When Heather Tierney opened up her plant-centric juice bar and café the Butcher’s Daughter in New York’s Nolita neighborhood in 2012, she didn’t set out to sell the virtues of a meat-free diet. If anything, the smashed avocado toasts and market-driven salads were designed to be “hearty and delicious—almost like vegetarian food for nonvegetarians,” says Tierney, who counts herself among the latter. The concept soon caught on, and fashionable downtown types (and their carnivore boyfriends) flocked to the tiny corner restaurant. At the new outpost in Los Angeles, opening Tuesday, the laid-back wellness ethos is much the same—but there’s noticeably more elbow room.
Located on Venice’s Abbot Kinney in a sprawling 3,200-square-foot space, the all-day café takes a something-for-everyone approach, with a takeout window for dog-walking locals, a 100-seat dining area centered around a large communal table, and a market stocked with a distinctly California-centric mix of beauty, fitness gear, and pantry staples. As for the biggest shifts in the menu, Tierney has the area’s abundant produce and a greatly expanded kitchen to thank. “We’re really lucky to be right by the Santa Monica farmers’ market, the largest one in Los Angeles,” she says, explaining how the concentrated flavors in some of the fruit have caused them to tweak the juice recipes. Seasonal jewels—baby carrots, purple cauliflower, and rainbow radishes—also brighten up the new Butcher’s Bowls, which ride the trend of combining grains, greens, and vegetables in one photogenic dish.
Tierney’s take on healthy living also veers into green design and beauty (plans for an herb-based skincare line are in the works). The living plant wall on the back patio was installed with the help of Felix Navarro, who runs the Juicy Leaf down the street. Solé Bicycles, another neighbor, supplied the specially made yellow-striped bike in the market (“We don’t want to sell it!” confesses Tierney, though she will). Shoppers will also find handcrafted soaps by San Francisco’s the Greater Good, coffee mugs made in collaboration with local potter Daniel George, a custom natural-wood longboard shaped by Diplomat Surfboards’ David Sluys, and—to go with it—a bar of Kassia Palo Santo–scented surf wax. It’s a reminder to Tierney, an avid paddleboarder who lives across from the beach, to get back out on the water. “It’s a great stress reliever,” she says. “Since I’ve moved to Los Angeles, it’s just a much bigger role in my life—paying attention to wellness.”
The Butcher’s Daughter, 1205 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice; thebutchersdaughter.com
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