Steve Arroyo - Church & State

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Way back when, on our real estate tour of the Biscuit Building with the property manager, the first thing I noticed was the restaurant under construction on the ground floor loading docks. "That will be Church & State" said the rep from the leasing agent. "It will be really cool." Indeed.

After a protracted courtship with the developers, Church & State opened on Sept. 22nd.

The restaurateur (Did you know there's no "n" in that word? Me neither.) is a man named Steve Arroyo—owner of several other successful eateries in Los Angeles, most notably Cobras and Matadors. I introduced myself to him soon after opening day and later hit him up for a portrait. He agreed without a blink. I like this guy.

Softspoken and courteous, Steve indulged my complex lighting melange while nearly falling off his chair from a hard-puffing cigarette buzz. ("More smoke Steve! More smoke!") The restaurant's interior design is a mix of influences from Pastis in the Meat Packing District of NYC to clarklewis in Portland, Oregon. The latter also being a former loading dock in an industrial building. (Look closely at the photo above and you'll see the wine bottles perched on the former loading dock of the Biscuit.) I wanted to place Steve in situ as he fits the decor as someone who's created a space in which he fits perfectly. The mirrors, the Edison bulbs, bricks, steel and bottles of red, red vino all blend with the tats, hat, smokes and lowball glass of swirled aperitif.

Thank you Steve.


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony