Post & Beam

South LA Restaurant Post & Beam, a Prominent Black-Owned Restaurant, Is Closing | Eater LA

"A celebrated full-service South LA restaurant in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza will close on Thursday, February 27; the restaurant’s structure is slated for demolition to make way for new apartments, retail, restaurants, and a grocery store near the corner of Martin Luther King and Crenshaw Boulevards. Chef and co-owner John Cleveland, who with his wife Roni took ownership in 2019, says the closing is bittersweet and stresses it is due to planned construction rather than business failure; he adds, “The construction was long planned, and we were always kept in the loop. We’ll still have a presence in the neighborhood as it evolves.” The Clevelands will continue to operate dinner and weekend brunch service through the last day and plan to program community events, including their longtime Black Pot Supper Club — a tasting-menu dinner focused on the history of African-American foodways that will hold its final event in the space on February 17 — plus a ticketed buffet, a social dating night, and a special Valentine’s Day menu. The restaurant has been a standout in Baldwin Hills, a historically Black neighborhood, offering items such as vegan crab cakes made from hearts of palm, pizzas crisped in a wood-fired pizza oven, roasted organic chicken, and side dishes that nod to soul-food classics — greens, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese — along with some of the city’s best brunch biscuits. The Clevelands were mentored by original owner Brad Johnson and chef Govind Armstrong; the spot opened in 2012 in the former Golden Bird and was praised by former Los Angeles Times critic S. Irene Virbila and later included by the late Jonathan Gold in his 101 Best Restaurants list. It was also a James Beard Awards semi-finalist for Outstanding Restaurant in 2022. During the pandemic the team adjusted service to stay open, and Cleveland notes that the landlord “were cooperative with us, especially at a time when landlords weren’t.” Harridge Development Group, which purchased the property in 2021, has been supportive, and while adjacent independent structures — including the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Kim Prince’s Hotville Chicken — have closed, the broader Plaza site is set to be transformed by a large redevelopment (Stocker Street Creative: a 256,700-square-foot development with a movie studio and four soundstages) next to the Plaza’s forthcoming 900 apartments and condos, an office building, a hotel, and a Costco; many Crenshaw residents and activists oppose those developments, warning that ongoing gentrification could displace longstanding residents. After the closure the Clevelands will continue the restaurant’s catering arm and offer delivery during construction, and John Cleveland says they are not leaving the neighborhood and plans to partner with Armstrong again on his next venture: “Owning the restaurant has been a dream come true for me,” he says. “I came specifically to work under Armstrong and Johnson. Roni is from here. I wanted this neighborhood to be the foundation of my customer base and root myself in Baldwin Hills, and we’re grateful for their support.”" - Mona Holmes