We have some great news, NoHo! The folks at the Knitting Factory Entertainment (KFE), the entertainent and hosptiality company and owners of The Federal Bar, are partnering with the founders of Big Wangs and Tipsy Cow, to renovate enovating KFE’s former Latin-inspired restaurant and bar Bow & Truss. So what's it going to be? Something fun and fabulous, of course. This former North Hollywood restaurant will reopen as El Tejano, a new Tex-Mex restaurant as big and bold as the great state of Texas. The team expects to open El Tejano in May.
“They say ‘everything is bigger in Texas,” remarked partner Peter “PJ” Brill. “El Tejano is going to offer a huge Tex-Mex menu honoring the traditions of that culinary tradition with an emphasis on specialty tacos and full-flavored salsas. Don’t worry; we’ll have your queso, Frito pie and chili con carne too—as well as numerous other innovative Tex-Mex dishes. Joe and I have learned the good people of Los Angeles just want a good honest product in front of them without the façade of Tinseltown.”
Partner Joe Barker promises, “El Tejano will also feature Los Angeles’ most awesome Texas-sized patio featuring outdoor pastimes and our soon to be world famous ‘Frozen Beerita!’ Our laid-back bar will focus on a great Mexican, craft and domestic draft and bottle beer list alongside a cavernous list of margaritas and tequilas.”
Brill and Barker own four Big Wangs sports bars, a chain they founded in 2005: one in Valencia; DTLA; one in Hollywood and one around the corner from El Tejano on Lankershim in North Hollywood. Owners concentrate on “filling all of your eating, drinking, and entertainment needs. Our mind-blowing homemade food and value-priced drinks keep you coming back for more and more. Oh, we also have more HD TVs than anyone else in LA.”
In 2014, the team opened The Tipsy Cow in Sherman Oaks, an eclectic urban gastropub specializing in freshly ground burgers, delectable craft cocktails, and thirty-two draft beers personally selected to create a selection that is at once innovative in its make-up and inclusive in its appeal.
Opened in 2012 and located in the heart of NoHo’s Arts District, Bow & Truss was a popular and watering hole and eatery, with Latin-influenced cuisine and a vibrant bar scene El Tejano is sure to build upon. Along with its sister venue The Federal, Bow & Truss helped revitalize North Hollywood as a landmark entertainment destination in Los Angeles and received raves for its cuisine and its popular themed events ranging from movie screenings to a Game of Thrones inspired “whole animal” evening.
Knitting Factory CEO Morgan Margolis says, “Knitting Factory Entertainment is excited to build upon all our partners’ successes, and would like to thank Bow’s loyal customers and staff for four years of exceptional patronage and service. We are certain all the North Hollywood’s locals, regulars, visitors and new customers will enjoy embrace El Tejano as much as they loved Bow & Truss.” Brill concludes, “Grab your boots and Shiner Bock t-shirt and meet us at El Tejano. We’ll be handing out smiles at the door and you can take them home with you!”
About Knitting Factory Entertainment
“Curators of Music, Food and Style since 1987,” KFE owns four Knitting Factory live music venues, partnered with The Regent Theatre Los Angeles and Arrive Hotel Palm Springs, and three Federal Bar restaurants—across the US. Knitting Factory Records, along with its partners Partisan Records, manages recorded music catalogues and current and legacy artists (including Deer Tick, Gypsy Kings, Sylvan Esso, Phox, Fela Kuti, and Heartless Bastards); releases content in all formats as well as music-branded DVDs. Figure Eight Media, Knitting Factory Management and Van Johnson Company, handle the careers of emerging and critically acclaimed recording and theatrical artists both in the U.S. and overseas. They formed partnerships with Giant Step Marketing, The Connect Group for food and beverage marketing and the Talkhouse media web property. The KFE-produced Broadway musical hit Fela! has toured the world and the documentary FINDING FELA! premiered at the Sundance film Festival in January 2014. It also recently debuted the web series Drive Time.
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