The tortured, true story of Tar & Roses

Tar & Roses survived — until it couldn’t anymore.

A lawsuit. A fire. Looting. Lockdowns. 

For 15 years, Santa Monica’s beloved date-night spot kept taking the punches and fighting back.   But diners simply saw 602 Santa Monica Blvd. as the ultimate romance factory: the go-to place for nervous first dates, surprise proposals, and an iconic $86 deep-fried whole snapper that looked almost too good to eat.

Now, acclaimed chef-owner Andrew Kirschner is preparing for the restaurant’s final dinner service on October 24, closing the book on a business that spent almost as much time fighting for its existence as celebrating its culinary success.

It was, as Kirschner tells The Sun, “death by a thousand cuts.”

The restaurant announced its impending closure over the weekend, thanking the staff and regulars who helped turn its wood-fired dining room into a neighborhood centerpiece.

“We hope that over these final two weeks we’ll have the opportunity to see many familiar faces, welcome back old friends, share a few more meals, raise a glass together, and say thank you in person,” Kirschner posted to Instagram.

But long before the goodbye came a succession of setbacks that would have broken lesser restaurateurs.

The first blows

In early 2012 –– just months after opening to massive lines –– contractor Sarlan Builders sued Kirschner, alleging he was owed more than $120,000 for improvements to the restaurant. Tar & Roses disputed the accounting, arguing that the contractor delivered delayed and incomplete work.

Then came the spark that would shut the doors for six months.

On June 10, 2015, heat from the restaurant’s signature wood-burning oven flue ignited a fire in the attic space above the main dining room. While nobody was injured, extinguishing the blaze caused additional damage.

Tar & Roses didn’t welcome diners back until January 8, 2016.

“It’s coming back as if it had never closed,” Kirschner boasted at the time.

Doubled down & out

While his flagship was out of commission, Kirschner attempted to double down on his Westside footprint by launching a seafood venture, Santa Monica Yacht Club, just a block away.

The sister spot at 620 Santa Monica Blvd. fizzled out after just two years, closing in May 2017. (The space is now home to local favorite Frito Misto.)

“Being from Santa Monica, having the opportunity to open not just one, but two restaurants was awesome,” Kirschner told Eater. “But this city is notoriously tough.”

“With everything going on in the industry, and the nature of the industry itself, I’ve decided to focus solely on Tar & Roses and to close SMYC.”

Surviving the shutdowns

Things looked bright again for a while –– until 2020 came knocking.

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced sit down restaurants to convert to take-out and delivery models.  Tar & Roses adapted at first. But on May 31, as BLM demonstrations evolved into civil unrest, looting and vandalism swept through downtown Santa Monica. 

The restaurant was, essentially, destroyed.

After months of rebuilding, another punishing twist awaited: the restaurant reopened only to face a second round of pandemic shutdowns.

“It’s not easy to survive in this business in Los Angeles without any of those hardships,” Kirschner told Los Angeles magazine, crediting loyal customers and an “extraordinary staff” with helping the restaurant endure.

Menu Magic

And there was plenty to keep those customers loyal.

The oxtail dumplings. The wood-fired cooking. That spectacular snapper.  These were dishes people remembered — and brought other people back to try.

For Tar & Roses, the final chapter comes as doing business — and simply going out to dinner — seems to get more expensive by the day in Santa Monica.

The city’s minimum wage rose to $18.47 an hour on July 1. And its combined sales tax reached 11.25%, the second highest in the United States, on October 1. These increases, along with ever-rising food prices, are part of a real, economic landscape that simply make it challenging for most small businesses to survive.

“The restaurant industry is definitely moving in a different direction,” Kirschner says. “The upscale casual restaurant is becoming an increasingly difficult segment of the industry in the current economic climate. 

“I think you’ll continue to see less full service casual restaurants and more quick service concepts that rely on less labor, utilize smaller real estate footprints, and therefore provide a lower cost to the guest.”

Could one be part of Kirschner’s next chapter?

“I’m ready to explore what’s next,” he teases.  “I’ll consider lots of things.”

But first, there are two more weeks of dinners, toasts and familiar faces.

For 15 years, Tar & Roses kept finding a way back.

This time, the door is closing for good.

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