Dive Brief:
- A new entertainment and dining concept called Level 8 is now open at the Moxy and AC Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
- The destination, a collaboration between Houston Hospitality and Lightstone Group, boasts eight restaurants, bars and nightlife venues in one sprawling space.
- This “multidimensional showcase” is another hospitality coup for downtown Los Angeles, which has seen rapid expansion in recent years, especially around hotels. “We’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to open downtown and to fill a gap in Los Angeles by providing a pre- and post-event destination for Angelenos and travelers alike,” co-founder Jonnie Houston said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Located across the street from the Crypto.com Arena and Los Angeles Convention Center, the recently opened 380-key Moxy and 347-room AC Hotel, which is housed within a 37-story high-rise, is now home to a sprawling entertainment and dining concept from Houston Hospitality, a company known for its high-end nightlife venues.
Spanning 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space and occupying the entirety of the dual-branded hotel’s eighth floor, Level 8 and its venues follow the story of fictional founder and eccentric globetrotter Mr. Wanderlust. He’s also the namesake of Level 8’s signature piano bar and jazz lounge.
Other potential hotspots include Golden Hour, which is a “Miami-meets-Copacabana” rooftop pool deck complete with a rotating carousel bar hosting DJs and live entertainment. Meanwhile, Sinners y Santos is designed to resemble a reimagined 19th-century cathedral where guests enter through a “confessional.”
Michelin-starred chef Joshua Gil heads up the French-Teppanyaki experience at Maison Kasai as well as al fresco oyster and ceviche bar Mother of Pearl. Chef Ray Garcia helms Qué Bárbaro, a South American live fire grill, and The Brown Sheep, a food truck serving Mexican street food with an Angeleno twist. At Lucky Mizu, chef Hisae Stuck explores the Japanese art of cooking with water — seiro mushi (steam) and shabu shabu (boil). All of Level 8’s dining concepts are under the guidance of executive chef Richard Archuleta.
Opened earlier this year, the Moxy Downtown Los Angeles and AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles complex boasts a total of 727 guest rooms with a design inspired by Downtown LA’s industrial heritage. Downtown hotel inventory now exceeds 10,000 rooms, nearly twice as many as 1999.
According to its 2023 Q2 Market Report, the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) cited favorable activity across all downtown sectors. “The DTLA market is showing its resilience and flexibility, with the increasing strength of residential and hospitality balancing slower recovery in the office sector,” Nick Griffin, executive director of the DCBID, said in a statement.
