Café Maghreb, the Moroccan supper-club pop-up known for communal feasts and storytelling, is working on a new location at 5158 W. Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles — the former home of Savyon Cafe. Paperwork recently filed with the city shows the group is seeking permission to serve alcohol at the site.
Maati Zouitina recently submitted documents to the Los Angeles City Planning Department requesting administrative clearance under the Restaurant Beverage Program, according to WhatNow. That clearance would allow the sale and dispensing of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with a restaurant. Los Angeles City Planning records list the filing as case ADM-2025-6497-RBPA, concerning that same request for on-site alcohol service tied to a restaurant use at the address.
From Pop-Up to Permanent Address
Café Maghreb was founded by Majda Belaroui and began as a pop-up concept centered on Moroccan food and culture, per the same WhatNow report. Belaroui and Zouitina are now working together on the new project, which the outlet describes as a North African-inspired supper club and purveyor of artisanal Moroccan goods. Zouitina himself is a Los Angeles-based sound designer and architect who also co-owns Zizou, a Moroccan/French restaurant and wine bar in Lincoln Heights, according to The Eastsider LA, which he owns alongside Boris Macquin.
Zizou's menu leans on classic cuisine from Provence and North Africa, including an almond-and-apricot tajine and steak frites, and the Lincoln Heights restaurant opened in mid-June after what the outlet called a complicated four-year build-out. That track record gives some sense of the pedigree behind the Hollywood Boulevard filing, even as the specifics of the new spot remain largely under wraps.
What's Still Unknown
The timeline for Café Maghreb's debut is murky, and reports conflict. WhatNow states plainly that an opening date has not been announced, and that the team has not yet revealed additional details about the Hollywood Boulevard location, including its menu, design or opening timeline. Beverly Press, however, has described a planned November opening for what it called the group's first brick-and-mortar restaurant — a detail WhatNow's reporting does not confirm.
The available city planning record does not establish whether the alcohol clearance has been approved, denied or is still pending. What is clear is the location itself: a 1,200-square-foot fully equipped restaurant, bakery or café space, according to a listing from Major Properties. The listing places the address in the East Hollywood neighborhood near Barnsdall Park and Lemon Grove Park, and notes it sits roughly a seven-minute walk from the Metro Red Line's Hollywood/Western station.
A Supper Club Built on Shared Plates
Café Maghreb's events to date have combined hands-on workshops, multi-course Moroccan meals, and wine pairings from Morocco, with a supper-club experience that has included storytelling and shared dishes, per WhatNow's account. The group has also operated as a pop-up at Zizou in Lincoln Heights, where it has served a Moroccan-style fried sardine taco made with cumin seeds, harissa aioli, chermoula and pickled onions, according to L.A. Taco.
Beverly Press reported that Café Maghreb was scheduled to join the Barnsdall Fridays Wine Nights lineup starting July 31, offering Moroccan-inspired sardine and merguez sandwiches, msemen, pastries and traditional sweets at the event. Tickets for that evening started at $55 online and included four glasses of wine, according to Los Angeles Magazine. Those pop-up appearances have served as the brand's main public-facing presence while the Hollywood Boulevard buildout takes shape behind the scenes.
