Fat Dog Makes Triumphant Return To North Hollywood

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — Popular NoHo gathering spot The Fat Dog officially reopened for business last week, marking the end of a five-month closure due to pandemic restrictions. The restaurant and bar is now open for indoor and patio dining, takeout and delivery every day of the week.

It's been a long road to return for The Fat Dog, which previously closed in November 2020 when coronavirus cases were again on the rise. Owner Susan Mandeville called the winter shutdown a "blessing in disguise," and said they felt it was safer to simply wait until the outlook on the horizon was clearer.

"There was so much flip-flopping back and forth, and you can't run a restaurant like that," she said. "It's a lot of money to start up every time. We decided to wait until after spring break, because we didn't know if they'd shut us down again. We thought it was just wise to wait until summer was almost here."

Mandeville credits the blood, sweat and tears she and her husband put into growing the business over the past several years for keeping them going through the pandemic. After establishing a footing in NoHo in 2015 and falling in love with the community, she did what she could to keep it from going to waste, whether that meant navigating an ever-changing landscape or waiting on the phone for hours to decipher grant applications.

"Right when Covid-19 hit we were ready to go for our best year ever," Mandeville said. "We'd just invested in new patio furniture, we were so excited. We just couldn't give up on it. We had to give it a chance to come back, but this seems like our last chance to come back."

As the vaccines continue to roll out across Los Angeles, Mandeville feels a new energy beginning to take hold in NoHo. When she first moved operations to North Hollywood in 2015, the buzz of fresh activity in the neighborhood warmed her heart, and after the most difficult year for the restaurant thus far, she says that buzz is finally starting to come back.

"I missed seeing the place full with guests," she said. "Enjoying themselves, enjoying our atmosphere, and enjoying our staff. It's quite rewarding to stand in a place with 200 people, and 99.9% are very happy with what we have to offer."

"We're ready to go," she added. "It's gonna be a little bit of growing pains at first I'm sure, but I do feel there's a buzz again. It's a post-pandemic buzz."