Gentle reader,
If you’ve spent any time in Hollywood, you probably know La Brea Sunset Plaza in the 1500 block of North La Brea. With fifteen independent service businesses on two levels, there are so many reasons to stop by.
The current tenants are: L.B. Locksmith (in the old Fotomat space), Roman’s Liquor, The Woods (formerly Lava Lounge, since 2007), Kebab Bar (in the Sultani space), V.I.P. Cleaners, Frame Masters (since 1969), Artista Tattoos, Whistlin' Dixie Hot Chicken, Dr. Soraya Omar’s La Brea-Sunset Family Dentistry, LA Thai Massage, Handsome Devils Barber Shop, The Sign Shack, Intrepid Tapes, Discount Costume Jewelry and in the corner pocket, the celebrated Mashti Malone’s Persian ice cream parlor (since 1980).
The legend of Mashti Malone’s naming is one of those great Los Angeles diaspora success stories: Iranian brothers Mashti and Mehdi Shirvani took over a failed Irish-themed ice cream parlor that already had a pretty nice backlit plastic sign. Mugsy peeled right off, and Mashti fit just fine. The shamrock stayed for luck, and they figured they needed that.
Kim grew up seven blocks away as an ice cream fan, and remembers the confused chatter when the weird new sign went up. And she remembers branching away from her usual Turkish Coffee cone to explore the herbal, spiced and textured Persian dessert concoctions that would soon become world famous. No trip up to Hollywood Boulevard to visit the book shops was complete without a stop at La Brea Sunset Plaza for a sweet treat from Mashti Malone’s.
And while there is only one book shop left—shout out to the great Larry Edmunds, which we visited on last Saturday’s Raymond Chandler tour—Mashti Malone’s is still taking good care of Angelenos. When we stopped in this week on a blisteringly hot day, we found Mashti Shirvani making magic in the kitchen in back. A steady stream of customers arrived by car and on foot, little kids with their grandparents, young couples on dates, locals cooling off while running errands, everybody so happy to be there.
We log into the city’s website daily to check the latest development projects to hit the City Planning portal, which is why we knew that Mashti Malone’s and the fourteen other community-serving businesses in La Brea Sunset Plaza are in mortal danger of being displaced and destroyed.
In 2018, Anthony D. Sharp, whose father Isadore founded the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in Canada in 1961, quietly purchased the mini mall through his 2200 Larimer LLP entity, and in January 2023 conveyed it to 2200 Larimer LLC; it was never listed for sale.
(Parenthetically 2200 Larimer takes its name from a 1904 building on Denver’s Skid Row that Sharp purchased in 2015, after which its 44 low-cost music rehearsal studios were shuttered; despite attempts by a subsequent owner to refurbish it as a restaurant, that building remains derelict to this day.)
This week, an application was filed to demolish La Brea Sunset Plaza for a dense, upzoned Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) housing development with no retail component.
We believe that if this discretionary change of use is approved by the city, it will be a tragedy. Mashti Malone’s and its neighbors are the best of Los Angeles, and ought to be protected.
Instead, City Planning has drawn a bullseye on this property, as it has at Taix in Echo Park, and handed out crossbows to all comers.
Although it’s true that there isn’t enough reasonably priced housing available in Los Angeles, this is a policy problem that should be addressed by enforcing the laws against renting apartments by the night and by imposing a vacancy tax to make it too expensive to hold dozens of units empty pending development plans years in the future.
Instead, the City Planning Department—still run by the same people who were appointed by unpopular former mayor Eric Garcetti and worked closely with RICO charged Jose Huizar and Ray Chan—continues to promote TOC developments like the one proposed for La Brea Sunset Plaza to international investors. “Come to Los Angeles,” the planners crow, “and make lots of money.”
What they are doing is profitable, but it is not city planning. These massive, discretionary projects are uniformly approved with no consideration for how they fit into the surrounding cityscape, or the harm they cause. Often, existing housing is demolished to build new apartments, with fewer affordable units than were there before. And if the property owners choose to operate illegal Airbnbs or non-union hotels in what was pitched as apartments for Angelenos, the city won’t stop them.
Anthony D. Sharp has every right to use his Canadian dollars to invest in Los Angeles real estate. But Angelenos have rights, too, even though it doesn’t always feel that way. These includes the right to be heard by our elected officials, and to demand that planning decisions are made thoughtfully, ethically, transparently and for the greater good.
Six months ago, councilwoman Nithya Raman bestowed a flowery Certificate of Recognition upon Mashti Malone’s, which hangs proudly in the front window of the recently remodeled ice cream parlor.
Raman wrote, “On behalf of the City of Los Angeles and the Fourth Council District, we hereby recognize your commitments and dedication to the community of Hollywood and our amazing city. We congratulate your ongoing contributions, passion and pursuit of the betterment of the City of Los Angeles. We wish you continued excellence and thank you for being part of what makes the Fourth Council District so special!”
We love Mashti Malone’s, too, and we know we’re not alone. If you care about this business, and others in the mini mall, please let Nithya Raman’s Planning Director Mashael Majid know that you’re concerned. Below is a basic message that you can enhance with your personal thoughts, via email or by telephone:
"Mashti Malone's matters. I am asking CD4 to help protect this beloved legacy business and not let a Canadian developer tear down the La Brea Sunset Plaza mini mall for a discretionary TOC project."
Email: mashael.majid@lacity.org / Phone: (213) 473-7004 / Subject: DIR-2023-5017-TOC-SPR-VHCA (TOC project 1523 N. La Brea). Feel free to cc us on your emails, tours@esotouric.com.
Anthony D. Sharp isn’t an Angeleno, and it’s probable that this unimaginative project is only interesting to him because it’s a good investment. It’s up to informed Angelenos to help steer the future of this special parcel with our passion, knowledge and time.
You want to build housing on this land, Mr. Sharp? Fine—go back to the drawing board, look at all that surface parking area, and figure out how Mashti Malone’s and the other businesses can be a part of your plans. Or ditch the housing project entirely, and turn that surface parking lot into a culinary night market, celebrating the unique flavors and cultures of Los Angeles in the sweet green glow of Mashti Malone’s lucky shamrock.
And if that doesn’t pencil out, please list the parcel for sale, so that Angelenos who love it will have the opportunity to purchase and preserve something that’s very special to us, for 43 years and counting.
yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
Psst… If you’d like to support our efforts to be the voice of places worth preserving, we have a tip jar and a subscriber edition of this newsletter, vintage Los Angeles webinars available to stream, in-person tours and a souvenir shop you can browse in. We’ve also got recommended reading bookshelves on Amazon and the Bookshop indie bookstore site. Or just share this link with other people who care.
UPCOMING BUS & WALKING TOURS
• Angelino Heights & Carroll Avenue Walk (Sat. 8/5) • Charles Bukowski’s Los Angeles Bus Tour (Sat. 8/12) • Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 8/26) • Pasadena Confidential Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 9/9) • Franklin Village Old Hollywood Walking Tour (Sat. 9/16) • University Park Walking Tour (Sat. 9/23) • Weird West Adams Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 9/30) • Eastside Babylon Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 10/14) • The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain’s Southern California Nightmare Bus Tour (Sat. 10/21) • The Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour (Sat. 10/28) • Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 Walking Tour (Sun. 10/29)
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