XELAS
Bar · Boyle Heights
1846 1/2 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13443164/xelas_instagram.jpg "XELAS by Courtesy Xelas")
Highlights
Mexican craft beer, DJ nights, micheladas, and bar bites
Mexican craft beer, DJ nights, micheladas, and bar bites
"Friday nights at Xelas feel like coming across a neighborhood pachanga where there’s plenty of craft beer and - instead of your aunt hogging the aux cord (again) - a live DJ spinning reggaeton hits. This Boyle Heights bar also serves some delicious bar food too, like cheesy quesadillas and cochinita pibil tacos with plenty of tart pickled onions. Xelas’ michelada lives up to the bar’s name by being “chela-forward” (AKA more beer, less tomato). A pint of Mexican lager gets mixed with “I Love Michelada” mix to create a bubbly, smoky, and super citrusy cocktail. It’s simple, refreshing, and light enough to follow up with a few more rounds. photo credit: Matt Gendal photo credit: Matt Gendal photo credit: Matt Gendal" - Sylvio Martins
"Corissa Hernandez acts as the cultural liaison for Nativo and for her other spot, Xelas in Boyle Heights, where online, interactive gatherings and live events have kept fans connected to their brand." - Farley Elliott
"For a time, she was even offering a weekend brunch service sold through Lincoln Heights bar Xelas." - Farley Elliott
"Corissa Hernandez of Xelas in Boyle Heights says that it’s her customers and her internet savvy that are keeping her business going. Hernandez has closed her bar and transitioned the company’s Instagram page into a hub for people who still want to connect, albeit virtually, over discussions of plant-based Mexican cuisine or at-home DJ sets." - Farley Elliott
"There’s a growing craft beer movement happening in Boyle Heights, from the small-batch brewers like Dry River operating at the edge of the neighborhood to the incoming Xelas (pronounced “chelas”) opening next Saturday along 1st Street. Xelas is the work of Corissa Hernandez and Gabriel Paredes, two Angelenos with craft beer operations backgrounds from other local bars and bottle shops. Now they’re turning to something new with their acquisition of the popular former M Bar venue, which closed earlier this summer. The pair hopes to keep the live music aspect of the property, doing DJ and band nights regularly. Otherwise, expect a flip of the offerings, with an expansion to 16 tap lines and lots of Mexican craft beer from popular names like Insurgente out of Tijuana. They’ll also be pouring Los Angeles beers and using the small kitchen in the back for bar bites. Overall the plan is not to make the bar too fancy, just to double down on the things that can be done well. Xelas plans to open next weekend following some light finishing touches inside. Expect hours from 4 p.m. to midnight most days, with an extension to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday night, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays." - Farley Elliott
Bryan Orta
Elizabeth Chavez-Veloria
Frank MacGyver
Natalie Kanooni
Alexander Conchas
Roland
Jordan Squires
Francisco Hernandez
