Food and Fashion at The New Mart
Restaurateur Fred Eric and Barbara Kramer of Designers & Agents got together March 24 at Eric’s newly christened Tiara Cafeacute; at The New Mart in Los Angeles to launch what they hope will be a long relationship between food and fashion. The Tiara launch coincided with the openings of Los Angeles Market Week and the Designers & Agents show at The New Mart and Cooper Design Space.
Tiara is an eclectic art nouveau eatery geared for designers, buyers and Intersection regulars.
D&A buyers got the first glimpse of Tiara, with its Italian-tiled floors and antique lighting. The restaurant will feature a dining area as well as a store/kitchen for takeout and cook-it-yourself meals.
At the opening, Eric offered tastes of what’s to come, doling out chickpea fritters, vegan rolls, Moroccan bubble bread and lots of fresh strawberries to dip in the restaurant’s chocolate fondue fountain.
He followed up the fare with a block party, closing off Ninth Street to set up a stage where harpist Ricky Rasura, opera singer India Dupre and magician Christopher Gansert performed before the USC Trojans Marching Band serenaded the crowd with a few tunes. As the evening wore on, musicians Daniel Lanois and Joachim Cooder took the stage to perform for late-night revelers.
The event drew New Mart owner Joyce Eisenberg, New Mart General Manager Ethan Eller, Cooper Design Space owner Steve Hirsh, Fashion Business Inc. Executive Director Frances Harder and dozens of designers and buyers from the Intersection.
“This is like nothing we’ve done before,” said Eric’s business partner, Andy Camacho, whose family owns El Paseo Inn on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, as well as other restaurants in Southern California. “When you have a chef like Fred, he can do anything.”
Tiara Cafeacute; will officially open to the public on April 10. Eric is also teaming with the Camachos on Liberty Grill, which will open later this year near the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. —Robert McAllister
