The Arts District in Los Angeles is for hip people doing hip things, eating hip food, and looking super hip when they do it. So imagine their shock and disgust when it appeared that their artisan enclave's beautiful, adaptively-reused Coca-Cola factory was about to be invaded by a suburban breadstick magnate. Eater LA uncovered a (fake) website that recently appeared, seeming to promise that the "flagship restaurant" expected at site would be none other than The Olive Garden.
An image at the top of the website promised Olive Garden will be "coming to Los Angeles at 4th & Traction!" and was accompanied by a conceptual rendering. If you look closely, it appears that "Olive Garden" even has a line out the door (Classic Arts District!).
Fourth and Traction!? But that was to be the crowning achievement, a glowing beacon of creative office space that would inspire other arts districts around the world! What about the panoramic rooftop views, or the landscaped deck and firepits? Were they all really going to be sullied by the purveyors of unlimited pasta!?
Thankfully, it was all a hoax, but an elaborate one to be sure. The page was almost identical to the Olive Garden's real website; the only giveaway was on the front banner, which eventually scrolled over to an image of a bearded man eating a Cup o' Noodles.
So, the threat has subsided ... for now. But, as developers' interest in the Arts District rises, the only ones who might be able to afford a restaurant space there in the future are The Olive Gardens, the CPKs, and the TGI Friday'ses. The one thing that may someday destroy the Arts District is the Arts District itself. —Jeff Wattenhofer
·Someone Trolls Arts District With Fake Olive Garden Website [Eater LA]
·AD's Coca-Cola Factory Gets a New Look as Fourth & Traction
[Curbed LA]
· Beautiful Old Ford Factory in the Toy District Becoming Mixed-Use Office Complex [Curbed LA]