Girl & The Goat coming to Arts District

Chicago favorite Stephanie Izard is cooking up something special in the L.A. Arts District.

The restaurateur is bringing her famed Girl & the Goat restaurant to the 180,000-square-foot At Mateo project at 555 Mateo Street sometime next year, according to Eater.

It’s the Iron Chef winner’s first expansion outside Chicago, and at 7,000 square feet, it’s a sizeable one. CBRE Senior Vice President Andrew Turf confirmed the lease on Friday.

Girl & the Goat is Izard’s hugely successful Chicago flagship restaurant. The small-plate eatery features an eclectic blend of dishes, including some fan favorites like oven-roasted pig face.

She’s opened two other restaurants in Chicago, and all of them as part of the Boka Restaurant Group.

The arrival of an award-winning chef to the Arts District is further evidence that the once-blighted industrial neighborhood has transformation into a chic and upscale destination.

It’s no surprise that Izard wants to be at the At Mateo project, either. Blatteis & Schnur and ASB Real Estate Investments’ $80 million development counts Soylent and the University of Southern California design school as office tenants, and it is nearing a deal with music streaming giant Spotify for 100,000 square feet of office space there.

There’s nearly one project for every two blocks of the 50-block Downtown L.A. neighborhood. [Eater] – Dennis Lynch