Brent Bolthouse knows how to throw a good house party, having garnered plenty of experience with Golden Globe parties and other soirees in the Hollywood Hills. Eventually, he was able to take this talent and transform it into an immersive cocktail lounge: The Bungalow.<\/p>\n
On March 12, The Bungalow Kitchen within Long Beach\u2019s 2ND & PCH will temporarily close to, for the most part, nix the dining element. When it reopens this spring, he says it will finally reflect his original lounge-y, houseparty concept, complete with DJs and multiple spaces to enjoy, he told the Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be an extension of your living room,\u201d Bolthouse said. \u201cWe want you to say, \u2018Hey I\u2019m having a house party for 10 people\u2014oh my god it grew to 25\u2014let\u2019s go to The Bungalow instead of destroying the house.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Long Beach location, he says, will be the best version of The Bungalow yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all is an evolution and we learned a lot in Santa Monica. We learned a lot in Huntington Beach. They say, third time\u2019s the charm,\u201d Bolthouse said.<\/p>\n
After opening the first two locations, Bolthouse decided to bring his vision to Long Beach.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, that decision happened in 2020. When the pandemic hit, the global crisis slammed the brakes on plans to open anything, really, let alone a place to imbibe.<\/p>\n
So, in March 2021, Bolthouse and his business partner chef Michael Mina created The Bungalow Kitchen\u2014a savvy pivot that satisfied pandemic requirements and simultaneously became a hit within the Long Beach dining scene. That concept will live on across the state, in Marin County\u2019s Tiburon, while Mina exits the Long Beach location.<\/p>\n
While the kitchen concept was well received, Bolthouse said he wanted to get back to his original plan of bringing something entirely new to Long Beach. Aside from the now-shuttered Federal Bar, the city has always lacked something quite as immersive as The Bungalow.<\/p>\n
Now that COVID-era restrictions have completely dissolved, Bolthouse will be able to bring his \u201cairy rock \u2018n\u2019 roll oasis\u201d to 2ND & PCH, where guests will be able to meander through different themed rooms and outdoor areas, drink in hand.<\/p>\n
When the 10,000 square-foot space reopens, it will offer four full-service bars, multiple rooms and brand new lounge furnishings\u2014all available for guests to enjoy until 2 a.m. Tables will largely be cleared of spaces like the Sun Room, which wasn\u2019t intended to be a dining space.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t really designed for dining\u2026I think once we pivot to a bar, it will really get activated as this great lounge space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The location will still serve small bites and appetizers. Bolthouse said he will bring back Bungalow\u2019s beloved pizzas, as well as brunch breakfast burritos on Saturdays and Sundays.<\/p>\n
Bolthouse designed The Bungalow as a multi-generational space that would attract and make everyone feel welcome, from Cal State Long Beach students to parents in need of a brief retreat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything, we\u2019re going to have a good time and we\u2019re going to bring something really fun and really beautiful\u2014and really a great place to celebrate life,\u201d Bolthouse said.<\/p>\n
The Bungalow Kitchen, within 2ND & PCH at 6400 E. Pacific Coast Highway, will remain open until March 12 on Wednesdays through Fridays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Bungalow will reopen in the spring and shift to later hours.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Now that COVID-era restrictions have faded away, Brent Bolthouse is finally able to recast his Long Beach restaurant as the airy cocktail hangout it was intended to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":72269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[32080],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32065],"class_list":["post-33069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-bungalow","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33069"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=33069"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=33069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}