After months of shuttered doors, the legendary Mermaid restaurant and cocktail bar is expected to reopen on December 5 with new owners and a few new coats of paint.
“The Mermaid needed a facelift for 20 to 30 years,” said new Mermaid owner Kevin Michaels. “It’s still going to feel the same, but we just freshened it up.”
Michaels and his partner Brett Doherty – owners of the Killer Shrimp Restaurants – are planning on featuring a specialty Whisky cocktail menu made by L.A. cocktail connoisseur Marcos Tello.
“We’ll have budget-minded whisky from all regions around the world with our own spin on the traditional cocktail,” Michaels said.
The original Mermaid bar will still be in the same place, but with a different top. The ceiling, that was found to have been added as a drop ceiling years ago, has been ripped out for a more spacious feel and the floors have been transformed with sleek black hardwood. The cave-like backroom will still stay dark, but two pool tables and a foosball table will be added – along with two new 50 inch TVs. They also hope to receive a permit to turn previously unused space near the front door into a patio.
“Most of the bars are in the same place,” said Michaels. “We still plan on having the old crowd… It’s still cozy.”
The old U shaped corner booth was donated to the Hermosa Beach Historical Society and it will now be possible to open the front windows.
“We were looking down here to open a new Killer Shrimp,” said Michaels. “And we looked at this spot, but the neighborhood had such a strong attachment to the Mermaid that we didn’t want to take that away from them. We saw this as an opportunity to have a great bar on the beach in a great town. It just made the most sense to leave the Mermaid.”
Doherty said that since beginning work on the property they have received a warm welcoming from the community because they have assured onlookers that the Mermaid will be staying the same.
“We did our best to restore it to the glory it was many, many years ago,” said Michaels.
The new owners plan on changing up the old menu and serving more seafood dishes – however, their iconic Killer Shrimp main dish will not be served at this location.
“We’re excited,” Doherty said. “We’re embracing the fun quirkiness that is the Mermaid and we’re enhancing it. We both come from a surfing lifestyle, and to be on the beach in this iconic place is amazing.”
The pair discovered a bullet hole in the lounge’s wood wall paneling, and made their changes around the mark to keep the history of the spot. The Mermaid sign will be basically the same but with a new coat of paint and the building will be painted a sleek dark gray.
“We’re excited about being in Hermosa Beach,” Michaels said. “It doesn’t get any better than this.” ER
