With vibey lighting, hours extending previous 11 p.m. and a cocktail menu that modifications with the seasons, Menlo Park is getting a brand new addition to its downtown that might assist town begin to shake off its “Menlo Dark” moniker.
That addition is Loretta, a brand new bar set to open Feb. 3 that’s the brainchild of proprietor Ali Elsafy, who has run the neighboring restaurant, Bistro Vida, since 1998. When just a little over a yr and a half in the past, the adjoining area at 639 Santa Cruz Ave. — then a furnishings retailer — turned out there, Elsafy thought changing it right into a bar can be a slam dunk.
It wasn’t, in fact. However the permits have been lined up, the inside designed and menu crafted. And Loretta — a youthful, extra playful sister to Vida — will open quickly.
Loretta’s location was as soon as residence to Magoo’s Pizza Parlor, the place a band referred to as the Warlocks — who later turned the Grateful Useless — performed their first gig. To honor that historical past, Elsafy’s made an effort to pay homage to Deadhead lore. You’ll hear Grateful Useless albums on vinyl every Wednesday, with DJs spinning lounge tunes different evenings.
The bar might be open till 11:30 p.m. at first — after March, it should keep open till 1:30 a.m. — and he’s hoping the late hours will draw post-concert guests from the Guild, Menlo Park’s nonprofit reside music venue. At present, few locations are open late throughout the metropolis.
“It’s really needed,” he says.
The bar is slated to supply seasonal cocktails, wine, beer and mocktails, plus a collection of bar bites and snacks ready subsequent door at Bistro Vida.
The opening date, initially deliberate for Jan. 15, has been pushed again to Feb. 3, Elsafy says, to present workers members from Los Angeles time to journey residence to help household amid the devastating wildfires there.
Particulars: Opens at 5 p.m. Feb. 3 at 639 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park.
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