On eve of anti-Trump protests, downtown L.A. curfew turns night-life hub into ghost town
On a game night in Los Angeles, 10-year-old Boomtown Brewery in the Arts District can host 500 fans just five minutes walking distance from the Dodger Stadium shuttle at Union Station.
With the Dodgers hosting their archrival San Francisco Giants over the weekend, one might expect the cavernous brew hall with its giant projection screens to be packed with revelers.
But ever since Tuesday, the only long line was the stretch of unused parking meters that formed a perimeter around the brewery.
That's because an indefinite 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed on downtown Los Angeles following days of immigration enforcement demonstrations has turned this nightlife hub into a practical ghost town.
Now, instead of customers belting out their favorite songs at Friday Karaoke, the establishment is shuttered while city officials prepare for a day of widespread protests against Trump administration policies Saturday.
The curfew covers most of Chinatown, Skid Row and the Fashion and Arts districts from the 5 Freeway to the 110 Freeway and from the 10 Freeway to where the 110 and 5 freeways merge.
Along with area bars and restuarants, civic institutions and art organizations have also been affected. The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Seoul Festival canceled its final performance on Tuesday and the Mark Taper Forum canceled productions of Hamlet on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Center Theatre Group released an update Wednesday saying they received an exemption from the mayor's office to continue its performances, not counting Saturday, which will be closed for the so-called 'No Kings' demonstrations.
Iconic Angels Flight, the over-100-year-old funicular cable car, is moving its final service from 10 p.m. to 8 until the curfew ends.
Inside Boomtown, marketing manager Nick Gingold was pleased to see a gathering of about 20 regulars who stopped by Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The brewery became aware of the curfew via social media and Mayor Bass' televised announcement Tuesday, shortly after 4 p.m.
'I don't think we actually received an official notice from the city, as far as I know,' Gingold said.
The mayor's office did not respond to questions about whether it provided curfew notices.
The brewery amended its closing time to 7:30 p.m., meaning it shuttered 2 1/2 hours early on Tuesday and Wednesday. That same early closing bell will cut the brewery operating time in half on Thursdays and leave only 4 1/2 of the regularly-scheduled 11 hours for business on Fridays.
Gingold said the closure would sting Boomtown but didn't want to speculate on revenue losses.
Boomtown is not alone in changing its hours.
Angel City Brewery, also located in the Arts District, has amended its normal 4 p.m. to midnight weeknight schedule. The brewery posted on Instagram that it was closing Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. though it opened at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
Chinatown's Melody Lounge went one step further, announcing on Instagram that it was temporarily closing its doors throughout the curfew's duration.
'It's been a rough few years for Los Angeles with the pandemic, the shutdown, film industry strikes and now this,' Gingold said. 'Let me be clear, we support our Latino community throughout this time and stand with them.'
Boomtown posted on Instagram on Tuesday that the store promised to stay open 'as long as it's safe to do so' to serve as a meeting place for the community.
'We celebrate diversity and reject divisiveness. We celebrate immigrants and reject hate and we support our neighbors,' one post noted.
Chris Dombos, a special effects artist who lives in the Arts District, found his way into Boomtown, appreciative of the brewery's solidarity.
'This is a time of rising fascism where a city like Los Angeles, built by immigrants, is under attack and needs allies,' said Dombos, 44, who has observed some of the protests.
Dombos, 44, described the curfew as a political stunt and called on the mayor's office to investigate the 'brutal tactics' by Los Angeles police officers. He said constant flyovers by authorities have been 'terrorizing' the neighborhood.
Sarah Carmean, who enjoyed a light draft at Boomtown, lamented with service-industry employees missing tips or hours.
'These are the people who really lose out with the curfews,' she said. 'They are dependent on that money to pay bills.'
Chef Genevieve Gergis, owner of acclaimed restaurants Bestia and Bavel in the Arts District, called the curfew 'a broad and vague overreach' and criticized city leadership.
She said neither of her restaurants were anywhere near protests and she only heard of the curfew from television.
'The lack of guidance for small businesses and those who work in the area are being swept up in this blanket policy with no explanation or details,' she wrote in an email. 'This sudden, unexplained action feels like it was enacted without any care or consideration.'
Mina Park, co-owner and chef at Baroo, the Los Angeles Times 2024 Restaurant of the Year, said she closed her modern Korean eatery on Wednesday in the wake of the curfew and was still trying to plan out what to do.
'We have a lot of cancellations and concerns because of the protests and the curfew,' she said. 'It's hard to run a business with this uncertainty.'
Park said she'll likely have to throw out some fresh food, but also didn't feel she could complain much.
'Having to close for a couple of days is nothing compared to what so many families are going through,' she said of the ICE raids. 'It's really hard to see what's happening with the community.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Singer of popular 2000s rock band bans Trump supporters from coming to gigs
Singer of popular 2000s rock band bans Trump supporters from coming to gigsSource: Ronnie Winter
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business Insider
'Roadblock': Paramount Stock (NASDAQ:PARA) Surges as the Trump Settlement Sputters
As it turns out, entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) was actually fairly close to a deal with President Trump over the 60 Minutes lawsuit. But, when the deal was fairly close, a 'roadblock' emerged and put a halt to the whole matter, at least for now. Investors reacted with surprising strength, and perhaps even more surprising positivity. Paramount shares gained nearly 2.5% in the closing minutes of Friday's trading. Confident Investing Starts Here: The settlement had reached $35 million, reports noted, when Paramount suddenly found itself paralyzed by indecision. That delay caused Trump lawyers to pivot and pull back to their original demand, calling for a $50 million settlement. The biggest problem seems to be that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also involved in this, and needs to sign off on the merger with Skydance as well. Reports suggested that Paramount brass believes that the FCC's sign-off on the deal needs to be contingent on settling the case, but by like token, the idea that requiring FCC approval as part of the settlement looks a lot like a bribe. Trump's legal team, reports note, has already been clear that the Trump suit and the FCC case are two separate matters. But with outside organizations looking to launch their own lawsuits should the settlement go through, looks may count for more here than anyone expected. South Park Losses Mount Meanwhile, as Paramount faces the prospect of losing South Park exclusivity, it quietly pulled another old episode from the field. The pull this time showed up in the Canadian and Australian markets, reports noted, and this time, featured Butters' Very Own Episode pulled from Paramount+. Why, however, is a bit of a mystery. Several South Park episodes are apparently a bit too spicy for streaming, in retrospect, with around a dozen classic episodes set to be pulled from the catalog and relegated to a 'ban list', reports noted. The reports got stranger as an Australian viewer noted that the Paramount+ listing had been pulled, but the episode could still be watched by watching through Paramount+ on Amazon (AMZN) Prime Video. Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on two Buys, eight Holds and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 18.62% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.08 per share implies 2.23% downside risk.
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Hunger strikes! Tears! Arrest! It's been a week of ridiculous performances as NYC liberals chase folk-hero status
What's another starving BS artist? Cynthia Nixon's daughter Seph Mozes, who identifies as a man, is going on a hunger strike for Gaza — but really for attention. 'He and five of his compatriots are doing a hunger strike in Chicago … ,' a proud Nixon told Newsweek, adding that her 28-year-old child has no 'illusions that he's going to end the war, but I think he wants to do everything he can.' To earn a merit badge in the art of self-congratulations, apparently. 6 Cynthia Nixon told Newsweek that her child Seph Mozes is now doing a hunger strike for Gaza Instagram/Cynthia Nixon Maybe Nixon's offspring had the misfortune of seeing the actress in bed with Rosie O'Donnell in the third-season premiere of 'And Just Like That.' Such a sight would put anyone off eating. But it's probably more like the famous anti-drug PSA from the '80s: 'I learned it by watching you, Mom.' Shortly after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Nixon — who ran an unsuccessful campaign for New York governor in 2018 — boldly announced she was joining lawmakers, including current nutjob mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, in a five-day fast supporting ceasefire in Gaza. Nixon, however, committed to just two days of the five — a full 48 hours of abstaining from her beloved cinnamon raisin bagels with lox. She knows sacrifice and solidarity. 6 A Trump supporter shouted at marchers during the June 14 'No Kings' march in Manhattan. Aristide Economopoulos It's only fitting that Nixon's most recent proclamation capped off a banner week of performative activism by New York City progressives in search of folk-hero status. One pol was arrested, another cried and there were many self-righteous tweets posted with the presumed expectation that they'll end up in the Smithsonian one day. It all kicked off last Saturday with the No Kings anti-Trump protest, which was a social mixer for Boomer hippies. Did it mean anything? Like its predecessor the pink pussy hat marches, this was a collective tantrum against a duly-elected president. And maybe a guarantee that participants would get in their 10,000 steps for the day. Only days later, City Comptroller and Dem mayoral candidate Brad Lander desperately tried to revive his rotting corpse of a campaign by getting arrested on camera — not the first time. 6 City Comptroller Brad Lander was placed under arrest by ICE agents Tuesday after he obstructed them from an arrestee by refusing to remove his hand from the man's shoulder. Dean Moses/amNewYork 6 Lander's arrest was captured in a series of dramatic photos. via REUTERS In this instance, he pathetically tangled with ICE officers after demanding to see a warrant for someone being detained outside federal immigration court. Clinging to the guy's shoulder, he made a clear provocation to the officers to cuff him. And they made his day. Lander thought it would be a profile in courage. But it produced a series of unbelievable images that made him look like the town drunk being hauled out of his local watering hole for getting handsy with a waitress. In one, his bulging eyes rolled back into his head, he resembles Rodney Dangerfield. No respect! He was sprung by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who seems to only visit New York City for photo ops. Who can forget her riding the subway to tout its safety … on the same day a woman was incinerated by an illegal migrant on an F Train. 6 Kathy Hochul posted this picture of herself and Brad Lander walking after Lander was released without charges. Governor Kathy Hochul / X This time, our Democratic guv marched into the federal building and collected Lander, who was released without charges. She then tweeted a photo of them defiantly walking together, captioned with the state slogan 'Excelsior' — Latin for 'ever upward.' In Hochul-ese, it translates to 'empty political posturing.' After his publicity stunt, Lander was greeted like a conquering hero by lefty loonies including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and absentee Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, who posted a photo of himself hugging the candidate and touting his 'courage.' Do these people know that we can't even buy toothpaste in this city without buzzing a worker to unlock it? But hey, they got their photo op. 6 As he was facing questions about his use of the phrase 'Globalize the Intifada,' mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani cried while telling reporters about the Islamophobia he's faced. Bernadette Hogan/NY1 Our pols are severely misguided. They regularly pledge to fight against Trump rather than fighting for everyday New Yorkers to have order and an affordable city. The rotten cherry on top was Mamdani — a political novice but a seasoned performer. He tried to blunt a blossoming new antisemitic scandal, fueled by his use of the phrase 'globalize the intifada' … by pivoting into his own victimhood. 'I get messages that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life,' he said, choking back tears. Even the mere threat of political violence is an abomination, full stop. Just ask Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who had his house burned in an attack police said was driven by antisemitism. Or the families of the young couple killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in DC, allegedly by a man who said, 'I did it for Gaza.' But if Mamdani is going to cry every time he hears or sees some nasty words, perhaps being mayor of New York — which requires a firm hand and a thick hide — is not the job for him. The Big Apple has enough actors and clowns. Let's get some serious adults in here to run things.
