After 122 years, Hermon, near Highland Park, finally gets its own restaurant

Hermon just got its first sit-down restaurant.

If you've never heard of the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood tucked between Highland Park and El Sereno, you're not alone. Unless you live there or regularly navigate the Arroyo Seco, Hermon tends to fly under the radar.

While its hip neighbors have seen wave after wave of restaurant openings, this 3,500-resident community has remained untouched. Until now.

Opened Dec. 3, Hermon's sits on the main stretch of Monterey Road, the latest venture from Last Word Hospitality — the restaurant group behind Found Oyster, Barra Santos, Queen's Raw Bar & Grill and Rasarumah. Founded in 2014 by Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt, the group partners with chefs and hospitality professionals, helping them become restaurant owners.

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The neighborhood of Hermon was founded in 1903 by a Free Methodist Church group and named after the biblical Mount Hermon. Annexed into Los Angeles in 1912, Hermon has grown quietly as a primarily residential area. But it remains one of Northeast LA's last underserved neighborhoods, with limited amenities and stores. Anyone interested in dining out was restricted to takeout spots at the Fresco Community Market shopping center.

From banquet hall to bar seats

The 89-seat restaurant occupies a former banquet hall that belonged to the Free Methodist Church, with Art Deco bones in a decidedly Craftsman neighborhood. The all-booth dining room features a U-shaped bar, handmade California tilework, hickory floors and vintage artwork spanning centuries.

Fox spent five years pursuing the building, drawn to its corner location and architectural details. The landlord initially resisted, citing risk, but came around after detailed presentations and tours of Barra Santos and Queen's. The next stop was the Hermon Neighborhood Council. Fox's team pitched in the space itself, emphasizing architectural restoration. The clincher? The name.

"The first thing she said to me was, 'The smartest thing you've done is name it Hermon,'" Fox recalled of the council president's reaction. "'You saw a community and you said, "Let's build a reflection of who they are."'"

Inside Hermon’s: a softly lit, wood-lined dining room that nods to classic L.A. dining rooms while feeling firmly rooted in the Hermon community.

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Courtesy Hermon's

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Community goal

Gentrification concerns — common at Last Word's other openings — never surfaced. Instead, Fox said the community seemed eager to be recognized.

Nicole Mihalka, president of the Hermon Neighborhood Council, said the name itself was significant for the small community.

"Not a lot of people know what Hermon is, but now if there's this great restaurant that's a destination with Hermon in the name, they're going to have to find out," she said.

The opening fulfills a long-standing community goal. In 2018, when the Hermon Neighborhood Council asked residents what they wanted to see more of in the neighborhood, the answer was clear: walkable retail and amenities, including restaurants and cafes.

The story illustrates Last Word Hospitality's intentional approach to developing "in-between" neighborhoods rather than adding to already-saturated dining corridors.

Opening with a happy hour was non-negotiable for Fox — a signal from day one that Hermon's is built for locals. Running daily until 6 p.m., there are $10 martinis and food specials priced between $6-8 that include garlic bread, marinated olives and loaded potato fritters. Fox said happy hour sales already match the next two hours combined, proving the pricing strategy is working for neighborhood regulars.

The menu

Chef/partner DK Kolender, whose résumé includes Tartine and Dudley's Market, leads the kitchen with a New American bar and grill menu, offering polished crowd-pleasers with an edge.

Kolender is most excited about the two-sheet lasagna vongole ($36) — clams, cream, guanciale, parmesan and breadcrumbs layered between fresh pasta made daily. The dish evolved from a clam toast he made at Dudley's Market, after weeks of developing a verde lasagna that never quite landed.

A closer look at the Ode to Chez burger — char, melt and a little sauce drip for good measure.

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Jim Sullivan

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Courtesy Hermon's

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Hermon’s two-sheet lasagna vongole, layering clams, cream, guanciale, parmesan and breadcrumbs into a rich, flat-sheet presentation.

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Courtesy Hermon's

)

The Ode to Chez cheeseburger ($24) — originally created for a Malibu project lost in the Palisades fires — features soubise fondue studded with green peppercorns, bordelaise onions, Dijon and a sesame milk bun developed with Kolender's former team at Tartine. Skip the $6 fries and opt instead for the loaded potato fritters ($16), topped with cream cheese, bacon and parmesan. It's the kind of indulgence that doesn't leave you weighed down.

Hermon’s loaded potato fritter: golden, layered potatoes crowned with a snowfall of grated cheese.

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Jim Sullivan

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Courtesy Hermon's

)

Since the opening, Kolender says the response has been overwhelming.

"We've had people who live down the street here two, three times already," he said. "We know them by name."

For Fox, it's unprecedented.

"I have never opened a restaurant with this much support," she said. "It's an unbelievable feeling."