Patina Restaurant Group out at Music Center, Dodger Stadium’s Levy Restaurants takes over

Levy Restaurants, a Chicago-based food service group that handles concessions at Dodger Stadium, Staples Center and the Rose Bowl, is taking over operations at downtown’s Music Center arts complex, which includes 15 restaurants, cafes and bars.

According to a news release, Levy will work to “introduce new restaurant concepts, heighten existing offerings with new cuisine and aesthetic enhancements, and create immersive dining experiences” at the Music Center. Part of that effort will include launching a new restaurant concept at Walt Disney Concert Hall, previously home to the now-closed Patina.

In a statement, Music Center President and CEO Rachel Moore said, “Levy has both a deep understanding of the operational needs of large venues and a clear sense of what consumers are looking for in authentic and creative dining experiences, given its founding DNA and continued recognition as top restaurateurs.”

The move marks the end of the Patina Restaurant Group era at the arts complex, which saw chef Joachim Splichal’s prolific catering company operate such eateries as Kendall’s Brasserie, the Boardroom, Cocina Roja and Upstage Burger as well as flagship fine-dining restaurant Patina, which was awarded a Michelin star in 2017.

The Music Center plaza had undergone a $40-million renovation in 2018 financed in part by L.A. County, which saw the addition of Abernethy’s, a restaurant concept featuring rotating chefs, and a new outpost of local coffee shop Go Get Em Tiger. Both are currently closed.

In July, Patina Restaurant Group issued a letter to its Music Center employees stating that the company’s contract with the Music Center had not been renewed and that their jobs would be eliminated as of Aug. 15.

Patina — which Splichal and CEO Nick Valenti sold to food service giant Delaware North in 2014 — has long dominated the food catering business for L.A.’s cultural centers. At its peak, the company provided food service for the Music Center, LACMA, MOCA, Descanso Gardens and the Hollywood Bowl. With the exception of LACMA and Descanso Gardens, those venues are now under contract with new food providers. Patina also operated a restaurant next to the Los Angeles Central Library, Café Pinot, which closed in 2019.

Though the Music Center remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Levy said it will develop a health and safety plan to operate the plaza’s dining services once state and Los Angeles County guidelines allow the venues to reopen.