Tag: Madres

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JLo Has Left the Building!

OK, so while I know that this is old news and that I have blogged about this location once before, I just had to do a little post on JLo’s (former) restaurant, Madres. Way back in early July, I dragged my boyfriend out to Madre’s to grab a bite to eat as this stalker had yet to dine there since the restaurant’s 2002 opening. Apparently I was about four days too late, because there was a sign out front stating that on July 1st Madres had closed its doors for good. I guess I really shouldn’t have been surprised at the news as I had always heard that the food there was pretty terrible and way overpriced.

My boyfriend and I ventured across the street so that I could ask one of the local merchants about the closing of the restaurant and she told me that Madres hadn’t been doing well for quite some time. In the early years, though, the place was quite a hit and was even named Best Celebrity Owned Restaurant by City Search. Madres opened up in April 2002 to quite a bit of fanfare and hoopla. JLo hosted a star-studded grand-opening party for the restaurant, with guests Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman, Jay Leno, Dave Navarro, Carmen Electra, Kobe Bryant and Christian Slater. I actually lived just a few blocks from Madres at the time and had NO idea JLo was opening up a restaurant. When I read about the grand opening party in the Pasadena Star News the following morning I was literally kicking myself for not having stalked it! 🙁 The restaurant was first run by Jen’s ex-husband Ojani Noa, but she fired him after only seven months, and put her father, David Lopez, in charge. Despite the initial hoopla, the restaurant seemed pretty deserted in recent years. But even with the rumored bad food, I am still pretty bummed that I never got to eat there. 🙁

Since JLo’s lease is not up for a few more years, she is apparently trying to sub-lease the entire place (furniture and fixtures included) for a new restaurant to come in. Right before I left on my vacation to Hawaii I happened to cut through the (former) Madres parking lot while doing some Lake Avenue shopping and noticed that all of the plants outside the restaurant were completely dead. So I immediately called up my dad and begged him to drive out and meet me there to snap some pics. 🙂 I was pretty surprised to see the place looking so run down, what with JLo trying to lease the space out. I mean, hello – where’s the curb appeal? 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It (while you still can): Madres restaurant is located at 897 Granite Drive, just off Lake Avenue, in Pasadena.

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Cooking by JLo!

Two weeks ago, while in Pasadena, my boyfriend I happened to walk by Madre’s, the restaurant owned by Miss Jennifer Lopez. Madre’s, which opened up in 2002, serves up Latin food inspired by JLo’s grandmother’s recipes – food she ate when she was still just Jenny from the Block. When you step inside Madre’s, there is no denying that it is a JLo creation – it is very frilly, very girly, and very ornate. It definitely has its charm. Madre’s is also a frequent filming location, and was used in a recent episode of Desperate Housewives. It was the restaurant where Gaby had her first lunch with Mayor Victor Lang, whom she later marries.

My boyfriend and I ended up not eating at Madre’s, but ventured on down the street to Magnolia Lounge – an adorable little bar and restaurant that occupies a space that was a former speakeasy. The restaurant, which is pretty much hidden behind an antique store, was, according to Pasadena legend, the location of the San Gabriel Valley’s first speakeasy back in the Prohibition days. We spoke with the owner who said that when she was excavating the property before the restaurant opened, she found extremely old wine bottles in the cellar, which are now on display in the main dining area. Magnolia is a very cool little place, with a great center courtyard, and it was really fun sitting there sipping champagne, imagining how it looked back in the 20s.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Madre’s is located at 897 Granite Drive, just off of Lake Avenue, in the historic South Lake Avenue Business District in Pasadena. Magnolia Lounge is located just a block south at 492 S. Lake Avenue.