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No Happy Ending in Playa del Rey
If by "healthier" food with "more seafood" includes shrimp and butter-drenched bread knots impaled on a skewer piled on meaty rice and smothered in sauce, then, hey, yeah, Happy Ending has it going on. (Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist)
Apparently, not everyone loves a Happy Ending. In what could have been an upbeat tale sprung from Hollywood, a popular watering hole and eatery had their hopes up for a new life on Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey...only to find out that they are not welcome there, according to the Daily Breeze.Sal Aurora, Mario Guddemi and Lee Sessa--the owners of Happy Ending on the corner of Sunset and La Brea--have given up their bid to take over the lease and liquor license of The Del, a short-lived restaurant that tried to make a go of it where the La Marina Inn was once an area favorite. Turns out that the name was in fact a big part of the turn off (must we point out the obvious double entendre? Or that "the owners said it connotes the happy ending of a good Hollywood story, or of a long work day"). Now the proprietors have come to realize they probably wouldn't do well where they weren't wanted.
Aurora, Guddemi and Sessa believe that they've got something great to offer, though, with their "family-friendly sports bar offering more seafood and healthier fare." Also a bit of a concern for residents and area officials is Happy Ending's not-so-happy LAPD record:
The LAPD determined the venue could promote a "party at all cost atmosphere." Citing four drunken driving arrests within the past 18 months of people allegedly leaving the Happy Ending in Hollywood - three were 23 and younger - the letter says the venue could attract a younger-aged crowd that "may have an increased probability to drink excessively."
Maybe families who don't appreciate beer pong contests, alcoholic beverages with naughty names served in glasses the size of your head, and some of Los Angeles' most disgusting menu items just don't live in Playa del Rey.
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