He’s doing it again.
And this time, he’s doing it on one of Manhattan Beach’s most prime properties.
Mike Zislis sits in the upper southwest corner of what up until a month ago was Beaches – the last restaurant on the north side of Manhattan Beach Boulevard before you hit the sand, a venue known more for its night life than its food.
A dozen or so people excitedly huddle around him while he discusses the game plan for transforming the now quiet building into a breezy, part three-star restaurant/part club when it reopens next spring.
“It’s the best location in town, but most people never went [to Beaches],” Zislis says. “It only drew tourists and young kids. We’re going to change that.”
Zislis successfully conjured up and developed such other establishments as Manhattan Beach Brewing Company, Rock ‘N’ Fish, Mucho, Shade Hotel and, most recently, Rock & Brews in El Segundo.
Two months ago, the new owners of the Beaches property – Heath Gregory of Baron Real Estate, and his family – chose Zislis to develop a design concept fitting for the highly coveted location.
Gregory’s family closed escrow on the property a week after Beaches shut its doors Sept. 13. The still unnamed restaurant will represent the family’s first retail venture in Manhattan Beach, though they own several multi-family, commercial and retail properties throughout L.A. County.
“We’re a family that’s lived here and been a part of the South Bay and Manhattan Beach for close to three decades,” Gregory said. “Ultimately, we’re a lot like other people we’ve talked to who felt that there’s more of an opportunity here to generate a beautiful location and restaurant that the whole community would appreciate. It’s the best piece of retail property in the South Bay, in my opinion.”
In July, Gregory learned that Beaches’ owners Pat McCauley and Jerry Centofanti were selling the property. The former owners bought the property in the late 1980’s when it was La Paz restaurant and rebuilt it, first naming the restaurant Sunsets and later Beaches, according to Gregory.
“It’s been more of an after-hours spot,” Gregory said. “Ultimately, you’ve got an opportunity here to have world-class cuisine in addition to an after-hours spot. The locations and views are what lend itself to having that mix.”
Zislis beat out four other restaurateurs who bid to design and develop the new restaurant’s concept. He said the family’s choice had less to do with money than with choosing who came up with the most fitting model, noting that another local entrepreneur offered double what he did.
Though Gregory and his family are the sole owners of the 6,700 sq. ft. property, Zislis will share fifty percent ownership of the business.
“We liked [Zislis’] track record of creating successful restaurants and his intimate knowledge of the night life scene in Manhattan Beach,” Gregory said. “We have high hopes for it. Mike does it well.”
More than a facelift
Amidst recently-made holes in walls and wires strung haphazardly across tables, Zislis divulges his plan to completely gut the restaurant and start from scratch
“I’ve wanted Beaches for 20 years,” he says. “And I’ve had ideas in my head the whole time.”
Doubling the kitchen size in order to accommodate fine dining is among the top priorities on Zislis’ to-do list.
“One of the old problems was that the kitchen was too small,” he says. “It might be one of the reasons the food didn’t do so well.”
Co-Owner and Executive Chef Michael Cimarusti of Providence Restaurant on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles was hired to create cuisine that will include choice meats and fish complimented by family-style side dishes, such as brussels sprouts with onions and Gruyere macaroni and cheese.
Upstairs and downstairs full-service bars will offer eclectic European wine varieties. Guests will notice a new oyster bar and wood-fire pizza kitchen when they enter the first floor of the building, which will double as a club on Friday and Saturday nights.
The restaurant’s façade, Zislis said, will look “like a beautiful Strand home so when you come down it doesn’t look like a supermarket.”
A new, operable window system will trade out the current “aquarium-like” feel – the current windows remain closed – for an open air atmosphere. Zislis also plans to install an elevator and elegant staircase leading to the second floor.
“We’re really expanding it,” he says. “You will not recognize anything about the place. You will not know this was Beaches.”
The ultimate goal for Gregory and Zislis is to develop an establishment that optimizes its unique location, while striking a balance between fine dining, night life and the casual day time beach atmosphere.
“You need to feel comfortable coming in with flip-flops, you know?” Zislis says.
While developing the new restaurant, Zislis also plans to open a new Rock ‘N Fish restaurant in Laguna Beach this December, and hopes to start construction on a second Shade Hotel in Redondo Beach in April if Measure G passes.
As for the Beaches property, Gregory is happy to hand over the design reins to develop what he believes will be an establishment worthy of its spectacular views and the community.
“It’s the anchor for the whole downtown and should represent the city well,” he said.
As to whether the new restaurant will accomplish this goal better than did its predecessor, Gregory would not say.
“I’ll let people decide.” ER
