Made By Meg to operate, refurbish historic library
by Garth Meyer
The city has named a new operator for its historic library.
“Made By Meg,” which moved from Redondo Beach to a 10,000-square foot space in Torrance in January, was approved Feb. 20 by the Redondo city council to run the next chapter of the 1931 building in Veterans Park.
Negotiations are underway for a “shared-use” lease.
Meg Walker, Made by Meg founder, will open an indoor/outdoor cafe at the library building and make renovations to improve it for events inside – including a new prep kitchen/beverage service station in a storage room on the main floor.
Walker has proposed a 10-year lease with the option for five-year extensions. Minimum guaranteed annual rental fee paid to the city would be $135,000. The city would receive a 15% commission on catering and cafe sales, and 20% on venue rentals.
A tentative agreement allows for the city to take over for part of the year for longer-engagement events, such as art shows.
“Economical community access,” is another element of the plan, as Walker described, referring to the opportunity for local groups to hold meetings and classes in the building, such as in the side room on the main floor, and the mezzanine level.
“We’re really eager to work with the city to work out some wonderful terms,” she said.
City Councilman Nils Nehrenheim described the intention as “Coastal access for this building for low cost.”
Councilman Scott Behrendt asked about more candidates.
The city’s 2022 request for proposals for the old library led to two presentations last October, by Walker, and Chef Dora Presents, which later dropped out of the process.
City Manager Mike Witzansky explained to Behrendt that city staff advertised “as far and wide as we possibly could… It didn’t generate much. Candidly, we were a little disappointed in the minimal response,” he said. “(But) it only takes one quality operator to be successful and we strongly believe Made By Meg will be a quality operator.”
The council voted 5-0 for the city to proceed toward a concessionaire agreement with Walker.
“It really is an incredible space for weddings, milestone occasions; the unmatched view and the capacity,” she said.
Made By Meg has set aside its own budget of $395,000 for renovations to the building.
No new walls will be added or structural changes made.
“We think the space is extremely functional as it is,” Walker said.
Once terms are finalized with the city, renovation will begin.
“I would love for our first event to be sometime this year,” said Walker.
She described the renovation as “Upscale beach, Great Gatsby… to play into the art deco accents of the space, to accentuate the elegance. There’s a lot of beautiful art deco in there, to lean into that rather than markedly or irrevocably change it.”
Will the paint color stay?
“Probably something similar,” she said. “Though it needs a fresh coat of paint, new carpet…”
As venue operator, Made By Meg books the venue, handles interior maintenance, and is the exclusive caterer. The company operates La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates and caters over 700 events per year in greater Los Angeles.
Originally from Manhattan Beach, Walker went to Villanova University for a degree in marketing, before working for five years as a financial advisor in Century City. Then she went to cooking school at night at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena.
It was what she really wanted to do – she had been cooking Christmas dinners for her family since she was 13. She founded Made By Meg in 2007.
The Redondo Beach city council has previously set aside $800,000 to improve elevators in the old library and replace exterior windows. The building closed as a library in 1991 after an earthquake. Seismic repairs were later made and a commercial kitchen added. Spectrum Catering leased the building from 1996 to 2020.
“It’s just an incredible honor to be at this stage of the conversation,” Walker said. ER