Pace Joint to Expand in Hollywood

West Hollywood pizzeria and brunch spot Pace Joint — the younger sister of the lauded Italian restaurant Pace in Laurel Canyon — is making room for community inside its 7860 Sunset Boulevard home.

“Originally it was a late-night to-go, delivery driven concept,” owner and Head Chef Sandy Gendel explained. “We’re still going to do that — we recently extended our hours to and are starting to see an increase in business — but I also want Pace Joint to be thought of as a spot where people can do events and join with like-minded company.”

Pace Joint has filed with the Los Angeles City Planning Commission a plan to convert the adjacent retail space, formerly a wellness market, into restaurant space. The move will increase Pace Joint’s total footprint to almost twice its current size, taking it from roughly 1,100 square feet to nearly 2,000. This gives the restaurant room to reorganize so it has more capacity for dine-in customers as well as events, Gendel explained.

“We put some tables in on the retail side and are going to do something upstairs on the mezzanine as well,” Gendel said. “There’s a wood-burning grill outside on the patio, so we want to get some neighborhood stuff going on down there. Maybe a pancake breakfast on the weekend, when people can walk over with their kids.”

The expansion is a bit like the dawn of a new era for Pace Joint. The restaurant was originally denied a liquor license on account of neighbors’ concerns that it would turn into yet another noisy bar, and before it opened ran into some serious issues with water and gas lines that hadn’t been disclosed when Gendel leased the property. But those problems are long behind it now.

“It’s starting to come into its own,” Gendel said. In converting the retail space to restaurant space, he is also reapplying for a liquor license, and doesn’t expect to run into the same issues he had before.

Gendel hopes the expanded restaurant will provide a sense of peace amidst a chaotic city. After all, the very word is in its name — pace, pronounced PAH-che, is Italian for “peace.”

“We want to keep it simple but refreshing, and hopefully a provide little bit of a relief from the madness of Hollywood,” Gendel said. “It’s a cool little vibe in the midst of madness.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article’s title stated that Pace Joint is expanding in West Hollywood. It is located and expanding in Hollywood. This article also has been updated to include comments from Gendel and a new photo.