January 30, 2017

Meet John Arakaki of St Felix Hollywood, St Felix WeHo, & The Powder Room in Hollywood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Arakaki.

John, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved out to LA from Cleveland, Ohio with delusion of Rock N’ Roll Grandeur & through 99% perspiration & 1% divine intervention helped create the St Felix Concept as well as the Powder Room. Our original concept in St Felix started in West Hollywood in 2008. We have always been an alternative to the Hollywood food & cocktail scene since we started. A venue with creative food & drink choices in a fun, but diverse atmosphere served with smile & warmth. in 2011 we opened up our Hollywood location which has been an unbelievable experience from hosting intimate party gatherings to large scale movie wrap parties & everything in between. It’s been an exciting journey hosting the royalty of Hollywood to the loyal Cleveland Sports fan for viewing parties. The momentum keeps growing in the ever changing landscape of Hollywood & our concept continues to develop & evolve. Fortunately, we surround ourselves with a strong team that keeps it’s ear to the ground & is constantly reimagining our cocktail & food program to keep things fresh but also keeps our winners as a staple that has built our success story & solidified our foundation. We anticipate 2017 to be our strongest year yet as we continue to grow & have recently been approached to expand the concept.

Has it been a smooth road?
There are many obstacles & challenges in LA. It’s hard enough trying to drive from your Apartment to get gas 1 mile away and get that done in less than 45 minutes. Lol. I think the biggest challenge in being a traditionally tough business as well as being a small business in LA are cost variables outside of your control are obstacles facing our industry. It’s always a challenge to bring a quality experience for a reasonable price to the customer. But through perseverance & sweat, we have survived the Recession & the ever changing laws & rising costs that effect us & to continue to build upon the previous year’s success.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with St Felix Hollywood, St Felix WeHo, & The Powder Room – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
St Felix has always been ahead of the curve without having a pretentious edge to our environment. You can have a young struggling artist sipping cocktails next to an international businessman and it doesn’t seem different or out of place. We try to create an equal environment that’s just cool. Our initial location proudly serves the LGBTQ community in West Hollywood but was also became a comfortable destination for the cool rockers & musicians heading to the Troubadour. I guess in that aspect we have always had an East Coast sensibility. But most importantly the nuts & bolts of the St Felix concepts is our strong food & cocktail program. We have excellent dishes highlighted by our Kobe Beef Sliders, Thai Deviled Eggs, the Ahi Salad, & our Jalapeno Mac & Cheese to name a few of our hits. On the cocktail side our Firecracker drinki featuring Grapefruit infused Vodka, Lime Juice, & Jalapenos, our house made Sangria, & the Cucumber Dillietante featuring muddled Cucumbers, Dill, & Elderflower are features that have been on our menu for 8 years now. I think the fusion of fresh ingredients & juices fused with thoughtful presentation & detail has kept our customers’ libatious appetite full & festive! I am proud that each year we do better than the previous year. We are always constantly innovating the menu as well as the atmosphere to keep delivering a better experience for our clientele. In addition, we are known for consistently delivering high-quality events & parties in our Hollywood location. The list of returning clients keeps growing. We have so many luxuries being so close to the Archlight, Pantages Theater, CNN, & Amoeba Records that it keeps us busy. I also work very hard on the audio/visual component of our customers experience. I spend a few hours a week getting a great variety of music tracks to please as many people as possible. Also my video loops have become legend over time which has built a cult following.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the cultural diversity. It’s an amazing urban sprawl that always seems to test, inspire, & force imagination. The history of the entertainment industry & the constant innovation of LA is inspiring & exciting. There’s never a dull day here in the shade of the Sun! I also enjoy exploring hidden gems that aren’t trendy especially finding different aesthetics outside of Hollywood that is hosted by people of different ethnic backgrounds. I love the open-mindedness & acceptance of different ideas & makeups that keep our city fresh & ever changing. Another aspect is finding cool design, fashion, & architecture that can range from the tasteful to the eccentric. The edge always is there here in Hollywoodland. I hope that the rising costs of living here in LA do not deter the next kid from the Midwest from moving out here to create their own Manifest Destiny, This vital aspect fuels the creative element that keeps this city shining. If cost exceeds practicality for the young person trying to make their way a new place may take that energy and become the new center of creative energy

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