For more than 15 years, Walter Soto sold tacos from a street cart and then a truck. He told the Los Angeles Times that he paid about $10,000 a year in parking tickets, plus $1,200 a month to rent a commissary kitchen. On July 22, El Ruso stopped moving. Its first permanent restaurant opened at 10628 Ventura Boulevard, in the space Roadside Taco used to fill.
In the three months since, a New York coffee chain opened its first West Coast café on the boulevard, and two founders scheduled their first restaurant at Carpenter Avenue. A café owner who has been working with the city on her Tujunga Avenue corner since 2022 is now close to opening. Three of these four are first locations, and the owners picked Studio City for them. The fourth has spent years getting to this corner.
The fall lineup at a glance
| Business | Address | Status as of late October 2026 | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Ruso Taquería | 10628 Ventura Blvd. | Open since July 22 | First brick-and-mortar after years as a cart and truck |
| Blank Street | 13273 Ventura Blvd. | Open since August 21 | First West Coast location |
| Sauce Society | 11925 Ventura Blvd., at Carpenter Ave. | Targeting early November | First location for the founders |
| Bean Our Guest | 4354 Tujunga Ave., at Woodbridge St. | Targeting late November | Café opening after a run of pop-ups |
El Ruso: a truck menu with room to grow
The new building gave El Ruso more than a fixed address. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Studio City space can serve about 150 guests at once, and the taquería has often sold out of tacos since it opened. With a prep kitchen and a bigger cooking area, a few dishes that used to show up only now and then are on the regular menu, including grilled marinated shrimp and battered fish. Specials still rotate in, such as bone-in or shaved costilla tacos.
The basics haven't changed. Julia Silva still makes the Sonoran-style flour tortillas, and the menu still includes chile Colorado, asada, al pastor, and rib-eye. Prices went up a little. In its August report, the Times listed most tacos at two for $12, up from the old $5.25 each. The sobaquera, a big flour-tortilla burrito, rose from $16.50 to $20, and the rib-eye taco costs $13. The full liquor license also means margaritas and beer can be served with El Ruso's food for the first time.
Building owner Vincent Laresca had been a fan of El Ruso for years. The Times reported that when Roadside Taco's lease ran out, he and business partner Ben Goglia agreed on a deal with Soto, and the restaurant opened days later. According to the Times in August, El Ruso is open Thursday, Sunday, and Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Restaurant hours often change in the first year, so check before planning a Tuesday or Wednesday visit.
Blank Street opened here before Beverly Hills
Founded in New York in 2020, Blank Street now has more than 100 locations, including shops in Boston, Washington, D.C., London, and Edinburgh. When it came to California, it chose 13273 Ventura Boulevard. LAmag reported that a second Los Angeles café was planned for later in the year, in a Tudor Revival building on Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills. That means Studio City got the company's West Coast debut first.
"Studio City felt right for our California debut," co-founder and CEO Issam Freiha told LAmag. He pointed to the neighborhood's "creative spirit and strong sense of community" and said the opening had a personal side too, because early team member Evan Mateen grew up nearby.
The Studio City café's design was inspired by Los Angeles's Case Study houses. Along with the brand's regular drinks, such as blueberry matcha, the menu has drinks you can only get in Los Angeles, including the Cortado Cloud, which comes with matcha or espresso under sweet cream. LAmag also reported that this store would be the first to try Blank Street's new ice cream, made with Zen Ong, later in 2026. Planned flavors include white chocolate matcha, mocha, and vanilla bean affogato. The café is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Picking Studio City first puts the brand on a boulevard where coffee already draws crowds. The same LAmag piece mentions Alfred near Coldwater Canyon and Ventura Place, and Yala Coffee, which it says "is rarely without a line down the sidewalk."
Two more debuts, one on each side of Ventura
Blank Street brought an established brand here. The next two openings are local founders starting from scratch.
Sauce Society is set for the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Carpenter Avenue. Co-founder Michael Zaratsian told What Now Los Angeles in mid-October that the team was aiming to open in early November. He and co-founder Hrach G. Blikian had talked about opening a restaurant together since they were kids. The outlet reported that when Zaratsian called Blikian about a build-your-own pasta idea in the style of Chipotle and CAVA, Blikian had already written the same idea in his phone's notes. You'll build a pasta cup by picking the pasta, sauce, and toppings. The founders import flour and San Marzano tomatoes from Italy and don't cook with seed oils. What Now reported that the founders chose Studio City for their first location on purpose, because of the neighborhood's dining scene and community.
Bean Our Guest has taken longer to get here. Owner Payzar Jacqueline Karadjian told What Now Los Angeles she had dreamed of the café since she was a girl, "but on paper, since 2022 with the city." She tried out the concept at pop-ups first. The café is now aiming for late November at 4354 Tujunga Avenue, on the corner of Woodbridge Street. Karadjian describes it as a "third place," a spot to spend time that isn't home or work, with a patio and a small play area for children. It will serve Puerto Rican coffee roasted by the French roaster Torréfaction Gourmande, plus espresso drinks with dairy, oat, or almond milk. The café's own website adds crêpes and pastries to the plan.
Both dates are targets for now. New restaurants often open a week or two later than planned while they finish inspections and train staff.
Bean Our Guest's corner and the December 5 block party
The Bean Our Guest corner may get busy right away. The Studio City Neighborhood Council calendar lists the Tujunga Village Holiday Block Party for Saturday, December 5, from 5 to 11 p.m. This year's listing doesn't give the exact streets. Last year, the council's 2025 notice put the party on Tujunga Avenue between Moorpark and Woodbridge streets, with kids' activities, Santa, and a live DJ. If the route stays the same and the café opens on schedule, Bean Our Guest would be open at the Woodbridge end of the party, about a week before the event.
The 2026 party also runs later than last year's. The 2025 event was 5 to 9 p.m., and this year's listing goes until 11.
Beeman Park's new building
The neighborhood's largest new building is going up at Beeman Park. In an October 7 update, the Neighborhood Council said the Beeman Park playground is open again, with a second temporary ramp planned so the play area can stay open during construction. The overall project is in its final phase and heading toward a grand opening in early 2027. The new 12,000-square-foot gym and community building will run fully on solar power and is designed as a net-zero energy building. The project also includes upgraded picnic areas, walkways, and water fountains. For now, the park entrance on Landale Street is closed because the construction fence has been expanded.
On the calendar through early December
- Saturday, November 7, 9 a.m. to noon: LAFD Station 97's free pancake breakfast at 8021 Mulholland Drive, with fire engines, supercars, and raffles. Donations will help pay for a new carport and garage at the station.
- Monday, November 9, 6 to 8 p.m.: A Living With Coyotes presentation at the Studio City Library, with experts on coyote awareness and safety.
- Saturday, December 5, 5 to 11 p.m.: Tujunga Village Holiday Block Party.
- Wednesday, December 9, 6 to 8 p.m.: A Sepulveda Wildlife Reserve presentation at the Studio City Library.
Since July, four businesses have opened or announced new locations in Studio City. Two are open now, and the other two are aiming for November. Andrew and Fran keep track of changes like these because they come up when clients ask what a street is like today. If you want to know how a new opening near you, or the work at Beeman Park, fits into the bigger picture for your home, Spitz Chavez Group is happy to talk it through. Contact Us.
