Palmtree

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By NOLA L. SARKISIAN

Staff Reporter

Palm Tree L.A. went out on a limb last year, making its splashy debut on the fourth floor of a former I. Magnin department store in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles.

The restaurant/bowling alley/billiard hall unusual even by L.A. standards is a stark contrast from the sedate couture of I. Magnin. Its eight-lane bowling alley is a glow-in-the-dark affair, complete with neon-colored balls and matching shoes. The adjoining fusion-food restaurant outfitted with bright-orange leather chairs and green-and-pink metal palm fronds jutting out of stucco columns serves up everything from Maui pizza with tuna to nak ji bokum (a Korean octopus dish).

Nothing is subtle here.

“We pride ourselves in that we’re one of a kind,” said Alex Woo, director of the Palm Tree. “There’s nothing like us in Los Angeles, so we think people will slowly learn about us and come back.”

But despite some initial success following local advertising and radio plugs, business has slowed down over the last few months, though Woo believes things will pick up again once the holiday season gets going.

The travails at the Palm Tree reflect the up-and-down nature of locating in an area still in transition. Compounding the challenge is not being located at street level and the continued adjustment of the restaurant’s marketing focus.

Initially, Palm Tree set out to capture the cross-cultural youth market, but that tactic has been a hard sell, especially as the club scene creates growing competition. Now, more Korean employees have been hired as a way of attracting young Koreans who may work in neighboring Koreatown.

“There aren’t a lot of options around here, so we want to focus on attracting neighboring workers and business owners,” Woo said.

On a recent evening, however, there were only a handful of people having dinner and the bowling alley was eerily empty.

John Ching came by with a friend to dine on kimchee bokum-bob pickled cabbage served with meat and rice.

“I like it here, it has everything,” said the 26-year-old stockbroker. “I come here two to three times a week after work. I don’t cook a lot, so this is convenient.”

Others keep coming back for Monday Night Football.

For friends Vance Cross and Deepak Parwatikar, Palm Tree L.A. is a weekly ritual. “They’ve put a lot of effort into the place and it really stands out,” said Cross, a Pasadena accountant, taking a swig of beer.

The original I. Magnin building, which opened in 1939, was designed by Myron Hunt, a prominent Southern California architect known for the Huntington Library and H.C. Chambers. It opened as a result of a Depression-era consolidation of three I.Magnin stores at the Ambassador Hotel, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the Biltmore Hotel. Fifty years later, the I. Magnin chain was closed after it was acquired by the parent of the Bullock’s chain.

Investor Sean Lee spent $3 million creating the visual extravaganza on the 23,500-square-foot fourth floor of what is now called the Wilshire Galleria building.

After exiting the elevator, patrons walk through a brightly painted entrance. The central lobby extends to the billiards hall in the center of the Palm Tree, and branches off to the restaurant on one side and the bowling alley on the other. Polished concrete floors lead into the restaurant filled with potted trees adorned with twinkling lights. The bright orange leather chairs are custom-made imports from Korea. Six “VIP” booths line the windows, obscured by tall green umbrellas.

In the billiards room, tiered seating provides an overview of the action. And, customers can choose from orange, red, green and blue balls and matching shoes to bowl.

“We tried to think of every detail to make the place stand out,” Woo said.

Local brokers say once the area gains more steam through retail development, the Palm Tree will become part of a more active corridor.

“Give it a chance I still like the project and its offerings,” said Kevin Dee, senior director of leasing for Charles Dunn Co. “It just hasn’t hit its stride.”

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