"We're everyday food. We're not special occasion food." Clay Walker, president of Gott's Roadside, gave that line to the Santa Monica Daily Press as his restaurant prepared to open at the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Wilshire Boulevard. He also said who he expects to fill the room. Office workers carry weekday lunch, and residents carry weekday dinner and weekends.
About seven blocks east, Josh Loeb has been describing what happens when that second group thins out. Loeb opened Rustic Canyon at 1119 Wilshire in December 2006, and it is marking 20 years with a month of reunion dinners. In an anniversary interview with The Argonaut, he put it plainly: "We rely on regulars and, to a lesser degree, tourism, and both are down."
One restaurant arrived this week and the other has been on the street for two decades. Both operators are counting on the same customer, someone who lives a short drive away and comes back on a Tuesday. Wilshire's October rests on that person.
A Corner That Sat Empty for Two Years
The last restaurant at 401 Wilshire was Osteria Del Fornaio. It opened in April 2022, was gone by September 2024, and the space was gutted afterward. Gott's was announced for the site in January 2025 with a 2026 target. That target kept moving. A July 2025 report said spring 2026. The Daily Press later said summer 2026. In June, the Santa Monica Mirror was still saying fall. Gott's soft-opened Oct. 1 and cut the ribbon Oct. 2.
The building is designed to be used often. It has 6,600 square feet indoors and a 2,200-square-foot patio with heaters and fans. The dining room has 14-foot windows and more than a dozen community tables, some seating up to 20. Outside there is bicycle parking and native coastal landscaping. Walker said he chose the site for its street frontage. "I was actually surprised at how little outdoor patio space there is in LA, given how good the climate is," he told the Daily Press. A glass barrier follows the curve of the patio, and a planter of beach grass along it is meant to make diners feel less exposed without blocking the view from the street.
The menu has more range than a burger stand. Burgers are chargrilled over an open flame, not cooked on a flat top. Menu items include the Ahi Burger, a kimchi burger, and the California Burger with fried egg, bacon and balsamic onions. Walker said the most popular salad is a Vietnamese chicken salad with peanut lime vinaigrette. Co-owner Joel Gott, a winemaker, chooses the beer and wine, and the soft-serve counter uses Straus organic soft serve. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
The company's expansion plans are modest. Gott's has looked at Southern California since 2018. For now it has committed only to this location and the one at the Original Farmers Market, which opened March 6. "We don't want to get over our skis," Walker said. He also said "Santa Monica is our 100% focus."
Twenty Years, Told Through the Chefs Who Moved On
Rustic Canyon has always been run on a different model. Loeb studied at UC Berkeley and lived around the corner from Chez Panisse, where different chefs took turns leading the kitchen. He built Rustic Canyon to work the same way. A chef comes in every few years and puts a personal stamp on the same idea, which Loeb describes as "ingredients and approachable food done with imagination and thought and care." In his words: "the great neighborhood restaurant is not a place that serves the same dishes 30 years later."
The anniversary series follows that history. It is called "The First 20," it is presented with Resy, and each night brings back one chapter of the kitchen with a rotating multi-course menu and wine pairings.
- Oct. 6, "How It Started": a communal, family-style dinner like the ones Loeb used to host at home. Loeb, Nathan, opening chef Samir Mohajer and current executive chef Elijah Deleon are all there, with Steve Matthiasson pouring.
- Oct. 13, "The Funke Years": a regional-Italian prix fixe from former chef Evan Funke. Former sommelier Jenna Issac and Red Car co-owners Richard and Alison Crowell handle the wine.
- Oct. 20, "Tallula's Returns": a Mexican-inspired menu from Saw Naing, with wine and agave-cocktail pairings led by Kathryn Coker and Justin Dicken.
- Oct. 26 and 27, "The Wiz Kids": former executive chef Andy Doubrava and pastry chef Erika Chan cook together again. Guest sommeliers Kathryn Spencer and Ferdinando Mucerino each take one night, and Âmevive winemaker Alice Anderson pours on Oct. 27.
Even the staff lineup reflects that history. Coker started as a server in 2006 and is now the group's wine director. Dicken has been bar manager since October 2015. Deleon trained under Jeremy Fox, who led the kitchen for 13 years until 2025. The restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2019. The Argonaut also reported a daily Happy Hour & A Half from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the bar and lounge, and an $85 Multi-Course Experience Sunday through Thursday that covers most of the menu in three to four courses. Both are pitched at people who come often, not people celebrating a special occasion.
What Twenty Years of Regulars Looks Like Right Now
The anniversary interview gives a mixed picture. Loeb said his restaurants are better now than they have ever been, but less busy. He said many regulars moved away after the Palisades Fire or as Hollywood changed, and he put the drop in tourism at 50%. "We've closed four restaurants now," he said. "I've never wanted to close any of them, but I've had to." He also said there has been "genuine, thoughtful outreach" from the city to local businesses recently.
Gott's arrived with that same picture in view. Walker told the Daily Press the company believes Santa Monica is coming out of a stretch of negative headlines, and that Gott's wants to help bring people back to the city. One operator has 20 years of regulars to judge by. The other picked this corner after an eight-year search. Both decided that people who live here, eating out often and without an occasion, are worth building around.
The Rest of the Stretch, Heading East
Walking inland from the ocean, here is what else has changed or is on the calendar.
- 101 Wilshire. The Fairmont Miramar holds Oktoberfest at The Bungalow Oct. 8 to 10, 5 to 10 p.m. Entry is free and open to all ages, RSVP is required, and food and drinks are sold separately.
- 401 Wilshire. Gott's Roadside, open since Oct. 1.
- 1030 Wilshire. The Santa Monica Sun reported that this Starbucks would close Saturday, Sept. 26. The Los Angeles Times found the store removed from the Starbucks app, though the company did not confirm its list of closures store by store.
- 1119 Wilshire. Rustic Canyon, with its anniversary dinners on Oct. 6, 13, 20, 26 and 27.
- 1231 Wilshire. DOL Coffee House is in the former Krispy Kreme space. Visit Santa Monica listed it among its summer arrivals.
- 1531 Wilshire. Wellside Cafe took over the former Cafe Zella. A July report said it planned to open in mid-August with familiar menu items and some of Zella's staff. Its website now lists hours, dine-in and ordering.
- 2518 Wilshire. Big Sur Grill was also on the summer roundup's list of new additions.
Three of these newcomers moved into spaces left behind by an earlier restaurant or shop. Gott's replaced Osteria Del Fornaio, DOL replaced Krispy Kreme, and Wellside replaced Cafe Zella and kept some of Zella's staff. The anniversary dinners run through Oct. 27, and the Gott's patio is open from 11 a.m. every day.
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