After seven years in West Hollywood, frozen yogurt company Pinkberry Inc. is moving its headquarters to the beach.
After looking at spaces in Culver City and the Miracle Mile area, the company decided on Santa Monica, signing a lease at 3130 Wilshire Blvd. for the entire fourth floor, or just more than 15,000 square feet. Pinkberry expects to move in by November after completing renovations.
Steve Kolsky and Michael Arnold, managing principals at the Century City offices of real estate firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, represented Pinkberry in the deal but declined to disclose the financial terms of the lease.
But real estate data service CoStar Group Inc. estimates the company pays about $2.50 a square foot each month, or about $38,000.
Kolsky said the company plans to completely redo the fourth level of the building to make the space more conducive to creativity. That would include installing a state-of-the-art test kitchen and a yogurt bar for employees and guests.
“They wanted to rebrand and refresh their space, as well as create a more synergistic open work environment,” he said. “It’s going to be a creative space with concrete floors and exposed ceilings.”
In the past, Pinkberry used a small, off-site kitchen to test its products, including new frozen yogurt flavors and toppings. The company’s latest seasonal flavor – chocolate hazelnut – debuted last month.
Earlier this summer, the company began serving non-frozen Greek yogurt at four Los Angeles Pinkberry stores, as well as at a handful of stores in Boston and Washington D.C. The company used the off-site test kitchen to come up with six signature topping recipes for the Greek yogurt, including savory flavors such as cucumber, caprese and pesto.
Revolving Doors
New York Chef Matthew Kenney will open M.A.K.E., a raw food restaurant, at Santa Monica Place this fall, followed by a raw foods marketplace and juice bar later in the year. Other recent additions to the retail center’s third-story dining deck include sandwich and sweets purveyor Curious Baker, cheese and charcuterie curator Curious Cheese, and baking basics market La Petite Pantry. … Rick Caruso’s outdoor mall the Grove will welcome a second and third J.Crew Inc. store when the preppy clothing retailer opens a standalone men’s store later this year, as well as its higher-end concept Madewell. Also new to the mall in coming months are luxury fashion retailer Vince and styling service and boutique Stylehaus. … Bel Air hotel representation company Luxe Worldwide Hotels announced last week it has added four hotels to its roster of more than 200 member properties. They include both Hotel Powers and Hotel Plaza Tour Eiffel in Paris, Petit Palace Savoy in Madrid, and King Edward Hotel in Toronto. … Specialty beverage retailer BevMo opened a store on Valley Boulevard in the City of Industry last week. … L.A. restaurateurs Bryce Rademan and Robert Wicklund opened a third Spitz location on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz last month. At 2,500 square feet, the restaurant is the largest in the small chain, and will serve brunch in addition to lunch and dinner.
At Your Service
Husband and wife restaurateurs Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan announced last month a new executive chef at one of their four L.A. restaurants, Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen. Chef Jeremy Strubel is leading the Santa Monica kitchen after prior experience at Bastide in West Hollywood, Quince in San Francisco and Citrine in Los Angeles. He replaces chef Evan Funke. … Buxbaum Jewelry Advisors, an Agoura Hills firm that provides strategic and financial services to jewelry retailers and wholesalers, announced that its president, Stevan Buxbaum, resigned last month to pursue other opportunities. Meanwhile, Scott Rusczyk became managing director, and Michael Lebowitz was hired as executive vice president. … Amy Commans joined Luxe Hotels as general manager for the Los Angeles company’s Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel. Commans formerly worked for 22 years as general manager of the Westlake Village Inn, where she oversaw major renovations and expansion projects. … El Segundo youth sports franchise company TGA Premier Golf and Tennis last month named Nate Wright national program director, and Patrick Yarrow director of business development. … Los Angeles restaurant company Kabuki Japanese Restaurant named Hannah Grabe marketing manager last month. The company said Grabe will work out of the Los Angeles corporate office, but will visit Las Vegas regularly to oversee marketing initiatives there.
Staff reporter Bethany Firnhaber can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.
