{"id":411514,"date":"2026-07-25T01:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/411514\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T01:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T01:35:12","slug":"west-hollywoods-water-main-woes-are-draining-sunset-strip-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/411514\/","title":{"rendered":"West Hollywood\u2019s Water Main Woes Are Draining Sunset Strip Restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a muggy Saturday afternoon, I sat on Saltie Girl\u2019s<\/a> patio, downing a silky clam chowder<\/a>, fried lobster and waffles, oysters, stone fruit salad, and one of the most colorful tuna tostadas I\u2019ve ever seen, deep in the Sunset Strip. The iconic street has recently been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, as a century-old water main ruptured<\/a> on July 16, spilling 17 million gallons of water and creating a sinkhole that closed the Sunset Strip at Holloway Drive. As crews from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) worked to fix it<\/a>, a second water main break occurred one mile away at Santa Monica Boulevard and Laurel Avenue on Thursday, July 23.<\/p>\n

The Saturday I visited, I was curious to see how quickly I could hop over to Henry\u2019s Secret Ice Cream<\/a> for a pint of peach cobbler, a trek that should take a few minutes by driving only .7 miles west. Instead, the direction app took me 12 minutes around Sunset Plaza Drive, then through unfamiliar streets lined by multimillion-dollar homes, only to spill me out at Doheny onto a mostly empty street. I immediately thought about the area\u2019s anchor businesses like Dialog Cafe<\/a>, a busy restaurant for nearby residents, or those looking for a popular location to open a laptop and work.<\/p>\n

Dialog team members texted co-owner Tadeh \u201cTodd\u201d Ghazalian in the early hours of July 17, telling him to get to the Sunset location. He says the leak began at approximately 3:30 a.m. When Ghazalian arrived, water, dirt, and sand damaged Dialog\u2019s floors, basement, storage, and equipment. By 7 a.m., LADWP turned off the water and closed the street to the public. \u201cIt was like walking into a movie scene,\u201d says Ghazalian. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re figuring out insurance, what the building needs, and how these things are handled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other impacted businesses are Mel\u2019s Drive-In. The Los Angeles Times<\/a> reports the longtime restaurant saw a 30 to 40 percent drop in sales that same week. Henry\u2019s Ice Cream owner Brad Ray had to figure out what to do as LADWP turned off the block\u2019s water source. \u201cThere was less driving traffic, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d says Ray. \u201cThat made it a little cumbersome for an ice cream operation. [But] we also didn\u2019t have water from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bar Next Door<\/a> owner Brynn Smith noticed a difference for her popular bar, which lives next to Henry\u2019s Secret Ice Cream. \u201cIt\u2019s six blocks from Bar Next Door, so people can get to us. But with traffic, this caused a little dip in sales for us. It affects the whole street with people thinking they can\u2019t get through. At least we can cool off with a drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still early to assess the damage on Santa Monica Boulevard, which runs parallel to Connie & Ted\u2019s (which closed on July 3<\/a>), Or Bar<\/a>, Employees Only<\/a>, and Delilah<\/a>. KTLA reports<\/a> that LADWP crews are working to repair a ruptured 6-inch pipe at Santa Monica Boulevard and Laurel Avenue. Estimates of reopening the Sunset Boulevard break could happen as early as today, July 24, but businesses and restaurants will remain closed.<\/p>\n

Dialog\u2019s Ghazalian has considered opening a temporary location as they embark on repairs (the longtime cafe also has a smaller outpost within an Equinox in West Los Angeles, which has continued operations). The team launched a GoFundMe<\/a> fundraiser for $500,000 that will go directly to his employees and to help fund the temporary space. He still worries about his local customers. \u201cThe largest thing for us is to find a place for our big team,\u201d says Ghazalian. \u201cWe\u2019re a busy place with a lot of goodwill with the community. I would hate for us not to be there for everybody now.\u201d<\/p>\n