew out of Strindberg Laboratory’s own search for a permanent home after rising rental costs made it increasingly difficult to continue working out of the Frida Kahlo Theater. But after touring the three-story building, Bierman realized the space was too large for a single organization.

“We dreamed of a community public space that also is a hub for culture and arts and theater and films and education and newspaper and all those things that every single community needs,” Bierman said.

What happens to the swap meet?

The effort faces practical questions beyond raising millions of dollars. The proposal would have to address the future of the businesses already operating inside the building.

Sofía García, who has sold clothing inside the swap meet for about a year, said she hopes a restoration would bring customers back to the space.

“That would be good because it would improve the atmosphere here,” García said in Spanish. “By improving the theater, there would be more people and therefore more sales.”

García estimated her sales fell sharply after parking was removed outside the building and nearby street construction made it difficult for customers to visit her business.

Bierman acknowledged that vendors will have to be part of the conversation if the project moves forward.

“They are part of the community,” he said. “We’re not going to just come in and take over and boot them out. We need to talk to them and see what they want.”

Jesús Sosa Guerra, who recently opened a tailoring business inside the swap meet, said he supports the proposal but worries existing tenants could be displaced.

“It wouldn’t be good to sideline small businesses, because we all need to hustle to make ends meet,” he said in Spanish.

Preservation advocates see the project as an opportunity to restore a historic landmark while creating badly needed public space in a neighborhood with few gathering places.

“This city is filled with talented people who are lacking one very fundamental thing, which is a place to show what they’re capable of and to make connections,” said Kim Cooper, co-founder of Esotouric, a walking tour that explores various neighborhoods around the city.

Cooper said the space could be opened up to people who have bands and want to perform, to book events, to readings, to poetry slams, to any kind of number of things.

“You could have spelling bees, like anything. You could just have a neighborhood potluck. You could have fruit exchanges. I don’t know. I mean, the neighborhood will tell you what they want to do,” she said.

Cooper’s partner, Richard Schave called Bierman’s proposal “an opportunity for a neighborhood that has had perhaps the worst succession of public policy decisions made about it to finally have one decent public policy decision made about it.”

SAN DIEGO — Josiane Valsaint has lived and worked legally in the U.S. since 2010. But she and hundreds of thousands of other Haitian nationals are set to lose their legal status as soon as Monday, opening the door for federal immigration agents to round them up for deportation.

The question that sends tears streaming down Valsaint's face is: If that happens, what will happen to her 10- and 12-year-old children, born in San Diego, who attend public school here?

"Who's going to take care of my kiddos?" she asked. "They're not adults yet. They were born here." Taking them to Haiti, much of which is now controlled by heavily armed gangs, is not an option, she said.

The Supreme Court last month allowed the Trump administration to kick 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians out of the Temporary Protected Status program that has allowed them to live and work in the U.S. because of unsafe conditions in their countries. There are many uncertainties now agonizing these communities, including how aggressively immigration agents — who have their addresses — will seek to detain them, and what will happen to their children, many of whom are U.S. citizens.

Guerline Jozef is executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a San Diego-based nonprofit that supports Haitian immigrants. She said if the government begins rounding up Haitians whose Temporary Protected Status has been revoked, family separations are likely because most parents can't fathom taking their children back to a country largely controlled by armed gangs.

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By one Princeton researcher's estimate, there are 50,000 children who've been born in the U.S. to Haitian parents with TPS. The loss of those protections means a large new population of mixed-status families are vulnerable to being split apart by the Trump administration's mass deportation drive.

In deciding to strip Haitians of their temporary legal status, the Trump administration has said it's no longer justified because "conditions in Haiti have improved sufficiently to support the return of Haitian nationals' safely. It's also said allowing Haitian migrants to remain is "contrary to the U.S. national interest."

Haitian migrants and advocacy groups have disputed those conclusions. In fact, they say, Haiti is more dangerous now than when the Obama administration first granted TPS to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Haiti's president was assassinated in 2021. Today, armed gangs control vast swaths of the island nation's territory, infrastructure and economy, and restrict the movement of citizens.

Almost invariably, Haitian TPS holders say taking their children there is unfathomable.

"They cannot take those children back to Haiti," said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance, which advocates for Haitian immigrants. "Not because Haiti is not beautiful. Not because there's no hope. But because right now, in July 2026, it is impossible for them to be safe there."

In late June, Haitians in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status attended an information session at the Haitian Bridge Alliance, in San Diego, about what the loss of their legal status could mean for them and their families — and how to prepare.

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Many Haitian TPS holders, Jozef said, are just beginning to consider the impossible decisions they'll soon face. Leave their children in someone else's care? Take them back to Haiti? Try fleeing to another country?

"I think family separation is more likely," Jozef said. "To take them back with them is not even a choice."

Valsaint, whose 10 and 12-year-olds speak perfect English and sing in a church choir in San Diego, said about her plans only that, "families stick together." And then, her voice catching, she added: "We can't go back to Haiti." She said she's hoping for a miracle.

Sandra, a Haitian woman with TPS who asked NPR to use only her first name because she fears deportation, said her teen son came to her after the Supreme Court ruling and expressed suicidal thoughts over the prospect of being sent to Haiti, a country he's never been to but whose troubles he's kept up with online.

"I cried," said Sandra, who works as an in-home caretaker in San Diego. "I'm supposed to protect them, and I feel like I'm failing."

It's not clear how aggressively Immigration and Customs Enforcement will move to detain and deport Haitians newly stripped of TPS protections, or how much capacity Haiti has to receive deportation flights. Haiti's top migration official told local reporters that based on a conversation with the U.S. embassy in Haiti, he expects about a thousand deportees to arrive on flights from the U.S. each month.

NPR asked the Department of Homeland Security how it plans to handle the U.S.-born children of Haitians it seeks to detain. In an emailed statement, an unnamed spokesperson wrote, "ICE does not separate families. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration's (sic) immigration enforcement."

Haitian flags at the offices of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a San Diego nonprofit.

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The statement stressed the administration's longstanding position that Temporary Protected Status was always meant to be temporary.

"For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program," the statement said. "The Trump administration is restoring integrity to the immigration system by ensuring that individuals who no longer qualify for TPS either pursue another lawful immigration status, voluntarily depart using the Department's available return assistance, or face removal in accordance with federal law."

In some states with large Haitian communities, such as Massachusetts, officials have published guides to help parents who want to designate temporary guardians for their U.S. citizen children. Jozef, of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said advocates are scaling up other support systems to help Haitians make plans to protect themselves and their children in the weeks and months ahead.

On Monday, a lower federal court in D.C. is expected to implement the Supreme Court's ruling allowing TPS for Haitians to end. That would allow immigration agents to begin arrests. Advocates are exploring other legal options and urging Congress to pass a bill that would extend TPS protections for Haitians. It passed the House with support from some Republicans in April, but was blocked by Senate Republicans this week.

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 9 8 8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Copyright 2026 NPR

For the past nine years, if you’re the kind of person who nerds out on Star Wars, Marvel, Game of Thrones, or any nerd franchise that exists in the galaxy, you’ll have found your community at Scum and Villainy Cantina in Hollywood.

While the exterior looks like just another unassuming business on the often bustling street, walking in reveals a highly curated space honoring every facet of nerd culture down to the last detail. The design honors the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Custom cocktails allude to different fandoms with names like “Sauron Sour” and “Harley Quinn.”

Scum & Villainy Cantina's bar may look familiar.

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Most importantly, the people enjoying the space are openly expressing their love for these stories and universes, whether that be through intricate costumes or lively debate. It’s a scene one might find after (or before) a sci-fi convention, which is exactly what J.C. Reifenberg, co-owner of Scum and Villainy, intended.

“We wanted to create the post-convention bar experience every night of the week,” Reifenberg said.

As a veteran of such conventions, he’s seen Mark Hamill (who played Luke Skywalker) speak numerous times, but he doesn’t remember any of the speeches. He does remember the people he met at the bar when the long day was over.

Revel in nerd culture (costumes encouraged) at Scum & Villainy.

"The best part about fandom is the community. That’s what people crave,” Reifenberg said. “This geek world has grown up with the kids that fell in love with it and continues to offer comfort, companionship, friendship and opportunity.”

Scum & Villainy Cantina in Hollywood.

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Reifenberg is now taking that concept and doubling down, hoping to create not just another gathering place, but a community hub for makers and creators to learn the craft.

Expanding to Burbank

For the past eight months, he and his wife, Jen Smith, who designed the interior of both establishments, have been crowdsourcing to raise $1 million for Scum and Villainy: Rendezvous, which they hope to open in Burbank, steps below the AMC 16. It’s certainly attracting interest; so far the pair have raised more than $600,000 toward the goal.

Scum & Villainy, open to people of all galaxies.

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Reifenberg said he can’t confirm an official launch date because they’re waiting on their permits from the Department of Planning in Burbank. But they are shooting to open by the time Avengers: Doomsday comes out on Dec. 18.

“My goal is for people to watch Avengers and walk down the steps to Rendezvous with everybody in the movie theater,” Reifenberg said. “We’ll have ‘No spoilers’ signs up until the last showing of the night is over.”

The new space is 5,200 square feet over two floors. The bottom floor is for the post-convention hangs, similar to the current Scum and Villainy. Upstairs, there will be private dining and a professional podcast and livestreaming studio. Reel Rejects, the movie and television commentary channel on YouTube, is partnering with Rendezvous for live events and recording.

There’s also a multi-purpose room hosting classes taught by entertainment professionals, for which they’ll be tapping some industry heavy hitters. After running Scum and Villainy and working in film and television, including many projects with fellow super nerd Kevin Smith, Reifenberg and Smith have come to know Marc Bernardin (who wrote episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader and Eyes of Wakanda), Fon Davis (who worked at George Lucas’s visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic), and many more professionals behind geek franchises.

“I’m connected to all these wonderful makers, and these people love to share what they learned,” Reifenberg said, noting that when he grew up in Chicago, not only was there not nearly as much of an industry for this kind of work, but any time he would share his big ideas, his peers would shoot them down as impossible. Not here in Los Angeles.

“Los Angeles is a city of dreamers,” Reifenberg said. “I remember how magical and untouchable these things were. What can I do to help inspire the next kid to do an impossible thing?”

Fundraising for it

The first five investors of $5,000 in the WeFunder campaign for Rendezvous will get to shoot their short films there, and there are plenty of bigger perks as well. Individual tiers go as high as $100,000, offering everything from lifetime discounts to being in a commercial for the space directed by Kevin Smith. (Smith invested $10,000, and has hosted numerous episodes of his podcast Fatman Beyond at the original Scum and Villainy). Then, if the total goes over $750,000 or reaches the total goal of $1 million, everyone who contributed gets extra benefits, such as 20% off merch.

The $1 million amount may seem ambitious, but in 2017, the original Scum and Villainy was just a weekend pop-up instead of a year-round establishment. After announcing it, they sold more than $1 million in tickets from April to July 2017, and they realized they needed to keep it open for the community.

The pair told me so many stories about how Scum and Villainy has changed people’s lives. Some are about couples meeting there on May 4 (yes, May the Fourth, the internationally recognized Star Wars holiday) who then proposed on a later May 4. Others are about people who came to every weekend of the pop-up in costume because it was the first place in their entire lives they felt truly safe to express who they are.

“I have worked in bars and restaurants for 20 years, and I have seen restaurateurs who don’t believe in their concept. They’re not willing to put the time and effort into massaging it to appease the community,” Smith said. “This whole place exists because the community is like ‘Please don’t close.’”

Reifenberg added: “If we build it, they will come.”