Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Acosta.
Hi Steven, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Like many other small local businesses, The Silverlake Lounge has been in dire need of assistance to stay alive during this pandemic. We have been closed since March 2020, following local ordinance due to Covid 19, and have been unable to qualify for federal PPP/EIDL assistance because of the timing of when we took over this historic venue(late February 2020). Just weeks before the pandemic took hold here in Los Angeles. We were only open for three days before deciding to shutter, just one day before orders were put in place. We remained closed until April 2021. As partners, Zach Negin and I continue to believe that there are great things on the other side of all of this and have worked really hard to keep our dream alive.
In an effort to get open and save our venue and Independent Live Music, The Silverlake Lounge has pivoted several times. First as a retail store online, then as a recording studio for artists, a live stream studio and now currently operating as our new pizza-pop up, ‘Lounge Pizza’.
Lounge Pizza offers a limited menu of fresh-baked, hand-stretched New York Pies and Detroit Style Pan pizza. We worked closely with Artisan Pizza and Bread Specialist Noel Brohner, known as the “Bread Guru” and “Pizza Assassin” to perfect our offerings and really exceed expectations for “Dive bar pizza”. With the help of his assistant Joshua Hernandez, we worked through a month of training and R&D in the kitchen of our next door neighbors, Cafe Tropical. Daniel Navarro of Cafe Tropical has been a huge assistance to us throughout the pandemic and we are now currently baking pizzas in their ovens when they are closed to run our food program. This allowed us to get open earlier and begin the process of easing back into operations and drive in some revenue. Now open seven days a week from 5pm-12am, with pizza running until 10pm, we also take order online for pick up or delivery! We are working on our late summer programing for live music, with some great residencies, drag shows and exciting lineups. Until then, we have created a fun and warm dive bar pizzeria.
We redesigned our back patio to offer Al Fresco dining and drinks and have converted the whole space into that vintage Italian pizzeria, that time forgot! We will begin to have some live entertainment during dinner service sometime in June. Acoustic Solo or Duos. Maybe some stand up. India Coombs (All Things Blue) and Ryan Hahn(Ryan Hahn and The Believers) are making some great headway with talent buying and round out our booking team.
The neighborhood has already been such a support and so enthusiastic about what we are doing. In our five weeks of being open, we have already made fast friends and regulars with many of the locals nearby. We have a strong bar team with decades in the industry. Emily Torres and Herlim Li come to us from a decade at Good Luck Bar and Fafa Khojastehzad was with The Roxy for 11 years and many celebrated nightlife staples. It feels comfortable here and many locals were happy to see old familiar faces. We are excited for 2021 Pride Festivities, Dodger Games on our new 65″ tv’s and happy hour, which starts in two week! We continue to allow filming, streaming and private events in our space and are looking forward to more collaborations with artists.
Some Brief History:
The Silverlake Lounge is one of the oldest drinking establishments on LA’s eastside, serving the community as a nightlife venue in some capacity since at least 1938. The bar has also had a long and celebrated history with the Latinx LGBT community and Indie Music Scene that continues to this day. Settling into its current iteration around 1975, it was an early stage for drag and gay cabaret. In the early 2000s, we gained notoriety as one of the central hubs and incubators for the blossoming indie music scene. Bands like Rilo Kiley, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and resident band, The Silversun Pickups all had starts on our stage. That intermingling of the two subcultures has created an invaluable mixed crowd, safe space for the Los Angeles Queer BIPOC community and is one of the few properties left that serves the whole of its community.
We were able to acquire the business in early February for the previous owner of 30 years. He originally worked as a bar back there until eventually buying the business 30 years ago, and it was the only job that he ever had. He had seen the lounge through its heyday but with passions fleeting it was time to move on. Looking to retire, he reached out to us to breath new life into this aging legacy. He chose not to sell to some of the big corporate booking companies (Goldenvoice, Live Nation, etc.) because of our local success and respect with Tabula Rasa Bar, our sister property. Nicole Dougherty, Zach Negin and I worked tirelessly and swiftly to transition without a major lull in service. Because of the timing of the transfer, we were only open for three days before shuttering like many other local businesses.
Our continued mission is to produce nightly entertainment that presents independent, alternative, emerging artists to greater Los Angeles and travelers while also remaining a local watering hole for the East Side neighborhood. We feature line ups that represent the color and diversity of our community, are an LGBTQ+ safe space and destination, and feature non-English speaking acts. . Until March, we featured indie and urban lineups, punk, country and folk artists sets, singer/songwriter showcases, weekend drag cabaret, open mic afternoons, and just expanded our DJ program and set up. We are committed to our community and have had to delay a heavily sponsored fundraiser, with all proceeds going to local BIPOC programs in our neighborhood and voter registration sign up and are committed to seeing this fundraiser through. As an LGBT Latinx Creative, I know the immense importance, value and necessity of venues like ours.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The hardest obstacle has been not qualifying for any government assistance and just not knowing if we will really make it. We started a goFund me that has so far almost raised 12k but has stalled a bit the past two months. It has also been challenging to plan for most of the closure, and now we are running to catch up. The worst part was being isolated from so many of our artists and friends.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Growing up in Southern California, I fell in love with the large gatherings that brought my family together in the mountains of Ojai and the backyards of Bakersfield! I quickly discovered my gift for creating special experiences for his family and friends, producing weddings, parties and special events throughout high school and college.
It was in college in Santa Cruz that I stepped into hospitality professionally and have spent the past 22 years managing and directing programs throughout California, with the last 15 years in Los Angeles.
My early years in LA saw me more focused on chef driven projects working with Chefs Andre Guererro, Gary Menes, Bernhard Mairenger and Ludo Lefebvre. I continued to produce special events and began some consulting for some of LA’s neighborhood hotspots. It was there that I settled for the last ten years managing and beverage directing West Hollywood destinations Blowfish Sushi, The Hudson, The Churchill, and most recently Gracias Madre before starting Team Blank Slate with Zach Negin and Nicole Dougherty.
My favorite place to entertain remains at home, with friend and I am most proud of the work culture that I create. I have brought along many friends from project to project and celebrate my adaptability.
My philosophy on hospitality is that by creating an inviting curated atmosphere, anticipating the wants of the guest, offering moments of genuine connection, we make an impact beyond our four walls. From there, we can dazzle in the details and offer something for everyone!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe that luck follows us all, but we have to look for it. I think people miss it often because it is not in their timing. If we are patient and diligent, it will find us. I have been very fortunate to have found my current partners in work Nicole Dougherty and Zach Negin. We have very different giftings that complement our shortcomings and see big things for the future.
Pricing:
- Pizza by the slice $3.50-$4.50
- Whole pies $10-$24
- $5 Wells
- $9 Specialty Cocktails
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.thesilverlakelounge.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesilverlakelounge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesilverlakelounge
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/THE_SLL_TWEETS
