Not Seeing It
Ben Uphues has come from Germany to bring the European trend of dining blind literally to Los Angeles.
His venture, Opaque Dining in the Dark, duplicates a restaurant experience that has swept Germany and France in recent years: Blind hosts guide diners to their tables in complete darkness, then blind waiters serve them food without even candlelight.
Opaque debuts on July 23 at the banquet space of the Hyatt West Hollywood on Sunset, then continues each weekend. Eric Ernest of Chi will be serving his Asian-fusion creations, with “some surprises,” Uphues said. The cost is $99 and reservations are required.
The first three events, which can accommodate 40 diners per night, will benefit the Braille Institute of America. Uphues will be staffing Opaque with nine visually impaired and blind employees on a part-time basis.
Uphues started out as a sports instructor at Club Meds in France and Israel, then traveled the world in search of business opportunities. In San Diego, he discovered Atomic Toys and was granted the rights to be the company’s exclusive European distributor.
When Jennifer Maurus, an Atomic Toys vice president, was visiting Germany in February 2004, he took her to what he promised would be “a unique dining experience” at an in-the-dark restaurant. They decided to import the concept to Southern California. He then turned the operation of the toy distributorship to his partner and began working full-time on Opaque.
Steve Silkin
Strike It Rich
Wealth TV, a luxury lifestyle cable channel, is expanding its reach in the L.A. area. The San Diego-based programming will be available to residents of Pasadena, Arcadia and Monrovia with Champion Broadband cable service beginning July 18.
The channel, launched about a year ago, is now available in Monterey Park, Glendale, Whittier, Burbank and parts of Los Angeles. The network doesn’t disclose the number of its local viewers or subscribers, but claims to reach 12 million cable homes across the United States, according to Lisa Ruiz, a channel spokeswoman.
Wealth TV offers international news and a show on philanthropy, called “Giving Back,” in addition to its upscale shopping and travel programs.
Advertising is mostly locally sold by the cable companies, Ruiz explained, so ads could feature anything from car dealers to pizza restaurants. But one regional advertiser has targeted its desired demographic: Gary Primm, owner of the Primadonna resort on Nevada-California border, lets viewers know his Gulfstream is available for rent.
Steve Silkin
Eating LACMA
The King Tut exhibit is making people hungry, and not just for their turn to view Egyptian treasures at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
LACMA and its food service partner, the Patina Group, stand ready to please with menu items like mummy wraps.
Staff from Patina Joachim Splichal’s shop, also known for its culinary offerings at Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl started preparing for Tutmania six months in advance of the exhibit’s much anticipated opening. To serve the daily lot of more than 1,000 hungry museum-goers, Patina Group hired 35 additional staff members to work at the new LACMA West food court.
Many Tut fans have been showing up more than an hour ahead of their scheduled ticket time to enjoy a beer or glass of wine before viewing the ancient relics. Those in the mood for a quick snack can choose from pastries, pretzels and H & #228;agen-Dazs ice cream.
So far, demand has been a little bit less than expected, according to Jane Conway, general manager of food services at LACMA, although Pentimento, the museum’s more upscale sit-down caf & #233;, has seen an increase in customers.
Spencer Kallick
Canoga Pride
You’ve come a long way, Canoga Park.
The West Valley community celebrated its 2005 All America City Award at the Madrid Theatre formerly the home of the Pussycat Theater, a longtime landmark porn house. The location led to some confusion.
“Someone said somewhere that it was a strip club, and it’s not. That’s down the street,” said Leslie Lambert of the Community Redevelopment Agency for the area.
She was referring to the nearby Gotham City, where ecdysiasts continue to ply their craft despite community efforts to transform the area into a sort of Antique Row. City officials and community leaders made a series of efforts to rehabilitate the area after the 1994 earthquake.
This is the first year that Canoga Park has applied for the civic recognition, granted by the National Civic League. Of 500 applicants, Canoga Park was the only community named on the West Coast.
Spencer Kallick
Hot Tickets
If you do it on the street, it’s a crime. But if you do it in an office, it’s fine.
That’s reselling tickets, which is perfectly legal if a broker does it from a storefront or over the Internet.
As such, online ticket vendor RazorGator has raised $26 million in venture funding from Silicon Valley’s Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Oak Investment Partners.
The Beverly Hills-based company specializes in tickets to sold-out events sports, concerts, theater and even VIP parties acting as an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of season tickets, corporate boxes and other hard-to-get seats.
About 50 percent of RazorGator’s business comes from corporate customers. Chief Executive David Lord calls the other half his customer base the “passionate fan.”
RazorGator gets a 10 percent fee from the buyer and a 15 percent fee from the seller.
While RazorGator is up against other online marketplaces, including Craigslist Inc. and Ebay Inc., it is trying to create a brand based on hard-to-find tickets, such as next year’s Super Bowl.
Hilary Potekwitz
