From the outside, it looks like Terroni’s flagship DTLA restaurant at the base of the National City Tower building has permanently closed. Earlier this month bits of the massive space could be seen being boxed up and just this week neighboring sister market Dopolavoro was packed away too.
But there’s more going on than meets the eye.
Terroni Owner Shereen Arazm was rightfully frustrated when reached over the telephone by What Now Los Angeles (WNLA) this week after receiving emails and texts seeking comment on the status of the popular Italian eatery. Arazm and her team, as with many of the city’s brick-and-mortar operators, have had a hellacious 2020 so far.
“I’m on a conference call with my lawyers and I know you want a statement, but we’re underwater here and I’m just trying to keep my restaurants open,” Arazm said before hanging up the phone. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to comment.”
Questions posted to the restaurant’s social media asking if Terroni had permanently closed are being deleted and employees at the company’s West Hollywood location won’t comment on the DTLA outpost with a manager telling WNLA, “it’s operated separately from us.”
An employee of Pacific Reach, the Canadian company that in 2014 acquired the National City Tower building, told WNLA in a telephone call Friday under anonymity that their employer—Terroni’s landlord—was in active negotiations to keep the restaurant in place.
“Terroni has been hard hit,” they said. “First the coronavirus and then the riots.”
Arazm, like Pacific Reach, which is from the same owners as Canada’s Retirement Concepts, is also Canadian. Terroni, which opened in the National City Tower building in 2013 ahead of Pacific Reach acquiring the historic property “has a personal relationship with [Pacific Reach’s] owner.”
“It’s in our best interest to keep Terroni open,” they said. “In terms of the lease, I can’t speak on the status but it has been a few weeks since I heard anything. In the most recent email I saw, [Pacific Reach] is trying to salvage the deal and work with the owners.”
Developing…
