Serving up good eats right in Manhattan and Hermosa Beaches, The Rockefeller is expanding! Soon, the restaurant will expand to Redondo Beach in 2018. The third location of The Rockefeller is in Riviera Village and is set to open this spring. “We are very excited for the opening of Rockefeller Redondo in late Spring 2018,” said Chris Bredesen, one of the owners of The Rockefeller. “See you in the AM for a cappuccino and a pastry, then see you that night for craft beer or wine and some truffle mac n cheese!”
Judging by the other Rockefeller locations, there’s a lot for Redondo Beach to look forward to when the new location opens. On a recent visits to the Hermosa Beach location, I was able to try the dinner and brunch menus. For brunch, you should definitely try the Chicken and whole wheat waffles, and the BBQ Chicken flatbread with avocado. For dinner, you can never go wrong with The Rockefeller burger (wagyu beef, truffle bacon jam) . On both menus, the truffle mac and cheese is a must-order — always delicious and creamy; and the Sweet Potato Bombs are always delightful.
Chris was nice enough to answer a few questions for us about The Rockefeller’s third location and the story behind the $0.99 Burger deal on Tuesdays.
In addition to locations in Hermosa and Manhattan Beaches, The Rockefeller will soon have a location in Redondo Beach? What can patrons look forward to about that new location?
The Rockefeller Redondo Beach will be our third location and fulfills our initial goal of having one Rockefeller location in each of the three South Bay beach cities. We pride ourselves on our ability to learn from previous locations and keep improving our game.
Our Redondo location is located in the heart of the Riviera Village. Some features that patrons can look forward to will be our outdoor patio, coffee bar, and our focus on being green.
First off, our patio will be the first of its kind in this area. We have been working directly with the city and their new sidewalk dining program to extend the patio out by the sidewalk, elevated, with a focus on being GREEN. We will also have a fire pit as well as heaters/umbrellas depending on the weather (although it is always sunny in Redondo!). The location of the patio is ideal being on the west side of the street, so the sun is not blinding you while you are eating. Its going to be a special spot.
Next, we will be partnering with a great craft coffee company (Stumptown Roasters Coffee). We will offer coffee, espresso, cold brew, etc. 7 days a week, as well as home made breakfast items (pastries, grab n go, etc.) made daily by our chef.
Finally, we will be putting a focus on including as much “Green” in our design as possible. The prior business (Jonathan’s Clothing) started an amazing growing wall for the past 30 years and we plan to keep up with that theme. Everything will be new and updated, as we purchased the property and plan on being in this location for another 30 years.
What are some of the most popular dishes on the menu?
Some of our most popular items on our menu are actually some of the new menu items that have just been added by Chef.
- Pan Roasted Chicken – 1/2 mary’s chicken, house preserved lemon, crushed almonds, aleppo, cilantro arborio rice, lemon
- Pot Pie – chicken, peas, potato, carrots, savory cream base, homemade pastry
- Lobster Stuffed Avocado – Maine Lobster, Tomato, Green Onion, Black Pepper, Greens, Citrus Vin, Crostini
- Healthy Steak Salad – grilled prime flat iron, baby kale, over night tomatoes, cremini mushroom, caramelized onion, grilled corn, gorgonzola cheese, carrots, almond slivers, sherry honey vin
- Seared Ahi Tacos – (3) wasabi crema, sesame ginger cabbage slaw, avocado, wasabi pico, flour tortilla
- Breakfast Burrito – egg, braised short rib, applewood bacon, pepper jack, guacamole, hashbrown
- Chilaquiles – egg, corn ships, chorizo, pepper jack, red onion, tomatillo, queso fresco, cilantro, lime crema
How did The Rockefeller’s 0.99 cent burger deal on Tuesdays come about? Is there a story behind it and what has been the customer response?
Ahhh … The 99 cent Burger Tuesday story is a fun one. My business partner Allen Sanford and I were at his house coming up with the first Rockefeller menu for Hermosa Beach and the idea of a happy hour came up. We both agreed a happy hour would be great for our local customers, but we also started discussing a Taco Tuesday idea (everyone in the South Bay has a Taco Tuesday). That was when we both
I brought up the idea of a Burger Tuesday to Allen and I could tell he was caught a bit off guard. “How much would you charge? Most taco Tuesdays are around $1 for each taco,” he said. I told him, “Let’s go crazy and charge 25 cents for a burger.” I could tell he was not impressed, as charging 25 cents for a burger is a recipe for going bankrupt quickly.
We went back and forth and came to the conclusion that we would treat Burger Tuesday as a marketing cost. So instead of running ads for Burger
A few years later, we raised the price from 25 cents to 99 cents, and we have sold over 100,000 burgers and counting to date. We also change the recipe every month to keep it fresh and it is one of our busiest nights.
Personally, what are some of your favorite dishes on the menu?
Personally, some of my favorite items on the menu are …
- Seared Ahi Tacos – They are light, healthy and delicious
- Truffle Macaroni & Cheese – We literally use real truffles from Europe (not truffle oil like everyone else).
- Heirloom Tomato & Avocado Salad – Another light and healthy salad with great flavor
- American Prime Burger – In N Out type burger … probably my go to item when I not sure what I want …
- Sweet Potato Bombs – always start with these as a side …
FOR BRUNCH:
- Chicken & Waffles – bacon butter, yes please.
- Breakfast Burrito – Best breakfast burrito in town
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