The Misfit, the longtime bar and restaurant tucked inside Santa Monica’s landmark Art Deco Clock Tower, is calling last rounds after service on Saturday, April 18, closing the book on a 15-year run just off the Third Street Promenade. Operator LGO Hospitality says it has chosen not to renew the lease at the current address and is now hunting for a new home elsewhere in the city while staff see the Santa Monica location through its final nights of service.
LGO Hospitality confirmed the closure in a statement to Eater LA, explaining that the group opted against extending the lease and is actively scouting another space for The Misfit. Since opening in 2011, the bar and restaurant built a following for its seasonal New American menu, a high-energy bar scene, and a happy hour that reliably packed in both locals and tourists. Management thanked employees and guests for their support over the years.
On The Misfit’s own site, LGO Hospitality posted a longer note about the decision and reiterated plans to reopen the concept somewhere new on the Misfit's website. CEO Bob Lynn wrote, “The focus now is building on the excitement and energy for our newest places.” The company pointed to repeated ownership changes at the Clock Tower and deteriorating conditions downtown as reasons the current location no longer made sense.
Why The Misfit Is Closing
LGO cited a revolving door of five separate ownership entities for the building, along with ongoing downtown issues, as key factors behind the decision, according to Eater LA. The group said those problems have chipped away at the guest experience at the Clock Tower space. Frequent landlord turnover and disputes about maintaining the property have already pushed several other businesses in the building to move or close in recent years.
Final Service And Where The Happy Hour Moves
The Misfit will serve its last guests on April 18, after which LGO says parts of the concept will live on at sibling spots. In its announcement, the company noted that Diner Antonette and La Grande Orange Grocery will inherit The Misfit’s “top-shelf happy hour,” as described on the Misfit's website. Diner Antonette’s site highlights a generous daily happy hour and lists the Wilshire Boulevard address where those deals are currently offered; more details are available at Diner Antonette.
What This Means For Downtown
Santa Monica’s downtown core has been wrestling with shifting foot traffic and tough economic conditions that have hit restaurants and retail hard, mirroring trends across Los Angeles. A year-end tally of closures throughout the region counted hundreds of restaurants shutting their doors as operators faced rising costs, rent pressure, and evolving customer habits, according to the Los Angeles Times. For groups like LGO, that climate makes long-term leases and consistent guest experiences more difficult to maintain.
For Misfit regulars, the immediate fallout is straightforward: one of the area’s busiest happy-hour hangouts will disappear from the Promenade-adjacent block once the doors close on April 18. LGO maintains that The Misfit brand itself is not done yet, saying the team is actively searching for another location and hopes to carry the bar’s menu and spirit into a future space somewhere in the city.
