For most of the last few years, the Rainbow District had no obvious place to meet a friend on Santa Monica Boulevard at ten in the morning. Its bars carried the boulevard's reputation, and its two best-known daytime meeting spots had closed. This year the answer changed one storefront at a time. By December, when the City sets up the ice rink and winter market at West Hollywood Park, those events will sit inside a district that stays busy before dark too.
The two closures that left mornings empty
Café D'Etoile closed after 36 years at 8941½ Santa Monica Boulevard. Eater LA reported in September 2019 that rising food, drink and labor costs had made it financially unworkable to keep going.
Three years later the Starbucks at 8595 Santa Monica Boulevard, on the corner of Westmount Drive and known around town as the "Big Gay Starbucks," closed at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, 2022, after 27 years. The Los Angeles Blade marked its last day.
Each had been a place to sit down in daylight without a cover charge or a dinner reservation. The boulevard still had plenty of businesses. What it lost was a dependable daytime place to meet up.
The 2026 ledger, in address order
This year's daytime openings fall between 8550 and 8735 Santa Monica Boulevard. That stretch is a short walk, and three of the four businesses moved into spaces that once held other daytime businesses.
| Address | Business | Opened in 2026 | What was there before |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8550 Santa Monica Blvd. | Erewhon | February 26 | New store |
| 8617 Santa Monica Blvd. | Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming | February 26 | A Subway |
| 8714 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 110 | White Label Cookies | June 19 | Pressed Juicery |
| 8735 Santa Monica Blvd. | The Front Porch | September 30, soft opening | Coffee Bean |
The City puts a larger number on it. Its October 1 release, marking one year since the Rainbow District's formal designation, says more than 14 new businesses opened in the district over the past year, across wellness, dining, retail, beauty and nightlife. It names Erewhon, the karaoke bar Mic Drop, White Label Cookies, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, Wasim Signature and Par 4 Golf. The same release launched RainbowDistrictWeHo.com, a directory where district businesses can post their own hours and menus.
Erewhon set the morning schedule in February
Erewhon's opening came with a crowd. When Erewhon cut the ribbon at 8550 Santa Monica Boulevard on February 26, the line stretched down the boulevard to Westbourne Drive by the time the doors opened shortly after 9 a.m. Shoppers at the front told WEHO Times they had been waiting since 5 a.m. Chief Operating Officer Jason Widener called it the chain's 12th store, and CEO Tony Antoci said the location took a year and a half to bring together. Mayor John Heilman presented a certificate of recognition, and West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Len Lanzi brought the framed "Buck for Good Luck."
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming opened the same week at 8617 Santa Monica Boulevard, in the former Subway. Its location page lists hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. A pet groomer is a business people visit in daylight, often on a schedule, and it gives the block a reason for foot traffic at hours the bars don't cover.
White Label Cookies opened without a ribbon
The summer opening took the opposite approach. White Label Cookies started serving oversized cookies on June 19 at 8714 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 110, in the former Pressed Juicery space. Owners Matt and Robin Burnaford skipped the ceremony entirely. "We just opened our window and started doing it," Matt Burnaford told WEHO Times.
That window replaced a juice bar, another walk-up daytime stop. The City's October release calls it a "neighborhood cookie window," and the name fits how it works.
The Front Porch was built to fill the gap
The fourth opening is the one that names the problem outright. The Front Porch soft-opened on Wednesday, September 30, at 8735 Santa Monica Boulevard, at Hancock Avenue, in the space a Coffee Bean held for decades. It operates in connection with the Men's Health Foundation. Dr. Anthony Mills told WEHO Times that he opened it with Café D'Etoile and the Big Gay Starbucks in mind.
"I wanted to bring a space where people can congregate and meet, not necessarily to go and dance, but a place that you would go to meet your friends and share a coffee."
The café opened with hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The menu has specialty coffee, chocolate cake, lemon-blueberry cake, scones, banana bread and chocolate chip cookies, plus salads, sandwiches and breakfast burritos. Fresh cinnamon rolls are added on Saturdays and Sundays. General Manager Ashley Hastey told the paper the team had put in close to 15-hour days the week before opening.
Put the ledger together and the gap now has an answer at each step. Coffee is at Hancock, a cookie window is a few doors down, groceries are at the east end, and the dog's grooming appointment falls in between.
December comes to the park
The City announced its winter calendar on November 5, and every date sits at West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard, or at the Aquatic Center beside it.
The WeHo Winter Ice Rink takes over the Great Lawn from Friday, December 11, 2026, through Sunday, January 3, 2027. Skating runs in 90-minute sessions, and skate rental is included:
| Days | Rink hours |
|---|---|
| Monday through Wednesday | 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
| Thursday and Friday | 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
| Saturday and Sunday | Noon to 9:30 p.m. |
| December 24, 25 and 31, January 1 | 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
A session costs $15 to $20 for ages 3 to 15 and $20 to $25 for ages 16 and older. Tickets are already on sale. The season opens with a Grand Opening celebration starting at 4 p.m. on December 11.
The first weekend packs in the most:
- Rainbow District Winter Market, December 11 to 13: local vendors, artists and makers, open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
- WeHo Winter Wonderland, Saturday, December 12, noon to 3 p.m.: family activities and community entertainment in the park.
- Polar Plunge Pool Party, Sunday, December 13, noon to 2 p.m., at the West Hollywood Aquatic Center: pool activities with games, crafts and giveaways on the deck.
The City says all sessions, events, dates and times are subject to change. Last December's market shared the park with the rink, live entertainment and a "Drag on Ice!" performance, and the City lists the market among the events returning in the district's second year.
For parking, the rink FAQ points to the West Hollywood 5-Story Parking Structure at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard. A bridge on Level 3 leads into the park, and the Aquatic & Recreation Center validates up to two hours.
A Saturday on December 12, start to finish
The opening weekend is the first time the park events and the new daytime blocks overlap. Here is one way to use both:
- Morning at The Front Porch, 8735 Santa Monica Boulevard. Saturday means the weekend cinnamon rolls. Check its current hours before you go, since the café opened with a 5 p.m. close.
- Errands on the same stretch. Pick up groceries at Erewhon at 8550, or drop the dog at Woof Gang at 8617, which opens at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.
- Noon at the park for WeHo Winter Wonderland, which runs until 3 p.m. The rink opens at noon on weekends, so a midday session leaves the evening open for the market.
- A stop at White Label Cookies, 8714 Santa Monica Boulevard, between the park and the market.
- 4 p.m. onward at the Rainbow District Winter Market, open until 9 p.m., with the rink open until 9:30 p.m. if you want a second skate.
If you skip the opening weekend, the rink's 2 p.m. starts on Thursdays and Fridays allow the same sequence on a weekday afternoon: coffee at Hancock, then the rink before sunset.
If you follow how this stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard keeps changing, from the tenants coming into old storefronts to the events the City builds around them, Sam & Rudi are glad to talk through what they're seeing across West Hollywood. Schedule a Private Consultation, and bring your questions about the blocks around the park.
