Native Son will make its Los Angeles County debut when it moves into the Darkness Dojo in Downtown Los Angeles, located at 832 S. Olve St.
The company’s third location will replace Modern Times, which has forced to shut down several taprooms following the pandemic. Native Son president and CEO Jon Sanchez recently applied for a liquor license and hopes to open the company’s first LA site in September 2022. Instead of changing the atmosphere of the Darkness Dojo, Native Son will preserve its unique style by using the 10bbl brew house to showcase its craft beers. The kitchen will also continue to be used to serve delicious food.
“Hearing that MT had decided to close the DTLA location, we knew Native Son was the perfect fit to keep the Dojo alive,” according to the company’s website. “They thought so too, and faster than we could have imagined, the keys were in our hands and the pressure of great expectations on our shoulders.”
When the new bar opens later this year, customers can expect much more than the company’s delicious beers. Since Native Son is maintaining much of the previous tenant’s interior, expect various colorful patterns throughout the inside with different cartoons and illustrations on the walls, like how Modern Times had. The company, which currently has locations in Rancho Cucamonga and Santa Ana, will focus on setting up operations at the new Los Angeles location.
“Modern Times used this as an R&D kind of brewery,” Sanchez tells The Orange County Registry. “It’s going to be our only brewery, so we’re going to use it as that,” “It’s large enough that it can supply all three locations.”