Wal-Mart for China Town

According to the Downtown News, Walmart will be opening a 34,000 square foot shopping center on the China Town border, at the corner of Caeser Chavez and Grand, in August.  Let the gentrification continue!

Madison Men

According to Apparel News, Local Women's clothier chain, Madison, is in the process of developing a men's line to be featured at the new Madison Mens Shop, which will be carved out of the current Madison Space, located on the corner of 3rd and Robertson.  The store is slated to open at the beginning of next month.

Barrel Cafe

Curbed brings us word that the historic Barrel Cafe, located at the border of Lankersham and Vineland in North Hollywood,  is about to receive a full restoration.  Originally built in 1941, the bareell shaped building has lain dormant since the early eighties.  Once work is complete, the cafe will pick up right where it left off nearly thirty years ago.

Working on Wilshire

Curbed reports that Developer JH Snyder is planning a shiny new 13 story officeplex for parking lot located directly behind Museum Square on the corner of Wilshire and Curson.  The 254,000 square foot development should be completed near the beginning of 2015.

This Week in Food

Monday: A new granita bar, Zia Valentina, is now serving customer's at the Original Farmer's Market on 3rd and Fairfax.

The highly anticipated, and much lauded Girasol, on the corner of Moorpark and Tujunga, is finally open for business.

Tuesday: York Valley Market, a local grocer, has taken over a small space at York and Adams in Highland Park.

Wednesday: Nektar Juice Bar is in the process of building out a space for its new Westwood Village location on the corner of Westwood and Lindbrook.

Thursday: To celebrate our nation's birth, Horse Thief, that highly anticipated barbecue cafe located in the Grand Market on 2nd and Broadway, soft opened today to a crowd of hungry 'fourthers'.

Saturday: Nature's Brew, a charming little coffee bar / restaurant at Union and Hoover, is now open.

Manhattanizing LA

According to Streetsblog, Broadway's six lanes of traffic will soon be reduced to three in order to make way for the new Los Angeles Streetcar, and, perhaps more importantly, contribute to the revitalization effort surrounding the historic corridor by making it more pedestrian friendly.  While it remains to be seen what, exactly, the new street will look like, the data appears to support the theory that fewer lanes will actually contribute to, rather than detract from the local economy.

Mission in Tujunga

The Daily News brings us word on the groundbreaking of a new housing development, in the city's northern neighborhood of Tujunga, that will cater exclusively to the homeless and mentally ill.  The $15 million dollar Day Street Apartment Project, near Foothill Boulevard, will feature 46 individual units, and is currently scheduled to open in early 2014.