The newest coffee shop at the east end of Sherman Oaks opened across the street from a restaurant that turned 70 this year. Two blocks west, the biggest restaurant renovation of the summer was pitched as an homage to the restaurant it replaced. From Fulton Avenue to Woodman Avenue, Ventura Boulevard is growing outward from its two oldest dining rooms, and the new arrivals are setting up close to them.
You can see it on a walk from the Fulton corner west toward Woodman. Each stop either adds to an institution, sits near one, or shows how fast a stretch like this can lose a long-running place.
The corner got a name in May
Casa Vega has been at 13301 Ventura Boulevard since 1956. The Daily News called 2026 a big year for the restaurant. The Daily News reported that the Ray Vega Patio opened to the public on March 9. The patio adds 3,000 square feet to a restaurant that already holds a James Beard Foundation America's Classics award, and the paper said the expansion nearly doubles Casa Vega's footprint. The patio seats 100 and has an 18-seat bar, a central fountain and a retractable roof. It's named for founder Rafael "Ray" Vega. His daughter, Christy Vega, owns the restaurant now.
Two months after the patio opened, the City of Los Angeles renamed the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Fulton Avenue as Vega Square. Eater LA said the name honors the restaurant's place in dining and regional history. On Thursday, September 10, Casa Vega marked its 70th year by charging 1956 prices from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. Eater reported a house combination platter for $2.15.
A bigger patio and a street-sign name make the corner easier to point to. The most talked-about opening of late summer happened right there.
The newcomer picked the institution's doorstep
Blank Street, the coffee and matcha brand that started in New York, opened its first West Coast store on August 21 at 13273 Ventura Boulevard. What Now Los Angeles reported it is the brand's 106th location worldwide. It's open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The design takes its cues from Los Angeles' Case Study houses: steel, glass and wood, with the brand's signature green running through the interior and the patio.
The store anchors Fulton Crossing, a new mixed-use building with shops on the ground floor and offices above. There's a vintage Airstream trailer parked on the corner to mark it. The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association's August newsletter placed it "right across from Casa Vega." The September issue said Blank Street was "already pulling a line out the door."
What Now's coverage names a different neighborhood. It lists the address as Studio City and quotes co-founder and CEO Issam Freiha saying "Studio City felt right for our California debut." So the same storefront counts as a Sherman Oaks opening in the homeowners association newsletter and as a Studio City opening to the brand's CEO. Either way, the closest thing it faces is Vega Square.
Two blocks west, an old room made new
Mistral, at 13422 Ventura Boulevard, has been the other anchor on this end of the boulevard since Henri Abergel opened it in 1988. He ran it until he retired in 2025. Restaurateur Jonah Freedman, who also owns Greekman's in Silver Lake, took it over with business partner and culinary director Josh Migdal in late 2025. They kept the menu unchanged at first and later closed the restaurant briefly to rework it. Mistral reopened on Monday, August 10. Here's how Freedman described the goal to Eater LA:
"We really feel like this is an homage to the original Mistral rather than just an updated Mistral."
The menu shows what he means. Crab cakes, bluefin tuna tartare and the Mistral Caesar are all still on it. The French onion soup now comes topped with a Comté grilled cheese. Steak frites comes four ways: an 8-ounce hanger, an 8-ounce prime center-cut filet, a 14-ounce New York strip and a 24-ounce côte de boeuf for two. The dining room has new custom red leather booths, glass chandeliers, wood paneling and artwork by French American painter Guy Buffet. Sommelier Julia Djaoui runs the wine list. Matt Epstein, president of the homeowners association, wrote in the August newsletter that "the soul of the place is intact," and he singled out the new Mistral Burger.
The next project points back to the founder too. Eater reported that Freedman plans to open Henri's, a raw bar named for Abergel, later this fall in what used to be Mistral's private dining room. It will serve oysters, cocktails and both raw and cooked seafood. "I love the idea of someone going and having a cocktail and some oysters over there and then coming next door for their reservation or vice versa," Freedman told the outlet. As of October 12, we haven't found any report confirming that Henri's has opened or giving an opening date.
The blocks in between
Past Mistral, the boulevard turns into a string of smaller storefronts. Heading west, in address order:
- LLAMA, 13443 Ventura Boulevard. A play studio with art classes, sewing classes, workshops and birthday parties, plus Grown-Up Nights for adults. The homeowners association listed it as new in August.
- The former Boneyard Bistro, 13539 Ventura Boulevard. It closed on September 12 after more than 20 years, according to Eater LA's September closures roundup. The September newsletter remembered it as a place that "could do slow-smoked brisket and eclectic bistro fare with equal confidence." What Now Los Angeles reported that owner and chef Aaron Robins is heading into his next chapter. We haven't found any report on what will take over the space.
- The former Samos corner, 13702 Ventura Boulevard, at Woodman. A sandwich concept is on the way. Who's behind it is still an open question, covered below.
- Florahound, 13711 Ventura Boulevard. A rare-plant shop in the storefront with the painted facade. It's built around decades of work by master horticulturist Leon Massoth, who collects and grows tropical species you rarely see at commercial nurseries.
Boneyard's closure shows the other side of the Vega Square story. A two-decade run on this stretch doesn't keep a place open. Casa Vega and Mistral are still here because new investment went into them: a patio and a corner name for one, new owners and a remodel for the other.
What's still unconfirmed at the Woodman end
Three projects at this end of the stretch are announced or filed but not open:
- The sandwich shop at Woodman. The homeowners association's September newsletter reported that chef Ludo Lefebvre of Petit Trois had signed a lease on the former Samos corner for an early-stage sandwich concept, with no name yet. On October 7, What Now Los Angeles reported public filings for a French sandwich café called Cornichon at 13702 W. Ventura Boulevard, with Felix Lyubovny listed as the applicant. The planned menu includes pressed and classic baguette sandwiches, from jambon and Comté to smoked salmon, plus sweet sandwiches and pommes frites. Neither source connects the two, and neither gives an opening timeline.
- Henri's at Mistral. It's announced for later this fall, with no confirmed date.
- The bagel shop. The longtime Le Pain Quotidien space is becoming a bagel shop, according to the September newsletter, which framed it as part of a "coffee-and-bagel war" between Sherman Oaks and Studio City. The newsletter gave no name, address or opening date.
Sunday's street fair is farther west
The east end got the late-summer openings, but this month's big street event is farther west on the boulevard. The 34th Sherman Oaks Street Fair runs Sunday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Ventura Boulevard between Kester Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard. Admission is free. The Daily News event listing mentions carnival rides, live music, a community performance stage, a pet zone, arts and crafts, and food vendors. The Sherman Oaks/Encino Chamber organizes it, and the Chamber says the fair is open to all ages.
Blank Street's daily hours end at 6 p.m., the same time the fair wraps up.
Ingrid tracks Ventura Boulevard block by block, from Vega Square to Woodman and on past Kester, because what opens and closes on these blocks shapes daily life on the streets nearby. If you'd like to talk about how the east end's changes fit your own plans, Ingrid Sacerio would be glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a Private Consultation.
