Girl & the Goat Los Angeles is a restaurant in the downtown “Arts District” and is the sister location to the Chicago-based flagship eatery. Mid-west transplant, Chef Stephanie Izard, the restaurant’s co-owner, is renowned as the first female “Top Chef” and also a James Beard Foundation Awards winner.
With floor-to-ceiling windows and a red brick exterior, the restaurant can be described as “industrial warehouse meets woodworking chic, with just a touch of home.” The design intertwines a garden patio alongside a concrete bar with views to match the menu – there’s something here for everyone. This DTLA location looks impressive inside and out.
Completed in September 2020 by general contractor Dickinson Cameron, the intent of the Girl & the Goat Los Angeles TI project was for its design to blend seamlessly into the original architecture of its surroundings, which holds special historical significance. The Arts District was initially an agricultural mecca, starting with vineyards in the 1830s, before switching to citrus crops by the century’s end. After WWII, it transformed to an industrial center, with factories and businesses strategically located near neighboring rail yards, then trucking depots. With original brick warehouses that survived earthquakes, floods, and fires, the ongoing challenge is for new or modified architecture to match the old. Despite its past as a dilapidated blight on the city, the Arts District is now a destination for anyone in search of the cultural heart of LA.
The Girl & the Goat remodel boasts custom steel windows to match the existing custom steel office space, as reimagined for a restaurant. This project involved removing existing openings, modifying existing openings, and creating new interior custom steel bi-fold doors to match the previously-created steel systems.
Giroux Glass sourced manufacturer, R&R Metals, as the company that originally created the building’s existing windows and doors. They were challenged with creating new windows and doors to identically replicate the existing system, adding on about 40% new construction to what was there. R&R successfully accomplished this both by restoring some of the original steel systems to look new again, and also by creating new systems to match the old.
The interior custom steel bi-fold was a one-of-a-kind challenge; its super slim lines required custom hardware, which was complicated somewhat by the fact that the steel manufacturer had never previously made a bi-fold door. Much coordination between Giroux and R&R Metals was required to ensure the correct alignment and installation of all of the hardware and frame layouts. Time was also a factor, due to the upcoming grand opening date and the need to maintain the timeline, based on the public relations buzz around the successful owner/chef’s latest enterprise.
“This job was stressful but exciting because of the challenges in removing and/or modifying openings to make them look like the original design,” stated Russell South, Giroux Glass project manager. “The custom bi-fold was fun because we had the opportunity to take the architect’s drawing and turn it into a reality.”
Field superintendent, Christian Ruiz added, “We find it so cool to get to work on matching the historical architecture in this area, flawlessly mixing in new systems with the old. When we’re done, often, we’re the only ones who know which is which.”
The complexity of this project couldn’t have been accomplished so successfully without the following expertise: Jess Carreon, our estimator who sourced the unique hardware, R&R Metals who constructed the bi-folds and all the other openings, and our field team of skilled glaziers who completed this seamless installation.
About the Girl & the Goat: According to their website, Girl & the Goat LA specializes in “the global influences of its Midwestern flagship” while mixing in “California produce and local flavors.” It achieves both with the cuisine and the architecture.