Two Town Center adds touch of jazz

Lolita Harper

A smooth, sultry jazz lounge has slinked its way into the plans for

the highly anticipated Two Town Center project, officials announced

this week.

Behind the walls, decorated by a large black cat with piercing

yellow eyes, the Chat Noir Bistro & Jazz Lounge is under

construction. It is the latest addition to the Two Town Center

project.

Two Town Center, once a controversial project that pitted lovers

of the Noguchi Sculpture garden against developers, received its

approval for the 18-story building that will house Chat Noir in

October. Officials said the plans seemed to fit the high standards of

the other first-rate developments in the area.

The multistoried building and its accompanying five-level parking

structure is the latest version of the highly anticipated project.

The 18.23-acre center -- bounded by Anton Boulevard, the San Diego

Freeway, Bristol Street and Avenue of the Arts -- houses a host of

office buildings, restaurants, a movie theater, retail and the

outdoor Noguchi sculpture garden.

Edwards Theaters and its former parking structure on Park Center

Drive -- the street that runs through Two Town Center -- were

demolished to make way for the construction of the

400,000-square-foot building.

David Wilhelm, the owner of Chat Noir, is working on the decor for

the restaurant that will offer a jazz lounge and a patio for a

“stylized ambience.”

Restaurant officials have also planned a fund-raising event for

Chat Noir’s grand opening that will benefit the Orange County

Performing Arts Center. The restaurant is expected to open in

November.

“Being involved in the community has always been important for how

we do business,” Wilhelm said. “We are already receiving as much

interest and support from the members of the Orange County Performing

Arts Center and we anticipate a mutually beneficial long-term

relationship with them.”

Karen Graham, the general manager of the Two Town Center project,

said the company is excited about Wilhelm’s latest culinary endeavor.

“Chat Noir brings a new dimension to our amenity base and will be

a great enhancement to what is already [the county’s] premiere

business and cultural destination,” Graham said.