The Abbot Kinney Festival was supposed to return on September 27, 2026. It didn't. Over the summer, though, two of the street's best-known restaurant addresses did reopen: 1025 and 1633 Abbot Kinney Boulevard. The building that housed Atla now holds San Damián, a new seafood restaurant from the same group. The Tasting Kitchen is back in its own building after more than three years of being closed.
The one weekend that used to draw the whole street together is on hold. The year-round draw is being rebuilt address by address, and the addresses coming back are mostly ones the neighborhood already knows.
September 27 Came and Went
Yo! Venice reported on September 16 that festival organizers had called off the planned return so they could restructure for a later comeback. The cancellation adds another year to a hiatus that has already run several years. Organizers said an event that properly reflects the neighborhood's creative spirit needs broader local participation and a larger organization behind it.
The next step is a Community Advisory Board, which the organization planned to start forming in October. The target is now 2027. Anyone who wants to take part can write to [email protected].
Organizers had to bring merchants, artists, sponsors and neighbors together for one specific date, and it didn't come together in time. The restaurants that reopened this year faced a narrower problem. Each one needed a single building, a single kitchen and a single opening night, and two of them got all three.
1025 Abbot Kinney: New Concept, Same Group
Atla, the Venice outpost of Enrique Olvera's New York restaurant, closed in September 2024. Olvera's hospitality group, Casamata, didn't give up the space. It developed a new concept for the building, and Eater LA reported that San Damián opened on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
San Damián is the seafood-focused sister to Damián, Casamata's restaurant in the Arts District, and chef Chuy Cervantes runs the kitchen. The menu is mariscos. Eater's October 2026 list of the best new restaurants highlights Kumamoto oysters with turnip salsa, ceviche made with local rockfish from Ventura County and Santa Barbara sea urchin, a Dungeness crab tostada topped with furikake, and kanpachi al pastor with pineapple butter. The pico de gallo is made from farmers market produce.
The schedule matters on a street where many evening plans start late in the week. According to the restaurant's own site, San Damián is closed Monday and Tuesday. It's open Wednesday through Friday from 5 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday from 3 to 9:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday afternoon openings make it the earlier option of the two returning restaurants on weekends.
1633 Abbot Kinney: Closed Three Years and Four Months
The Tasting Kitchen closed after a fire in March 2023. Chef Casey Lane reopened it on July 16, 2026. Eater LA described the time in between as years of permitting and construction.
The restaurant came back with a refreshed facade and interior, a reconfigured kitchen line and a Josper oven fired with charcoal and wood. Several of the signature pastas stayed on the menu. Eater's map lists bucatini all'Amatriciana and shrimp tagliolini next to new dishes like skin-on mackerel escabeche cooked in the Josper. Lane's approach to the menu is immediate. If he likes something at the farmers market in the morning, it can be on the menu that night.
The reopening started slowly. Opening week ran Thursday through Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. The plan was to add Wednesday the following week and then move to daily service with later weekend hours in August. That rollout was announced in July, so check current hours with the restaurant before planning a Monday or Tuesday dinner.
The Address Ledger, Late 2026
Lay the year out by address and the pattern shows. Most of the activity is new tenants or new concepts in buildings with a history, plus one business on Rose Avenue that closed.
| Address | Before | As of early November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd | Atla, closed September 2024 | San Damián, opened June 4, 2026 |
| 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd | The Tasting Kitchen, closed after a March 2023 fire | The Tasting Kitchen, reopened July 16, 2026 |
| 1239 Abbot Kinney Blvd | Greenleaf | Truly Pizza, announced for late 2026 |
| 512 Rose Ave, Suite F | Wabi on Rose, six years on Rose | Closure announced October 14, 2026 |
| 10 Washington Blvd | The Venice Whaler | Bar service back the week of October 22 |
The Next Address in Line
Truly Pizza, from Dana Point, is the next name on the Abbot Kinney list. The Argonaut reports that the pizzeria plans to open its third location in the former Greenleaf space "in late 2026." No specific day has been announced. Co-founders Donna Baldwin and John Arena are part of the ownership group, according to What Now. Yo! Venice gives the address as 1239 Abbot Kinney.
Turnover goes both ways on these streets. A few blocks north, Wabi on Rose, a sushi and cocktail bar at 512 Rose Avenue, Suite F, announced its permanent closure on October 14 after six years. Across the street at Vin on Rose, 511 Rose Avenue, chef Paul Chuanchaisit's Hangry Thaiger and Moom Maam Thai gelato held a one-day pop-up, Yo! Venice reported on October 21.
Down at the beach end of Washington Boulevard, another familiar name had a short pause in October. The Venice Whaler at 10 Washington Blvd stopped alcohol service around the weekend of October 17 and 18 but kept serving food. Yo! Venice reported that burgers and pizza stayed available during the pause. By the end of that week the bar was back. Yo! Venice's follow-up quoted the Whaler's Instagram post announcing it was "OFFICIALLY BACK IN ACTION" with happy hour from 2 to 7 p.m. The same report says the Whaler stays open until 2 a.m. on Thursdays.
A Friday Built on the Street as It Stands
This year's calendar doesn't have one big weekend on it. It has dinner at the reopened addresses, plus the monthly date the merchants still run. The next one is tomorrow.
- Start with First Friday. The Abbot Kinney merchants association lists its next food truck night for Friday, November 6, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Trucks apply in advance, and the association picks and rotates them, so the lineup changes from month to month.
- Book the sit-down meal around it. San Damián opens at 5 p.m. on Fridays and serves until 9:30. The Tasting Kitchen is a short walk up the boulevard at 1633. Confirm its current hours, since the published schedule describes the July rollout.
- Finish at the water, or start there. If the evening begins earlier, the Whaler's 2 to 7 p.m. happy hour on Washington Boulevard fits before the trucks show up.
The next neighborhood date to watch is the Venice Holiday Sign Lighting. The Venice Art Crawl says winners of its 2026 My Venice Holiday poster contest will be announced at the lighting on Saturday, December 5. The 2026 time and setup haven't been posted yet. For reference, Venice Paparazzi relayed that the Venice Chamber of Commerce held last year's lighting from 6 to 9 p.m. at Windward Avenue and Pacific Avenue. The same day, the Venice Winter Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Venice Boulevard, centered at 12257 Venice Blvd.
The festival is on hold until 2027. Until then, the street's calendar comes down to the November 6 First Friday, the December 5 sign lighting, and dinner at 1025 and 1633 Abbot Kinney.
On Abbot Kinney this year, a lot of the news has come from who takes over which address. If you own on or near the boulevard and want to know how this year's changes affect your property, Sam & Rudi keep close track of the street. Schedule a Private Consultation, and we'll go over the blocks around your address together.
