The site housing Beverly Hills’ famed Stinking Rose restaurant might bloom into something bigger.
The property, at 55 N. La Cienega Blvd. on Restaurant Row, was sold to Beverly Hills real estate investor Abraham Assil last month in a deal valued at about $17 million, according to real estate sources.
Brad Conroy, president of L.A. boutique brokerage Conroy Commercial, represented seller Fain Walker in the deal. He and Daniel Leisner listed the property for $22 million in late 2013, touting the site’s development potential in marketing materials.
“This site is a real gem and would make a perfect site for a developer,” they wrote, citing coming construction of a light-rail station for the Metro Purple Line.
The city is expected to acquire property at the northeast corner of Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards by the end of the year through eminent domain for that purpose.
Assil, chief executive of Westland Development Group, could not be reached for comment on his plans for the site. The portfolio of properties listed on his company website show mostly older, low-rise residential holdings.
Replacing the 13,500-square-foot restaurant, which sits on a little less than an acre, with another use might be a long-term process.
“The property is not entitled, so the restaurant will continue to operate for the foreseeable future,” Conroy said.
The Stinking Rose property last traded hands nearly 70 years ago. Conroy said the longtime owners of the property, which had been passed down through three generations of Fain and Walker families, couldn’t agree on what to do with the site, so they listed it for sale.
“They knew they had a great asset, but there were too many owners involved for them to realize its potential,” he said.
In the 67 years the property belonged to the families, only two tenants occupied the building. From 1947 to 1993, it served as the original location for prime rib chain Lawry’s Restaurants Inc., and Stinking Rose has been in the building ever since.
