The biggest food news in Historic West Adams this year comes from two places that have been here a long time. Alta Adams closed for three months and came back with a different menu. Sky's Gourmet Tacos closed its Pico Boulevard dining room after 34 years and plans to carry its name, recipes and family team into a catering business. The only new business announced on West Adams Boulevard has a sign up and no opening date. So the fall is being carried by known names and by a cluster of small cultural venues whose dates pile up in November.
Alta Came Back as a Different Restaurant at the Same Address
Chef and owner Keith Corbin closed Alta Adams on February 26, 2026, and reopened it on May 27 with what Eater LA called a reimagined menu reflecting his growth as a chef. The California soul cooking that made the restaurant at 5359 W. Adams Blvd. well known is still the base. The menu now also draws on Corbin's recent travels: hamachi crudo with honeysuckle and a coconut, lime and ginger leche de tigre; a warm black-eyed pea salad with Fresno chiles; fire-roasted cabbage in a miso glaze; duck leg confit with black garlic mole; and roasted bone marrow with suya.
Corbin put it plainly to Eater: "We still have Southern aspects here. We're still pulling from the South with storytelling, just not based around the same 10 to 15 dishes everyone knows."
Eater went back in September and described a refreshed dining room and a hyperseasonal menu with nods to Mexican, Nigerian, Tunisian and Japanese cooking. Mole sits next to the duck, and miso and koji caramel turn up elsewhere. Alta currently serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.
Not everything has returned yet. In July, the Los Angeles Times reported that the restaurant's bottle shop would reopen in early August and brunch would follow in late August. As of early October, Alta's own site lists dinner only and says nothing about the shop. Anyone planning a Sunday morning around Alta should check before heading over.
Sky's Kept the Business and Gave Up the Room
Alta changed its menu at the same address. Sky's Gourmet Tacos kept its menu and gave up the address. Barbara "Sky" Burrell opened Sky's on Pico Boulevard in 1992. A September 1 roundup of August restaurant closures reported that the full-service restaurant closed on August 15. Before the closure, in the Los Angeles Times, she pointed to rising costs and competition from ghost kitchens, and said the business would focus on catering.
"This isn't because we failed. It's because businesses evolve. We're continuing through our catering and other opportunities and we're looking forward."
Her reasoning is practical. "Let's focus. Let's go back to what we know," she told the Times. She said walk-in traffic had become hard to predict, while the catering side was steady. The family is staying in charge. Her son Victor Burrell remains president, her daughter-in-law Marie Burrell runs catering, and the packaged "sassy" sauce and seasoning will still be sold. In July, Eater reported that the breakfast tacos, lobster tacos and crawfish burritos would move to a ghost-kitchen site, and that Burrell was negotiating a lease for one.
That changeover is still underway. Right now the online order page for Sky's shows no menus and does not take orders. Nothing has been announced for the old storefront at 5303 W. Pico Blvd. The family has announced the move to catering and a ghost kitchen, but we found no confirmation that the new operation has started. The Times credited Burrell's "Mexican with a splash of soul" style with influencing Black-owned restaurants across the region, and the plan is to keep that cooking going through catering.
The One New Sign Is Still Waiting
The only new arrival on the boulevard is Love Notes Coffee & Wine at 4770 W. Adams Blvd. An August 29 WhatNow report described a plan for specialty coffee, rare wines and food pairings drawn from different cultures. It said a liquor license application had been filed, but the business's website still read "coming soon" and gave no opening date. We found no later update.
That leaves a steady base of places that are open now. Mizlala at 5400 W. Adams Blvd. lists hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Highly Likely at 4310 W. Jefferson Blvd. lists 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. With few new restaurants opening this fall, most of the dates worth planning around come from galleries, a museum-scale painting and a block party.
The Fall Calendar, in Order
These dates come from the venues and organizers, listed in calendar order.
- Thursday, October 8, 7 to 9 p.m. Sovern at 5757 W. Adams Blvd. holds the closing reception for Into the Pluriverse, a group exhibition.
- Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Velaslavasay Panorama is one of the participants at the 21st Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar. The free event is held at Cal State LA's Golden Eagle Ballroom.
- Sunday, November 1, noon to 8 p.m. Midcity Mercado holds its free Día de los Muertos Festival on West Adams Boulevard between Hauser and Fairfax. Listed attractions include a community altar, art galleries, live music stages, food and maker vendors, and free carnival rides.
- Thursday, November 12, 7:30 p.m. The Velaslavasay Panorama holds the opening reception for Florence in Ruin: An Excavation.
- Friday, November 13, through Saturday, December 19. Florence in Ruin runs in the Panorama's theater. Tickets are listed at $18, and the reservation link has not been posted yet.
- Saturday, November 14. Esotouric's Weird West Adams Walking Tour & Elmer McCurdy Museum Visit runs 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It costs $50, with check-in at 1910 S. Harvard Blvd. The same day is the last day of Acceleration-in-Equilibrium: Crisis as Quintessence at the William Grant Still Arts Center, 2520 S. West View St.
Midcity Mercado is the group behind the November 1 festival. It describes its regular programming as a free monthly marketplace in West Adams plus the yearly Día de Muertos block party. Its 2026 events page has no October or December market dates yet, so the festival is the one confirmed Mercado date this fall. The festival's directions section and the organizer's calendar give slightly different street numbers. The block range between Hauser and Fairfax is the safer thing to go by.
November 14 Is the Fullest Day
Two things happen on the same Saturday. Esotouric's three-hour walk starts mid-morning from Harvard Boulevard, and the William Grant Still Arts Center exhibition closes that day. That's enough for a full morning and afternoon without leaving the neighborhood. Alta opens for dinner at 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Florence in Ruin opened the day before, and the Panorama's posted visiting hours run Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. If you want both the Panorama and the walking tour on the 14th, book the Panorama for the afternoon.
The Panorama is the most reliable stop through the end of the year. Its 360-degree Shengjing Panorama and the Nova Tuskhut exhibit in the side salon are on view now, by advance appointment, at 1122 W. 24th St. Florence in Ruin gives you a reason to go back between mid-November and December 19.
Three items are worth checking again over the coming weeks: whether Alta brings back Sunday brunch and its bottle shop, when Love Notes sets an opening date, and where Sky's ghost kitchen ends up. Each one adds a new option under a name that's already on the boulevard. In her Times interview, Burrell said, "This neighborhood has become strong."
When a long-running business reworks its model, the neighbors who know what changed and why have a clearer picture of the area than any listing can give. If you're thinking about what your West Adams or Mid-City home is worth while the neighborhood changes, The Kostrey + Eckert Collection can prepare a personalized valuation based on what's happening on your own blocks.
