A Former Hermon Church Banquet Hall Is Resurrected as Neighborhood Chophouse Hermon’s

A former church banquet hall in Hermon, a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles, is about to take on a new life as a New American, steakhouse-leaning restaurant. Last Word Hospitality — the restaurant group behind Rasarumah, Barra Santos, Found Oyster, and more — is set to open Hermon’s on Wednesday, December 3, with chef David “DK” Kolender at the helm.

“Hermon’s is very special because it’s for Hermon,” says Holly Fox, the co-founder of Last Word Hospitality. The group’s roots in the area surrounding Hermon run deep; Fox’s sister called the neighborhood home for eight years, director of operations Mike Santos still lives in the region, co-founder Adam Weisblatt lives nearby in South Pasadena, and Fox herself lives less than 10 minutes away. “This building that Hermon’s now gets to exist in spoke to us for at least five years,” Fox says. At first, the landlord did not want to lease the building for a restaurant, but after the Last Word Hospitality team pitched the concept at a neighborhood town hall, hosted in the banquet hall where the restaurant is now poised to open, she acquiesced.

Grilled rib-eye. Jim Sullivan

Chef David Kolender is the brother of Found Oyster and Queen’s Raw Bar partner and chef Ari Kolender. Before entering the hospitality industry, David Kolender built a career in menswear with brands such as Rag & Bone and Kenneth Cole Collection. While in school at the Savannah College of Art & Design, he would often host dinner parties in his dorm; after moving to Los Angeles, Kolender decided to pursue cooking full-time, going on to work at Dudley Market and Tartine. Kolender is joined at Hermon’s by general manager Chelsea Pitts, an alumnus of Found Oyster and Queens Raw Bar, with additional support from the rest of the Last Word Hospitality team, including culinary director Melissa Lopez.

Hermon’s menu spans California Cuisine, with a focus on local produce. “When we started talking about Hermon’s, a lot of the initial things we were talking about were chophouse and steakhouse and having these grilled items,” Kolender says. “I felt like it needed more. It needed to be a place where we could showcase the fruits, vegetables, and all the produce that really happens in California.” The menu opens with a crudo of scallops bedded on crushed sun-dried tomatoes, and a tuna carpaccio drizzled with chile oil. Freshly-baked spelt bread gets brushed with garlic and butter, while marinated olives are tinged with orange and fennel seed. Starters include steak tartare tossed with salsa macha, fried coconut tiger prawns nested in sweet chile ’nduja sauce, and bacon-and-cheese-loaded potato fritters. “[We’re] taking, I think, what we all would consider classics and putting a new spin on it,” Kolender says. “So it feels like something you’ve had before, but it also feels different … something that’s special.”

Salads comprise an herb-dotted leafy green salad dressed with miso mustard vinaigrette, citrus panzanella with blocky cube-cut ’nduja croutons, and a black garlic chicory salad with anchovy dressing. For mains, mushrooms simmered in red wine and miso get served over brown butter polenta for a bourguignon, while a whole grilled branzino is paired with toum and lemon. Kolender is especially proud of the Ode to Chez cheeseburger, named after a restaurant that Last Word Hospitality was developing in Malibu that burned down in the Palisades fire just months before its opening. For the burger, a thick-cut patty gets smothered in soubise fondue and topped with Bordelaise onions and Dijon; a sesame-dotted milk bun holds it all together. Hermon’s serves two nightly steak options: steak frites with a six-ounce hangar steak and au poivre sauce, and a 30-ounce grilled rib-eye with chermoula and steak sauce. Also find a two-sheet lasagna vongole with clams nestled between the layers, and ragu Bolognese topped with whipped ricotta. Lemon baked Alaska and skillet chocolate chip cookies round out the menu for dessert.

Day by Day Hospitality’s Eric Alperin and Angus McShane developed a bar menu divided into sections like “Before the Meal,” “Ice Cold,” and, of course, “Martinis.” Guests can sip on vermouth on the rocks or a Garibaldi with aperitivo, Campari, and bitter orange foam to start. Martini options span a $9 Tiny ’Tini, the Hermon’s Classic with a choice of liquor plus smoky olives or blue cheese olives, and the Chef’s 50/50, made with gin and dry vermouth and served on a block of ice. Other options include a yuzu margarita, a daiquiri, and an espresso martini, available with a single or double shot. Last Word Hospitality wine director Evelyn Goreshnik’s wine list features bottles from across California, Oregon, Italy, and France; glasses start at $14.

Fox led the design of Hermon’s, partnering with David Wick and Andrew Linley of Wick Architecture. “I’m not a trained designer at all,” Fox says. “[I’ve] just got a lot of opinions.” Hermon’s preserved the building’s Art Deco bones and the neighborhood’s Craftsman character with upholstered booths, warm wood flooring, and exposed beams. The 89-seat space is anchored by a brown-tiled, U-shaped bar that looks into the kitchen. Fox sourced much of the finishings through weekly trips to the flea market. “It came together in a way that I think feels very collected,” Fox says. “And it feels collected because it was not pre-planned. A lot of it is as we go and as we see things come together in the space, and then picking the best next layer that feels right to us.”

As Hermon’s opening approaches, Fox and Kolender are looking forward to finally welcoming the neighborhood in and showing them what they have made of the historic building. “Our restaurant is really our home,” Kolender says. “We spend most of our time here, so we’re inviting people in and really want them to have a good experience.”

Hermon’s is located at 5800 Monterey Road, Los Angeles, CA 90042, and opens December 3. It will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Reservations are available on Resy.