Professional photographer and filmmaker Jennifer Tzar is bringing upscale, speakeasy ambiance to Dogtown with her restaurant Oracle Tavern. It’s a relocation of sorts of Tzar’s upstate New York restaurant spurred by the restauranteur moving to Los Angeles last fall.
“I’ve been a photographer for my whole life but then I opened up a bar in upstate New York in Hudson several years and I had that for five years,” Tzar said. “It was really successful but it was boring up there so at the end of the lease I decided to pick it up and move to L.A.”
With the move came a new name. Originally Ör Gallery & Tavern in NY, Oracle Tavern’s new home is across from the Los Angeles State Historic Park, at 1640 N Spring St.
“That area is kind of like an extension of the Arts District, which I think is a new up-and-coming area. We picked it because it’s way back into a building. It’s got a real speakeasy vibe to it which is really cool,” Tzar said.
With a beer, wine, and tapas menu, Oracle Tavern will offer European-style bites that consist of organic meats and cheeses, sandwiches, homemade hummus, and other light foods.
“Everything is organic and well made,” Tzar said. “I like people to be able to get full for $10 but still, feel elegant.”
Tzar was planning to soft-open Oracle Tavern in March but was unable to due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s to wait out the pandemic to open when conditions are better.
“We’ve decided we’re not going to pre-open. We’re just going sit tight and wait until we have all of our ducks lined up and it’s safe so we can do it properly,” Tzar said.
