Cheers-like artist hangout Hal's Bar & Grill, which closed with tears and a star-studded packed house at the end of April after almost 30 years on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, will reopen this December at Runway Playa Vista. 

On the restaurant's final night on Abbot Kinney, rumors swirled that owners Don and Linda Novack and Hal Frederick were in talks to reopen down the street. While their most recent announcement said Hal's will “announce plans soon to open on Abbot Kinney,” the new location is slightly farther away: about a 10-minute drive.

The new Hal's will be inside Runway Playa Vista, part of the shiny new residential, commercial and retail development off Jefferson Boulevard constructed to serve the growing number of tech companies and creative firms moving into the neighborhood (some of which also have moved south from Venice). Lyfe Kitchen, 800 Degrees, Hopdoddy Burger Bar and Sol Cocina have all signed on to open restaurants there. A Cinemark movie theater started screenings (plus gourmet food options) in March, and a Whole Foods is opening next week.

This might sound like a drastically different environment compared with the casual streetside digs that made Hal's a favorite among the city's working artists and creatives — and an epicenter of authentically hip Los Angeles. But the owners say the new Hal's will feel like the old Hal's — a family-friendly place where you can watch the game surrounded by fine art; eat steaks, pizzas and Caesar salads with friends as a live band plays; or sit down for your usual drink and spot a celebrity who's comfortable enough to do the same.

“We’re taking 4,700 square feet of totally raw space and working with an architect and designer to create the same welcoming, relaxed feel as the original Hal’s on Abbot Kinney,” Hal's owners said in a joint statement. “We plan to preserve the elements people value most and create a vibrant new space and experience that still feels familiar and authentically Hal’s.”

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