Coffee Shop

CITY HALL ? Porto?s Bakery would get some close competition at the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Hollywood Way under a proposal endorsed this week by the Planning Board. The board on Monday unanimously approved a development review and series of conditional use permits to convert up to 2,000 square feet of post-production office space at 3619 W. Magnolia Blvd. to a restaurant. The property, at the northeast corner of West Magnolia Boulevard and North Hollywood Way, is about 16,340 square feet and houses Kappa Studios and Quiznos submarine sandwich shop.

Jackson Bell Like many other businesses in today's grim economic climate, Priscilla's Gourmet Coffee, Tea & Gifts has lost some of its client base. But co-owners Shannon and Mark Hartman aren't too worried because, unlike other struggling businesses, the coffee shop's biggest problem is its popularity. "Customers tell us all the time that they decided not to come in because we're so busy," Shannon Hartman said. The 33-year-old shop, strategically located on the western border of Toluca Lake and Media District West, caters to area residents as well as employees of the entertainment industry.

Glendale hosts a wonderful group of coffee shops, ranging from Montrose's City Hall, my morning haunt for the past few years, to Downtown's Foxy's, my brother Don Trowbridge's favorite for ages. Right in the middle is The Toasted Bun. If you want to know Glendale as it is now and as it has been, the Toasted Bun is a good place to go. You will know what makes it a classic as soon as you walk in. Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, the Toasted Bun is a friendly, comfortable place.

Romancing the Bean coffee shop was the site of more than a few serenades on Friday night. About 30 performers from Luther Burbank Middle School sang to a packed audience of mostly parents and family members as a fundraiser for their Vocal Music Assn. The coffee shop on San Fernando Boulevard opened its stage to the singers, all between the ages of 12 and 14, and gave the association 10% of its proceeds for the night. As Elizabeth Chadwick, 13, the first performer of the evening, grabbed the microphone, patrons were still gathering their soups, salads, sweets and specialty coffee drinks.

Things at Simply Coffee on Lima Street have gotten a little more complex in the last few months. Since new owner Christopher Stevens took over at the small sandwich and java shop off West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, he’s added not only a new lick of paint, but new paintings to the space. Stevens, who works full time in electronic marketing at Lockheed Federal Credit Union, has turned the small sitting area of Simply Coffee into an art gallery for local painters. “The walls were a little bare, and we figured we could use a change of scenery,” Stevens said.

Jackson Bell Supply and demand drives business, so when Laurie Van Atta discovered that Magnolia Boulevard had no coffee shops, she decided to open Simply Coffee & Boutique. "I just couldn't believe that, besides Priscilla's [Gourmet Coffee, Tea & Gifts in Toluca Lake], there weren't any cute coffee houses in Burbank that people could walk to in their neighborhood," she said. After owning and operating a coffee shop in Taos, N.M. for 11 years, Van Atta returned to Southern California to care for her terminally ill father in 1992.

A fight broke out at a Starbucks in Burbank Saturday over a cup of coffee, police said. A 44-year-old Huntington Park man was confronted at around 11:30 a.m. after he reportedly grabbed the wrong beverage at the pick-up counter, said Burbank Police Lt. Eddie Ruiz. The man who approached him insisted the coffee belonged to him, Ruiz said. Police did not know exactly what the beverage was. After a brief verbal exchange, the suspect left the North San Fernando Boulevard coffee shop and returned moments later with another man. The men then shoved and punched the Huntington Park man and fled the scene, leaving the victim with a black eye. “There was a misunderstanding whose coffee it was,” Ruiz said.

Good morning, readers. Today is Wednesday, September 19. Smokey Robinson will read some "Words" from the heart this weekend in North Hollywood. The singer-songwriter has apparently been itching to share his poetry with an audience. He'll read at the El Portal Theatre on Friday and Saturday . L.A. Times Lucy's 51, a restaurant in Toluca Lake, is buying the space next door and turning it into a coffee shop , reports Patch . The cafe will seat around 50 people, which seems rather large for such a venue.

San Fernando Boulevard was alive Thursday with the upbeat tunes of the Phat Cat Swingers as couples ducked, swooped and jived. But they weren’t dancing — they were trying to get to the head of the line for samples at Porto’s Bakery during the annual Taste of Downtown Burbank. “[A Taste of Burbank] gives us the opportunity to speak to the people who love our food,” said Margarita Navarro, one of three owners of Porto’s Bakery in Burbank and Glendale.

A fight broke out at a Starbucks in Burbank Saturday over a cup of coffee, police said. A 44-year-old Huntington Park man was confronted at around 11:30 a.m. after he reportedly grabbed the wrong beverage at the pick-up counter, said Burbank Police Lt. Eddie Ruiz. The man who approached him insisted the coffee belonged to him, Ruiz said. Police did not know exactly what the beverage was. After a brief verbal exchange, the suspect left the North San Fernando Boulevard coffee shop and returned moments later with another man. The men then shoved and punched the Huntington Park man and fled the scene, leaving the victim with a black eye. “There was a misunderstanding whose coffee it was,” Ruiz said.

Good morning, readers. Today is Wednesday, September 19. Smokey Robinson will read some "Words" from the heart this weekend in North Hollywood. The singer-songwriter has apparently been itching to share his poetry with an audience. He'll read at the El Portal Theatre on Friday and Saturday . L.A. Times Lucy's 51, a restaurant in Toluca Lake, is buying the space next door and turning it into a coffee shop , reports Patch . The cafe will seat around 50 people, which seems rather large for such a venue.

CITY HALL ? Porto?s Bakery would get some close competition at the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Hollywood Way under a proposal endorsed this week by the Planning Board. The board on Monday unanimously approved a development review and series of conditional use permits to convert up to 2,000 square feet of post-production office space at 3619 W. Magnolia Blvd. to a restaurant. The property, at the northeast corner of West Magnolia Boulevard and North Hollywood Way, is about 16,340 square feet and houses Kappa Studios and Quiznos submarine sandwich shop.

San Fernando Boulevard was alive Thursday with the upbeat tunes of the Phat Cat Swingers as couples ducked, swooped and jived. But they weren’t dancing — they were trying to get to the head of the line for samples at Porto’s Bakery during the annual Taste of Downtown Burbank. “[A Taste of Burbank] gives us the opportunity to speak to the people who love our food,” said Margarita Navarro, one of three owners of Porto’s Bakery in Burbank and Glendale.

Romancing the Bean coffee shop was the site of more than a few serenades on Friday night. About 30 performers from Luther Burbank Middle School sang to a packed audience of mostly parents and family members as a fundraiser for their Vocal Music Assn. The coffee shop on San Fernando Boulevard opened its stage to the singers, all between the ages of 12 and 14, and gave the association 10% of its proceeds for the night. As Elizabeth Chadwick, 13, the first performer of the evening, grabbed the microphone, patrons were still gathering their soups, salads, sweets and specialty coffee drinks.

A building from the 1930s, music from the ’80s and clientele from Generation Y make Eat Well an interesting place to eat. Located in Glendale on South Brand, just up from Chevy Chase, you’ll find parking in front, behind and north of the building. There are two rooms, one with tables and chairs, and the main room with a counter and booths. If you sit in one of the two horseshoe booths, don’t let your friends force you into the corner! We found no support at the bends in the back.

Things at Simply Coffee on Lima Street have gotten a little more complex in the last few months. Since new owner Christopher Stevens took over at the small sandwich and java shop off West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, he’s added not only a new lick of paint, but new paintings to the space. Stevens, who works full time in electronic marketing at Lockheed Federal Credit Union, has turned the small sitting area of Simply Coffee into an art gallery for local painters. “The walls were a little bare, and we figured we could use a change of scenery,” Stevens said.

Glendale hosts a wonderful group of coffee shops, ranging from Montrose's City Hall, my morning haunt for the past few years, to Downtown's Foxy's, my brother Don Trowbridge's favorite for ages. Right in the middle is The Toasted Bun. If you want to know Glendale as it is now and as it has been, the Toasted Bun is a good place to go. You will know what makes it a classic as soon as you walk in. Open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, the Toasted Bun is a friendly, comfortable place.

Romancing the Bean owner Kerry Kroll readily admits that when she opened her first business in 1993 — a coffee shop across the street from Warner Bros. Studios — she was winging it. But after the business outgrew her 500-square-foot shop and she moved to a space double the size in the Magnolia Park District, Kroll set her sights on a opening a second location in the burgeoning downtown area. "There's a lot of things I was not familiar with," she said. "I know how to run a small two-person coffee shop, but my second location is huge, and I'm on a strip here where I'm competing against billion-dollar coffee businesses.