LOS ANGELES— In what may become a sign of things to come for the 11 Sofitel hotels in North America, a new restaurant by celebrity chef Kerry Simon and a bar and lounge by nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber are about to debut at the Sofitel Los Angeles.
The new food & beverage venues are part of $35-million revitalization designed to attract a more affluent clientele to the 297-room hotel. A late June opening is planned for both the Simon LA restaurant and the Stone Rose Lounge at the Sofitel Los Angeles.
“We had the standard hotel restaurant and bar. They were busy, but not very busy, not cutting edge,” said Jean-Marc Jalbert, senior corporate food & beverage director of Accor, parent of the Sofitel brand.
By partnering with celebrities such as Rande Gerber and Kerry Simon, “we’re trying to move away from the normal hotel operation,” Jalbert said, adding “we’re looking at doing other similar projects, maybe in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York.”
Rande Gerber, founder of Midnight Oil Co. and After Midnight Co., was “a natural fit” for the Stone Rose Lounge at the Sofitel Los Angeles, Jalbert said. “He is local, he lives in Malibu, and is well known. He had the right vision for the lounge— sexy, sophisticated and cutting edge,” he said.
The Stone Rose Lounge will “basically be a partnership with Rande Gerber,” Jalbert noted. Although he declined to reveal specifics about the agreement, he said, “we are looking at sizeable revenues.”
The new Simon LA restaurant on the other hand will be owned by Sofitel with Kerry Simon serving as a consultant. He is working with partners Elizabeth Blau and Kim Canteenwalla on the project.
“For the restaurant, we looked at different chefs. We wanted someone who could make a commitment to us of a minimum of 80 hours a month, someone with the right food, the recognition and Kerry Simon came out shining,” Jalbert said.
“We didn’t want a French restaurant, we wanted an American restaurant with food to fit in with Los Angeles,” he added.
The chef is known for his Simon Kitchen + Bar launched at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas three years ago. That venue has become popular for its “classic comfort food.” The menu at the Sofitel will also feature some comfort food as well as new items created especially for Los Angeles using regional seafood and organic vegetables. In terms of menu prices, appetizers will range from $12 to $20 and entrees from $25 to $40.
The average guest check in a Sofitel restaurant is about $55 for food and beverage, according to Jalbert.
The interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg designed Simon LA, using a green color scheme and a tall, sweeping ceiling in the main dining room. The restaurant has an open kitchen and private chef’s table as well as round banquette seating along the side walls. There are large, curved screens throughout the restaurant, creating semi-private areas, and large pendant lamps over each booth.
The Stone Rose Lounge is located off the lobby of the hotel and adjacent to Simon LA. The 5,000-square-foot lounge was also designed by Yabu Pushelberg and features shades of burnt orange and red combined with dark leather, glowing light boxes, stone tables and rosewood screens. There is a u-shaped floating bar and square lounge seats covered in a velvet fabric in the main bar room while a “VIP seating area” has elongated red sofas and patent leather walls. There is also an outdoor patio with lush greenery, candlelit walls, water features and a fire pit.
A “master mixologist” is currently working on devising signature cocktails for the Stone Rose Lounge, Jalbert noted. Drink prices will be in the $12 to $16 range, he indicated, while wine by the glass will be $20 to $25 for premium brands.