Acme Hospitality confirmed what Siteline readers have known for a while now: the new—and old—name of the Paradise Cafe space is La Paloma Cafe. “After 37 years ‘the dove’ will once again take wing on the iconic corner of Anacapa and Ortega. And like an old friend, the celebrated neon sign will once again state the original letters: La Paloma Cafe.” (See the vintage photo above, along with what I assume is the new logo.) Also, judging from an Instagram story, the restaurant will serve Mexican food. Usually, when Acme opens an establishment, there’s a release with details on the chef, menu, and so on; perhaps that’ll happen once an opening date is set.
P.S. “The inside mural was cleaned and it’s like seeing the Sistine Chapel after it was cleaned,” emailed a reader, along with the photo below.
UPDATE: The restaurant has posted three more food images on Instagram, and they look less Mexican—more like New American with a Latin twist. (So if this is Mexican, it’s not the usual enchilada combo stuff.) Also, “the oak grill is back.”
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Beyond thrilled to hear about the neon! Bravo, Acme. Wonder how they swung that one with the city? The sign commission haaaaates neon. Which is such a shame. Anything grandfathered in is allowed to remain, but they deny neon is historical and don’t allow anything new. Neon is a historic craft, made by skilled artisans, beautiful, warm, and inviting. Not to mention instagrammable. We need more (good) neon, not less. Old photos of the city show endless neon signs but HLC doesn’t want to hear about it. We should revise this policy once and for all. I’m not exaggerating when I say it could help bring downtown back to life.