Update: The Iron Press and Waiiha Sushi at SoCo

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Update: The Iron Press and Waiiha Sushi at SoCo

January 22, 2012
Scott Mindeaux, Editor

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So it has been several weeks or so since I first reported that two new restaurants would be joining the South Coast Collection: The Iron Press and Waiiha.

Waiiha, a Sushi and Japanese Dining restaurant, has completed their outdoor seating area and has gotten their furniture and lighting inside. The custom counter has been outfitted with sushi refrigeration units and the kitchen looks pretty complete. They have recently posted their proposed hours. They are open for lunch Monday thru Saturday from 11am to 1:30pm. Dinner, however, is only Tuesday thru Saturday from 5pm to 9pm. Waiiha is being opened by the same owners of Jizake Sushi down in Laguna Niguel.

The Iron Press, a restaurant focusing on local beer & waffles, still has a lot of construction going on. Crews have been working into the mid-evenings most nights trying to get the place ready. As of today, I caught of glimpse of a long stretch of beer taps and the glass rinsers are in at the bar. Other than that, the windows are pretty much still papered up and I couldn’t see much.

The Iron Press is the brainchild of Leonard “Lenny” Chan and Jeremy “Jerry” Saenz. I had a discussion recently with Lenny regarding The Iron Press. More about “Jerry” later in the article.

FID: What made you guys come up with the idea of bringing beer and waffles together?

LENNY: In all honesty, I was looking at doing waffles and beer here in Southern California over 5 years ago. Since then, I had the opportunity to open up California Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa and figured that was a no brainer. I started seeing a trend up in Nor Cal, Portland, and Seattle brewing up, but couldn’t pass up on the shabu deal. Since California Shabu Shabu started doing better, I got the wheels going again on the beer and waffles joint, but soon after that Bruxie opened up which spun me into severe depression (ok, so I was just bummed out for a bit). After that, I figured I better hurry up and get things going ASAP! In short – I love beer and I love waffles, so why not, yeah?

FID: I see you’re getting custom bar stools done for the bar, anything else going to be custom?

LENNY: A lot of things going in are custom! Jerry, Jaime (a good friend and our general contractor), and I have been bouncing around ideas back and forth for months now. Everything from chairs, to tables, to lamps, to counters. You name it, we have tried to put in our own spin on everything.

FID: For the customer experience, will the customers be able to see the waffles being made as they are ordered?

LENNY: Yessireebobadoo! We wanted to have the experience be as interactive as possible, so you’ll be seeing someone smashing out those waffles right in the front.

BTW, I want to steal the word “Yessireebobadoo” from Lenny! [smile]

As you read, this isn’t Lenny Chan’s first foray into the restaurant world. In 2009, Lenny opened California Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa and their newest location in Santa Monica opened in November 2011. Based on the design cues of California Shabu Shabu, the interior of The Iron Press is sure to impress. So on the heels of the Santa Monica location moving towards their opening date, they started plans and construction for The Iron Press.

As for Jerry, the “food gene” doesn’t fall far from the tree. Jerry’s family runs and owns Lucky Habanero Salsa. Linda Saenz, “The Salsa Lady” and her family have been selling this award winning salsa since 2005. Made in small batches to ensure quality and freshness, you can find their salsa in specialty markets like Whole Foods, Promelli’s, Mothers Market, Hows, Hi-Time Wine Cellars, Irvine Ranch Market, The Meat House and BevMo. In 2011 and 2012 they have won several categories at the Annual Scovie Awards. This year, their Mango Firecracker Salsa took 1st place in the Fruit Salsa category!

So I have a surprise for you.

Lenny is also working on an Oyster Bar. I found out from a birdie that it will occupy the area formerly known as “The Rotating Kitchen” located in The OC Mart Mix. In that space, they used to have a rotating kitchen come in to prepare meals, sorta like a pop-up restaurant. (Note: I never saw any events in that space) and there is a large concrete topped counter. It is in this space, that Lenny plans to open an Oyster Bar with another partner. So we now have three new restaurants on-site at the South Coast Collection. An oyster bar certainly would do well. According to a Google search, there are only three restaurants listed with Oyster Bars. Note I said “with”. The three locations are Seafood restaurants with an Oyster Bar inside. I’m sure a more detailed search will yield others, but I think Lenny has something here. Can you stand the wait?