Beloved Venice Restaurant James' Beach Closes

VENICE, CA — After 27 years of serving visitors and the Venice community, beloved restaurant James' Beach, featured in the 2009 comedy "I Love You, Man" starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, is closing its doors for good as the owners look toward their future.

As a part of the restaurant's final efforts to close, the owners are holding an estate sale and silent auction of some of the most iconic pieces that made James' Beach so special. Everything from T-shirts to bar stools to paintings created by co-owner Daniel Samakow is available to purchase.

"We really wanted people who wanted to have a connection with what we have been doing for the last 27 years to have something that they can move on to remind them of some of the good times," Samakow said.

James' Beach officially started on Sept. 18, 1996, and exactly 27 years later on Sept. 18, 2022 Samakow and his partner James Evans ended the final shift. Former employee Alaina Zanotti, who worked at the restaurant 20 years ago, said it felt like a parent was dying when she heard James' Beach was closing.

Zanotti said that despite being away from the restaurant for so long, she thinks of it often as she has met some of her best friends and had some of her best memories there, including when she got married there.

"It's like this place was the bookends of my life," Zanotti said. "You know the best thing from it was the people and the friendships will always still be there even if the building isn't."

In its final days, Samakow said his and Evans' focus was on connecting with the community they have served for so long. They held a "Gaywatch" party as a final celebration for the LGBTQ community to connect back to their beginnings.

Going forward, Samakow said he and Evans wanted to try something new. There was no specific reason that James' Beach had to close, according to Samakow, but the couple thought it was time to devote themselves to new projects.

"I do like painting also, and I kind of want to do that," Samakow said. "We've just done it for 27 years and it was like, let's try something new, you know."

So far, a lot of items have been sold through the estate sale, but there is still time to snag sentimental pieces that remind you of the good times. The last day of the sale is Wednesday, Sept. 28 and will go until 6 p.m.

As James' Beach moves on, Samakow said another neighborhood restaurant will fill its place soon enough. He said he's hopeful that the community will embrace the new restaurant, which he couldn't announce just yet, and be something that Venice will be happy with.

"It kind of was part of our mission to be part of a neighborhood get-together place," Samakow said. "And we fulfilled that mission that you know and got everybody through COVID"