Ex-L.A. mayor's Pantry spawns high-end Tavern

Nation's Restaurant News,  July 2, 2007  

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LOS ANGELES -- Private-equity investor and former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan has converted the breakfast-lunch bakery-cafe annex beside his landmark Original Pantry Cafe into the upscale Riordan's Tavern, which is slated to open late this month featuring "stiff drinks, great steaks."

Riordan's Tavern will feature Prime-grade Angus steaks in the $24-$55 a la carte range, with the high-ticket item being a 22-ounce Porterhouse. Sandwiches and salads will run $13-$15. Per-person tabs are expected be about $30.

David Wall, director of operations for Original Pantry, said the new concept also would offer six beers on tap, a full bar and wine.

Riordan's Tavern will serve lunch and dinner, unlike the 83-year-old Original Pantry, which feeds some 3,000 guests per day around the clock.

Employee orientation starting July 11 at Riordan's Tavern would lead up to an opening party whose guests are expected to include current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appointed Riordan to a stint as state secretary of education after his mayoral term ended in 2001.

"The neighborhood is changing, and the annex part drew customers away from the Pantry, so we decided to do something different," a Pantry official said.

Branches of the Roy's and Palm steakhouse chains are among the higher-end places that have opened nearby, in part to serve sports fans and concert attendees attracted to neighboring Staples Center.

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