Perry’s at the Beach, the ubiquitous café that dots the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, has breathed new life into a former lifeguard house at Will Rogers State Beach. The grab-and-go beach café marks the 11th Perry’s in Los Angeles County but the first in Pacific Palisades.
The café, which opened earlier this summer, serves up coffee, smoothies, sandwiches, paninis and other grab-and-go items to beachgoers. Co-owner Richard Chacker said he hopes to gain Department of Health approval to turn Perry’s into a full-service restaurant with a grill.
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photograher
Perry’s Café is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. It has wireless Internet access and there’s parking access adjacent to the building at PCH and Entrada.
Some residents view the new Perry’s as more than just a place to grab a bite to eat while enjoying the beach.
“This is an important regional access to the coast,” said Doug Suisman, president of BOCA Neighborhood Association, a homeowner’s group at the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon.
Suisman, along with members of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association met with Perry’s co-owner Chacker on Friday, Aug. 15 at the beachside café.
BOCA and SMCCA members hope Perry’s can help forge deeper ties with local organizations and the jurisdictions that manage the beach, bike path, PCH, public safety and utilities. To start, the organizations hope Caltrans, the county supervisor’s office and Beaches and Harbors can finally agree on an appropriate maintenance schedule for the two pedestrian access tunnels that run underneath PCH.
BOCA spent the last several months providing deep cleanings to the two tunnels after years of neglect.
“These are the two most expensive zip codes in L.A., but we are without [adequate] service on the beach,” Suisman said.
Speaking about the new Perry’s, SMCCA president George Wolfberg added, “It’s just terrific. It’s a day and night improvement.”
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