Very sad, but not surprising–I have been a regular there for many years (at its best during Jason Neroni’s tenure), and noted that the crowds have been dwindling over the past few months and a number of long-time staff had departed, so it seemed clear that the bloom was off the Rose.
It’s a great location! Hopefully it won’t stay empty long
Late Los Angeles Times Food critic Jonathan Gold “an institution in Venice since the late 1970s, a funky bit of stability in a neighborhood that changed its mood every couple of years and a hangout for what remains of the local arts community.” The iconic pink-hued rose painted on the restaurant’s exterior, he wrote, is “widely considered a civic treasure.”
Gold noted the old version of the Rose Café was by no means a culinary destination but a charming neighborhood joint, “a place you went in spite of the food, not because of it.” That all changed in 2015, when a new partnership and celebrity chef permanently altered the restaurant.
I moved away from that neighborhood prior to the ownership change and never went to the new version. I think I didn’t want to know what changed even if the changes were improvements. But man, I have many happy memories from hanging out at the old version, the one where JG said you went to “in spite of the food.” We liked it because it was an inexpensive neighborhood place that tolerated the sound of kids being kids.
They are totally different, but I feel about the Rose Cafe the way I feel about the old Cat & Fiddle. Great memories of just hanging out.
Sadly I think the realities of the space makes it more likely to stay vacant for longer. As they alluded to in the closure announcement, a huge space like this that necessitates a lot of employees is not well suited to the economic realities of the present day.
Gjusta could use the extra space
That made my stomach drop. I thought The Rose would always be there. Now only in memory.
In my teens & early 20s my friends & I practically lived in Venice in the summer. The Rose was the first stop. We’d park in their lot, buy snacks & drinks to get a validation and hang at the beach & boardwalk then after we’d browse their cool gift shop. Rinse & Repeat. The moms liked it too so there were frequent brunches. I spent a lot of time there lol. Not so much this millennium. Last time was just after the lockdown. So so sad. 
Agree 100%
From Reddit:
“Rent is 100,000 a month. It’s insane. Source: me, use to manage there”
Back in the day, I used to alternate between The Rose, the Brandywine Cafe, Lafayette Cafe, Marathon Meatless Mess Hall and Chez Puce. C’est la vie.
I know very little about the economics of commercial real estate or the restaurant industry. Someone who is better informed on these topics - is 100k per month crazy for this space? It sounds like a lot but I don’t have anything to compare against.
Is there a rule of thumb in the restaurant industry about what rent should be as a max % of either total costs or revenue?
Chez Puce!!
I have heard 6-10% of your (projected) sales is a good rule of thumb
Perhaps your 100K rent is per year and not month