Andrew Meieran is about to reopen the doors of one of L.A.’s legendary restaurants in a bid to once again make it an offbeat dining and entertainment destination.
Meieran is the proprietor of Clifton’s Republic , the kitschy, forest-themed restaurant on Broadway in downtown’s Historic Core that for nearly a century served up comfort food such as pot roast, mashed potatoes and Jell-O. The five-story restaurant and bar complex has been closed for the last year after a burst water pipe caused a flood that destroyed the kitchen and collapsed the ceilings on three floors. Clifton’s is scheduled to reopen next month after extensive repairs and renovations.
Among the changes patrons will find is a basement venue several years in the making that Meieran said is “dedicated to innovation and the magic of experiences” with “entertainment, cocktails and culinary offerings.” Meieran is keeping details under wraps for now, but he has demonstrated a knack for creating provocative entertainment and dining venues through an obsessive attention to offbeat details, as well as a willingness to spend more money than most real estate developers to realize his vision and preserve the historic integrity of his projects. A Bay Area transplant with a background in real estate development and filmmaking, Meieran emerged on the L.
A. scene in 2007 when he opened the Edison , a subterranean nightclub he created in a former power plant deep under a century-old building on 2nd Street. In 201.
