72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill

72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill was a popular Venice, California restaurant founded in 1983 and launched by Tony Bill and Dudley Moore.[1] The small restaurant was a celebrity hot spot which received attention for its food as well as an in house radio talk show and lecture series. It closed in November 2000.

History

The architects for the original restaurant were Michael Rotondi and Thom Mayne. Architectural renovations of the building at 72 Market Street began in 1983, and the restaurant opened its doors for business in August 1984. The concept for 72 Market Street originated in Bill and Moore's desire for a casual fine dining eatery in the beachside neighborhood where they both lived.[2] 72 Market Street received critical praise for Leonard Schwartz's fare of traditional American “comfort food”.[2][3] A cookbook detailing its recipes, which included portraits of its celebrity patrons and their involvement in the restaurant, was released in 1998.[4]

A lectures series began in 1985,[5] which featured guests including Spalding Gray,[6] Bill Irwin,[6] Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko,[7] John Hammond Jr.,[8] and sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay.[9] 72 Market Street also partnered with The Paris Review[5] to host an afternoon of readings by authors and poets whose work had been published in their literary review; it including readings by E. L. Doctorow, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Richard Ford, Tess Gallagher, and Raymond Carver.[6]

In the late 1980s a live radio program (“Live from 72”) featuring musical entertainment was broadcast live from the restaurant on Sunday evenings on Santa Monica public radio station KCRW. Performers on the radio show included Dudley Moore and David Crosby.[10] and featured a trio helmed by house pianist Rafael Nazario.[2]

In a 2017 post on a Venice Beach community forum, Tony Bill was cited as saying that the restaurant will open in its original place following the closing of Nikkis. The same location has a release date of March.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Dudley Moore and Tony Bill Star at 72 Market Street, and the Customers Eat It Up". People. September 17, 1984.
  2. Gourmet Magazine, December 1987, “Specialites de la Maison: California. 72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill.”.
  3. Ochoa, Laurie (February 7, 1991). "Meat Loaf Manifesto". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Gilbert, Roland; Lia, Robert (1998). 72 Market St.: Dishes It Out! : A Collection of Recipes and Portraits from a Classic Venice Restaurant. Wave Publisher. ISBN 978-0964235922.
  5. Vanity Fair, June 1986, Gregg Kilday, “Venetian Minds: A California Culture Club”, p. 16.
  6. Signature Magazine, July 1987, Carl Sommers, “Southern Cal Salon”, .
  7. Los Angeles Times, May 8, 1987, Fashion87 staff “The Names the Game: A Way With Colors”.
  8. Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1986, Colman Andrews, “Restaurant Notebook”.
  9. Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1986, Colman Andrews, “Restaurant Notebook”.
  10. Town & Country Magazine, October 2007, “Venice California Bohemian”, p.220.
  11. "Tony Bill Addresses Snap Protestors Regarding Snapchat". Venice Update. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2019. It’ll open again in the future as 72 Market Street, the Venice pioneer restaurant from which it sprang.

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