C. Soudry

Newly opened BierBeisl in Beverly Hills

Adding more raw fish to Sawtelle Boulevard, morinoya is Little Osaka's newest "authentic hole-in-the-wall izakaya," serving tapas dishes including yakitori and oden as well as sushi and sashimi. The Slice Truck also is settling into the area with its first brick-and-mortar restaurant, fulfilling owner Dave Hanley's vision of a little, local independent pizza place. Opening on Sawtelle between Coffee Tomo and Blockheads Shaved Ice is Seoul Sausage Company, the Korean catering company that's gained a following for its kalbi and spicy pork sausages at several food festivals over the past year.

From the owners of the Roger Room and Il Covo, the Pikey, a British gastropub replacing Coach & Horses, offers bites such as cardoon and sunchoke soup with bone marrow, braised lamb shank and crispy pig's ear salad from the Spotted Pig chef. On Main Street in Santa Monica, Brick+Mortar replaces Saluté Wine Bar (opened in 2008).

In other news, Acapulco in Westwood closed its doors after 33 years in business. The decision to close was based on the location's recent business performance, Rick Van Warner, a spokesman for Acapulco's parent company, Real Mex Restaurants, told The Daily Bruin. After less than a year, Taberna Mexicana in Beverly Hills has shuttered. We had high hopes. The one-of-a-kind Japanese maid cafe Royal/T Cafe announced its upcoming closure after five eventful years in Culver City -- there will be a few more art shows and the Tea Lovers Festival throughout May.

Read on for an April list of notable openings and closings:

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The Charleston

Ginger Kiss

Springtime is upon us -- you can tell by the pastel-colored clothing and cocktails around town. Hopeful newbies and restaurant industry pros to look out for this season include Japanese ramen noodle shop owner/comedian Menji Miyata, bibimbap peddler/Bibigo project manager Matthew Kim, mixologist Salvatore Calabrese and burger connoisseur Adam Fleischman, to name a few.

As some of our favorite bars close (Lou's days are numbered, Palate Food + Wine), others emerge, not necessarily taking their place.

A 1920s-themed "gastropub," The Charleston, recently took over the shuttered Angels space on Wilshire Boulevard. There you'll find toasted mac 'n' cheese, short-rib tacos (small but highly recommended), marinated olives, bacon-wrapped dates, pulled pork sliders and cocktails served in spiffy glasses (try the Minted Mule). We visited the intimate bar on opening weekend (Saturday night) to find a packed house. In more opening news, Los Angeles Brewing Company opened with 100 beers on tap and Tortilla Republic debuted with a list of 50 tequilas (yes, they have their own wall).

Read on for a March list of notable openings and closings:

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Guzzle & Nosh

Fujiya Market as seen through its safety mirror.

Among the potato chips, soda and lotto tickets at Fujiya Market, you'll find aisles stocked with slabs of fresh tuna, daikon radish, tinned mackerel, ponzu, furikake, natto and a dozen varieties of soy sauce. Located at Clinton and Virgil, a block south of Melrose, Fujiya looks like a typical corner store -- unassuming, a little down at the heels, its sign faded by the blasting sunlight -- but the 80-year-old market is one of the last reminders that this neighborhood was once so thoroughly dominated by Japanese-Americans it was known as J-Flats.

"This [neighborhood] was the first stop for many Japanese people when they came here," says co-owner June Tani.

Fujiya Market is the kind of neighborhood store where red Hawaiian sea salt shares shelf space with American junk food, where the owners still deliver groceries to a handful of elderly clients, where regulars come to socialize, not just shop. In a city often bemoaned for its impermeable car-centric lifestyle, Fujiya Market is an outpost of neighborliness, as much a social center as a store. After 80 years in business, Tani and her business partner Wayne Kohatsu plan to close Fujiya in the next few months.

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C. Soudry

Approaching its three-year anniversary, Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar announces its closure. Currently in escrow, a Japanese buyer will open another wine bar in the same space called 104 by the Sea. Pourtal's last days, selling the remainder of its inventory (wine, beer, food), are Feb. 24-25. As with many other bars and restaurants in high-rent areas, there were space issues and not enough foot traffic.

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For our last meal at gr/eats, which closes today, we wanted something traditionally Japanese: a burger. Actually, gr/eats does a good burger, preternaturally soft on the inside with a sharp layer of char on the outside. With an order of chicken katsudon, it epitomizes the culinary aesthetic of the charming Sawtelle Boulevard cafe: Japanese, American and a little of everything else. This was a menu where fish tacos coexisted with nabeyaki udon, where fried chicken and tofu meatballs were friends, where paella and spring rolls lived harmoniously as neighbors. [Photo gallery after the jump.]

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The old adage says "April is the cruelest month," but perhaps it's February in the restaurant business. After 20 years, Joachim Splichal's Pinot Bistro (of the fantastic pork rillettes) closes its doors on Feb. 19.

To celebrate its two decades, the Studio City restaurant is offering giveaways and featuring several alumni chefs, including Walter Manzke and Octavio Becerra, behind the stoves its last four nights.

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Updated: Steven Arroyo just confirmed to us via cellphone that, yes, he's closing his restaurant, and that Cobra & Matador's last service will in fact be Valentine's Day, Tuesday, Feb. 14. As for his plans for the space (long lease) and a new project, he said he'd like to keep that to himself for the time being. "You have my phone number; call back in a month or so," Arroyo said. We will. So more later -- and another very good option for next Tuesday's dinner.

According to a brief message on Steven Arroyo's Facebook page and via Instagram, Cobras & Matadors will be closing Monday, Feb. 13. Says the Instagram: "Cobras & Matadors will close in 144 hrs. Naturally the eve of Valentine's because she is such a lover." The Beverly Boulevard restaurant became the last remaining Cobras & Matadors after the Hollywood location closed and became another Umami Burger in 2009. Arroyo, a prolific restaurateur, opened Escuela Taqueria last June.

Courtesy of gr/eats

It looks to be an un-lovely Valentine's Day for gr/eats. Even as the stretch of Sawtelle between Santa Monica and Olympic experiences a raft of restaurant openings -- ramen shop Tsujita, cafes Balconi Coffee Company and Coffee Tomo, shaved ice shops Blockheads and Brian's Shave Ice, and the impending opening of a new Ramen Jinya outpost and gastropubby/cocktaily Plan Check (with Pablo Moix and Steve Livigni on the drinks menu) -- the Giant Robot cafe will close on Feb. 13. The restaurant slated to replace it is reported to be a tsukemen ramen shop.

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Felicia Friesema

Elements Kitchen's tomato tartare

Sad news for tomato tartare lovers in Pasadena -- chef-owner Onil Chibas announced on Facebook yesterday that his 2-year-old Pasadena Playhouse-adjacent restaurant Elements Kitchen was closing for good, mere days after the restaurant reopened following a weeklong winter break.

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Robert August Olding

Kazunori Nozawa at Sushi Nozawa

Sushi Nozawa is not known for its customer service. Many call chef Kazunomi Nozawa a "sushi tyrant," our critic once wrote. The L.A. Times dubbed him "imperious." And the restaurant famously features a sign that reads: "Special of the Day: Trust Me." So it wasn't a huge surprise that the Studio City restaurant answered only one of our dozen calls yesterday. And that the person on the line said to call back later. (We did, to no avail.) But we did learn this: The rumors are true; Sushi Nozawa will close Feb. 29.

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