The former Button Mash space in Echo Park will become the Ravine Club, a new sports bar from television writer Hank Chilton. The beloved arcade bar and its restaurant, Poltergeist, from chef Diego Argoti, closed permanently in September 2024 after nine
years in the neighborhood. Chilton, best known for shows including Nip/Tuck and Ash vs. Evil Dead, aims to open the Ravine Club, his first hospitality project, this fall.
“What we’re looking for is the elevated sports bar experience,” Chilton says. “Better food in the sports bar environment, but still providing the staples that people expect in sports bars.” Chef Hugo Sanchez, the owner of Brown Soul Brewing in South Gate, will serve dishes such as wings, hot dogs, hamburgers, and tacos, alongside a handful of gluten-free options. Eventually, the Ravine Club hopes to open on weekend mornings for games and, sometime in 2027, add a weekday lunch menu.
Chilton tapped Alex Soto, the founder of Dodgers fan group Pantone 294, to co-found the restaurant with him. “I didn’t actually know him personally and called him up and said, ‘What do you think of this?’ And he’s like, ‘It’s something we’ve been thinking about as well,’” Chilton says. Investor George Angon, who previously worked with Pantone 294, also joins the restaurant as a co-founder and partner. Taylor Parsons and David Rosoff, whose resumes include restaurants such as Mozza, Republique, Dunsmoor, and Bar Moruno, will work as operations and beverage consultants. “They’ve been everything to us,” Chilton says. “They’ve basically held our hands through the whole process.”
Chilton, who was raised in Connecticut, has been a Dodgers fan since his childhood but still desires to make the Ravine Club welcoming to a wide range of fans and sports. “We’re really hoping to be that place that people want to see baseball games and other sporting events on their way in and out of the park,” he says. “But also on days when there’s no sporting event there, to really make everyone feel welcome and not be exclusive, not feel too expensive, or you have to be a fan of this team or that team.”
Before officially opening later this year, the Ravine Club will serve food at the community music festival Echo Park Rising, which takes place on August 29 and 30. The restaurant will also host a handful of sets in its parking lot.
Dinner and Antigone at the Getty Villa
The Getty Villa Museum and Latino Theater Company will put on a production of Antigone this year, reimagined in pre-conquest Tenochtitlan. Alongside the performance, which will run from September 10 to October 3, the Getty will serve a $110 prix fixe dinner and a la carte menu using ingredients from the era. Look forward to dishes such as chorizo molotes, roasted poblano tamales, and hearts of palm ceviche with yuca. Tickets are available to purchase through the Getty.
Prime Pizza heads to the South Bay
Los Angeles chain Prime Pizza will expand to the South Bay with a location in Torrance, set to open sometime in September. The neighborhood is the latest expansion for the rapidly growing restaurant, which also operates locations in Woodland Hills, Burbank, Fairfax, and more.
Cantonese fish sandwiches and mapo-spiced wagyu land at Westfield Topanga
B.J. Novak’s Chain, which will operate a residency at Westfield Topanga beginning September 2, has announced its lineup of dishes. Calvin Eng will serve a Filet-o-Fish-inspired Cantonese fish sandwich, while Mason Hereford takes cues from Wendy’s with a spicy chicken version. Roy Choi will draw on mall food court nostalgia with a teriyaki chicken bowl, and Mei Lin will channel Taco Bell with a mapo wagyu wrap filled with chile crisp queso.
The Palisades Village returns
L.A. Material detailed the revival and reopening of Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village, one of the shopping and lifestyle destinations in Pacific Palisades that saw a prolonged closure in the wake of the 2025 Palisades Fire, in its August 14 newsletter.
