Wiggum’s Roadhouse, a restaurant and bar, will open
Saturday at the old site of Madison’s Neighborhood Bar and
Grill, which closed last year.
Although the new restaurant will occupy the same address on
Broxton Avenue as Madison’s did, it will have little else in
common with the old establishment, said Leigh Slawner, the new
owner.
The Roadhouse will be predominantly a restaurant, serving lunch
seven days a week and keeping the kitchen open until closing time
at 1:30 a.m.
Madison’s, which closed after several liquor license
suspensions resulting from alleged under-age drinking violations,
was known primarily as a bar rather than as a restaurant.
Madison’s served food, in accordance with the Westwood
Specific Plan, which prohibits drinking-only establishments, though
it was closed for lunch and typically served a small dinner
crowd.
Promotions such as Tuesday’s “pint night,”
which featured one dollar beers, attracted hundreds and provided
Madison’s with its main source of revenue.
Slawner, a Milwaukee native, and his father founded the concept
for the Roadhouse, which will serve Midwestern staples such as ribs
and burgers and features a “down home” decor.
The dining room walls are laden with authentic family antiques,
including a sign that stood in front of a family-owned postal and
service station in Colorado. Sets of mounted antlers, an American
flag and a faux bait and tackle shop give the place a rustic
ambiance.
Owners hope the Midwestern feel will set the Roadhouse apart
from trendy locations that abound in Los Angeles.
“There’s nowhere else like it. It’s the exact
opposite of hip,” joked Brad Harris, a partner in the
business.
Besides the altered decorations, the new owners have made
several major changes to the restaurant’s layout. The 360
degree bar that dominated the ground floor at Madison’s has
been eliminated in favor of more booth seating for diners.
The decrease in bar space underscores the new owners’
willingness to accommodate the greater Westwood community, rather
than solely the student population.
The new owners decided to de-emphasize the bar aspect partially
to cater to a broader clientele, including families and Westwood
business people, but community leaders also played a role in
limiting bar space at the Roadhouse.
Sandy Brown, president of the Holmby-Westwood Property Owners
Association, met with Roadhouse owners during the
restaurant’s planning stages to voice her group’s
concerns.
“It can either be a college bar or a family restaurant
““ it can’t very well be both. We want it to be a family
restaurant,” she said.
Though the Roadhouse is ostensibly a restaurant, its late hours
and full liquor license will likely attract a young crowd.
“Students are a central part of the Westwood Village, and
we will definitely cater toward the student clientele,” Ryan
Silver, a UCLA alum and investor in the restaurant, said.
The Roadhouse will not offer drinking-related promotions,
though.
Student invitees to a private party at the Roadhouse last
Saturday voiced varying opinions about the restaurant.
“I think it’s a good thing that more people will be
able to appreciate it,” said Eric Sun, a third-year
physiology student, referring to the family-friendly
atmosphere.
Third-year history student Ryan Ferreira was less optimistic
about the Roadhouse’s design.
“We come to drink, and it seems like this place is more of
a restaurant. It’s nice to have another bar in Westwood,
though,” he said.
Several recent UCLA graduates are partial owners of the new
restaurant.
At Slawner’s behest, Silver organized a group of about 14
investors to contribute to the project, many of whom are UCLA
alumni.
Bryan Lui, a computer science and engineering student who
graduated last winter quarter, invested in the new restaurant for
fun and as a learning experience.
“I want to open my own restaurant or club someday and I
figured this would teach me about the business,” Lui
said.
By involving a group of minor investors ““ some of them
contributed as little as $ 6,000 ““ the principal owners hope
to attract a broad-based clientele to the Roadhouse.
“We have investors from different businesses and from
different areas. All these people are going to bring different
people in,” Silver said.
Through the renovation, the old bar, which was built in the
early ’80s as a part of Stratton’s, the restaurant that
preceded Madison’s, managed to avoid the junk yard.
Rather than demolish the mahogany and marble bar, Brad Harris, a
partner in the Roadhouse, decided to sell it on eBay. The bar sold
for about $ 3,000.
Since the initial sale, pieces of the bar have been re-sold and
shipped to various locations around the country. A 13-foot portion
of the bar currently resides in Orange County businessman Scott
Levitt’s den.
Levitt, who first attended Stratton’s 15 years ago with
his UCLA friends, bought his piece of “Westwood
history” for $1,000.
“It’s pretty awesome. “ he said.
Though Levitt’s friends appreciate the bar, his wife, a
USC graduate, was less enthusiastic.
“She was really pissed when I brought it home,”
Levitt said.