SteelCraft Rendering

Rendering courtesy of Turpin Design Group Inc.

Last week at a public hearing, Bellflower City Council members unanimously approved what will be SteelCraft’s third iteration. The SteelCraft shipping container concept, set to be located on Bellflower Boulevard and Oak Street on a 15,000-square-foot city-owned lot, was first conceived in Long Beach with development partner Howard CDM. SteelCraft’s second location is a work-in-progress in Garden Grove.


 

“I grew up in Bellflower,” Martin Howard, president and CEO of Howard CDM, said in a statement. “I went to school right down the street. I knew before we did any research SteelCraft Bellflower would be a home run. It’s my neighborhood. Beyond my personal feelings about this community, the pieces really are all there—the population, the jobs, and the return this development will generate for this community. It’s a smart move for all parties involved.”

The design of the Bellflower location will be similar to the Long Beach establishment, built with a variety of 20- and 40-foot shipping containers to be fit to the space with a communal dining area. In addition, SteelCraft Bellflower will have at least two additional food tenants, covered barn seating, and a second story.

“What’s special about Bellflower is they have this excitement for our team to search far and wide to bring creative new dining and retail establishments to their city. That trust is something we value in a partnership and we are eager to get started,” Kim Gros, who founded SteelCraft, said in a statement. “We take great pride in bringing the best tenants to the space—Bellflower’s enthusiasm is a tremendous complement to our team and what we’ve created.”

Estimated to generate $50,000 in annual sales tax and $22,000 in annual lease revenue for the city, SteelCraft Bellflower is also expected to offer over 100 job opportunities to the local community, according to the release. SteelCraft Bellflower is projected to open in late 2018.

“We are excited to welcome Steelcraft and its rapidly growing reputation as a unique dining and social experience into Downtown Bellflower,” City Council Member Juan Garza said in a statement. “It will complement our niche retail stores and delicious home-grown restaurants perfectly, and continues Downtown Bellflower’s growing renaissance and reputation as a desired destination in our region.”

For more information about SteelCraft, check out the website here

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].