Downtown Space Has Full Plate

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And now for a real daily double: Daily Grill’s downtown L.A. restaurant has turned into two restaurants in one. Late in the afternoon, part of its space morphs into a gastropub named Public School 612.

Grill Concepts Inc. of Woodland Hills, which owns 21 Daily Grills in six states, opened Public School last week in the existing Daily Grill restaurant.

The floor plan looks like two interlocking “L” shapes. Each eatery has one of the L’s. Both use the same kitchen and staff. There are passageways between the two.

However, both share the bar. Daily Grill uses much of the bar during the busy lunch hour. At 4 p.m., the lighting, music and menu switch to bar mode. Public School stays open until 1 a.m., long past Daily Grill’s 10 p.m. close.

Robert Spivak, chief executive of Grill Concepts, said the new approach was designed to attract young singles who enjoy the late-night bar scene, a different crowd from the business people who frequent Daily Grill for lunch and dinner.

Daily Grill may convert some of its other restaurants.

“We will be monitoring its success while we consider retrofitting other Daily Grill restaurants or expanding Public School into new locations,” Spivak said.

Public School – the name comes from the gastropub’s intent to “school” customers on craft beer – serves 20 microbrews. The menu offers untraditional pub fare such as Huevos Diablos, wild mushroom pizza, and meat and cheese boards.

Robert Ancill, chief executive of restaurant consultancy Next Idea LLC in Los Angeles, believes the timing is good for the Public School concept, but the company must be careful to distinguish between two different restaurants in one location.

“They have to divide the space to make sure Public School doesn’t look like a different part of Daily Grill,” he said. “Whenever you adapt one brand into another brand there is a degree of luck. But I’ve seen the menu, and from a trend standpoint, it looks good. I think it will be successful. I just don’t know how successful.”

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