{"id":226,"date":"2019-02-11T12:04:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T20:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999937676"},"modified":"2019-02-11T12:04:27","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T20:04:27","slug":"forbidden-city-jade-restaurant-marina-pacifica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/forbidden-city-jade-restaurant-marina-pacifica","title":{"rendered":"Restaurateur sets his eyes on massive space formerly occupied by Forbidden City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abruptly announcing its closure in November of last year<\/a>, Chinese restaurant Forbidden City followed what was a long string of restaurant closures in Long Beach over the last few months. And given its massive, 7,000-square-foot, museum-like footprint in Marina Pacifica, it seemed unlikely a tenant, let alone one within a few months, would take over the space.<\/p>\n

Enter Rod Frontino, the investor behind both of Chef Arthur Gonzalez’s restaurants\u2014Panxa Cocina in Belmont Heights and Roe in Belmont Shore\u2014as well as DOGZ Bar and Grill in the Shore. He plans to open his JADE restaurant in that giant, Marina Pacifica space by April and not change much; maintaining the Asian-centric theme and decor.<\/p>\n

“The decor of the space is truly beautiful,” Frontino said. “We have little work to do as we move around the space; just touch-ups here and there. The decor was the inspiration behind the name. The previous owners [Michael Brausen and Gao Yan] had a lotus blossom fountain hand-carved from a jade boulder.”<\/p>\n

That nine-ton jade boulder from northern China that eventually became the 5,000-pound fountain in the front of the restaurant, is one of the many collectibles\u00a0Brausen and Yan brought back to Long Beach after spending two months in the Forbidden City and eight other Chinese metros. In fact, their collection of Chinese works filled three, 40-foot containers filled to the brim with 66 tons of goods that included hand-carved marble pieces, giant Fu Dog sculptures, onyx tables and silk lampshades.<\/p>\n

Babette’s Feast, Magic Lamp close up shop in Belmont Shore<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n