"We got our miracle," read the headline in July when the Los Angeles Times reported that Crustacean had won a lease extension at 468 N. Bedford Drive. The miracle had a set end date. The extension kept the restaurant open through Oct. 31, after 30 years in Beverly Hills, and then it was scheduled to close for good.
So the Rodeo Drive holiday lighting on Nov. 19 will start the season without one of the city's longest-running dining rooms. That same evening honors something that has lasted longer: the Rodeo Drive Committee, which turns 50 this year. Across the Golden Triangle this fall, the street and the groups that run it are what endure, while the rooms along it change hands and Wilshire Boulevard is rebuilt beneath them.
Two Long Runs Ended Within a Year
Crustacean's closing came in stages. The Times reported that dine-in service would run through Sept. 30. From Oct. 1 until the lease ran out, the restaurant shifted to takeout and special events, with Oct. 31 set as the final day. The Times called it the Beverly Hills landmark "famous for its garlic noodles and roasted crab," and described founding chef Helene An as the "mother of fusion" for food that draws on Vietnamese, French and Chinese traditions.
Less than a year earlier, a few blocks south, another long run ended more quietly. Food Journal Magazine reports that Sushi Kiyono served its stretch of South Beverly Drive for 27 years before its owners retired. A note on the door set the last day of service for Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
Between them, those two rooms had served Beverly Hills for 57 years. Both closed within about eleven months of each other, and the businesses that replace rooms like these work on a different model.
Who Is Taking the Rooms
Kiyono's address, 255 S. Beverly Drive, reopened as The Brothers Sushi, with a grand opening dated Sept. 8. It's the fourth location for chef-owner Mark Okuda, after Woodland Hills in 2018, Santa Monica in 2022 and Culver City in 2023. The Beverly Hills Courier describes the Beverly Hills location as a joint venture between Okuda and Moriyuki Kanamaru, the brand's Santa Monica executive chef, who also spent six years at Asanebo. The menu centers on the brand's dry-aged fish, plus items only this location serves: chutoro sashimi smoked with warayaki, an A5 wagyu teriyaki slider and an A5 wagyu sando. Omakase is served at the counter. The Woodland Hills original is listed in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide.
On Wilshire, chef Eyal Shani brought Malka to SIXTY Beverly Hills in August, working with Giancarlo Pagani of Pagani Projects. According to the Courier, it's Shani's first full-service restaurant in Los Angeles. The menu is seasonal and fully kosher. Signature dishes include the Queen Malka Schnitzel, a chicken schnitzel stuffed with mashed potatoes, along with Branzino Hraime and his "very Israeli" hummus. The wine list leans French and Israeli.
Most of this year's arrivals in the Golden Triangle come with a name diners may already know from somewhere else:
| Name | Address | Who is behind it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Brothers Sushi | 255 S. Beverly Drive | Mark Okuda and Moriyuki Kanamaru | Grand opening Sept. 8 |
| Malka | SIXTY Beverly Hills, 9360 Wilshire Blvd. | Eyal Shani with Pagani Projects | August |
| Bad Roman | 267 N. Canon Drive | Quality Branded Hospitality | May 26 |
| Joseph Kendall salon | The Maybourne, 225 N. Canon Drive | Joseph Kendall, his fourth namesake salon | Sept. 8 |
Crustacean is still part of the season, just somewhere else. Its website now announces a holiday takeover with Bloomingdale's and its sister restaurant, AnQi Bistro at South Coast Plaza, starting Nov. 21 and billed as a one-time engagement. The full Crustacean menu will be served.
The Fifty-Year Fixture Is a Committee
The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration runs Thursday, Nov. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Rodeo Drive. It's free and open to everyone. This year's theme, "50 Years of Brilliance," marks the Rodeo Drive Committee's 50th anniversary and the five decades it has spent shaping the street. Love Beverly Hills, the city's visitor site, quotes Committee President Kathy Gohari on what the anniversary means:
"We are proud to honor Rodeo Drive's legacy while welcoming a new generation to discover the magic of this very special street."
The announced program for the evening:
- Host: Ali Ward, vocalist, performer and entertainment reporter
- Featured vocalist: Dani Armstrong
- Island Holidays: a set by six-time GRAMMY winner Daniel Ho
- DJ: DJ Lady Sha
- New this year: the two winners of the first "Rodeo Drive Has Talent" open call, including Los Angeles singer-songwriter Ortal Edri
- The lighting: Mayor Craig Corman, City Councilmembers and the Rodeo Drive Committee Executive Board lead the countdown, followed by fireworks
The decorations are designed around the anniversary, with lights, shimmering trim and jewel-inspired displays under Rodeo's palm trees. The committee is marking its 50 years in the same fall that two dining rooms with 57 years between them closed.
Wilshire Is Being Rebuilt Beneath the New Arrivals
The newest restaurants sit close to the biggest construction site in the city. Malka is at 9360 Wilshire. The Brothers Sushi is on the block between Wilshire and Charleville. According to the Beverly Press, crews building the D Line's Beverly Drive station are working behind K-rail on both sides of Wilshire. Two lanes stay open in each direction between Beverly and Crescent drives. Sidewalks on the north side of Wilshire may be closed, and Beverly Drive may drop to one lane each way.
That section of the line, which runs through Beverly Hills to Century City, is expected to open next spring. The Westwood stretch is scheduled for fall 2027. On the city's east edge, the subway has been running since May 8, 2026, when Metro opened stations at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega. Crews have since put up new street signs with the Beverly Hills city logo on the traffic signals at Wilshire/La Cienega.
Shoppers heading to Rodeo or Canon in December will find the north side of the Triangle decorated and the Wilshire edge still fenced off. Metro is holding a free online webinar on the Beverly Hills stations on Nov. 18, from noon to 1 p.m. The project hotline, (213) 922-6934, takes questions around the clock.
The Calendar, From the Webinar to the Oratorio
Here's what's coming up, in order:
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, noon to 1 p.m. Metro's free online webinar on the D Line's Beverly Hills stations.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 5 to 8 p.m. The Rodeo Drive Holiday Lighting Celebration, "50 Years of Brilliance," free, with a fireworks finale.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, onward. Crustacean's one-time holiday engagement with AnQi Bistro and Bloomingdale's at South Coast Plaza.
- Sunday, Nov. 22, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. A Holiday Craft Fair at the Beverly Hills Farmers' Market, on the 9300 block of Civic Center Drive.
- Friday, Dec. 11. The String Queens at the Wallis, with holiday songs on the program.
- Sunday, Dec. 20, 4 p.m. The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performs Bach: The Christmas Oratorio in the Wallis's Bram Goldsmith Theater.
By the time the oratorio ends on Dec. 20, Rodeo will have been lit for a month and the Beverly Drive station will be one season away from its expected spring opening.
At Isabelle Mizrahi and Coleman Eisner, we follow these changes block by block, from who takes over a long-held dining room to how a new subway station changes the walk down Wilshire. If you'd like to talk through what this season's changes mean for your own corner of Beverly Hills, please Book an Appointment.
