Note to readers: The above Trader Joe's store is not the one in Downtown LA. That's because the specialty grocer's reluctance to open a location in the upward-trending Downtown earned it the dreaded Lemon at last Thursday's Roses & Lemon Awards. Leaders of the Downtown Breakfast Club award sponsors called the absence of Trader Joe's "baffling," considering that other major grocers like Ralphs, Smart & Final, and Walmart have a presence here. TJ represented a rare corporate recipient of an award that recently has gone to "honorees" such as LA's low voter turnout and lack of maintenance at the police HQ building.
Roses bloomed for other projects. Melendrez's Melani Smith and Killefer Flammang's Wade Killefer presented awards in the residential category, which went to Holland Partner Group's 1111 Wilshire (market rate) and Skid Row Housing Trust's Star Apartments (affordable). The Club also gave the nod to Urban Radish, an Arts District grocery store; restaurants Terroni and The Must; Grand Park New Year's Eve celebration; the Spring Street Parklets, a pilot program of mini-parks, complete with planters, benches and exercise bikes; and two elementary schools.
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