Carmageddon Makes Small Waves on Culver City Business

Now that the 405 has reopened, the dust has settled and local merchants have had a chance to count their money, it would appear that last weekend's closure left a positive mark on restaurants in Culver City, with other businesses seeing a setback for the weekend due to decreased visitors from outside the area.

"Carmageddon had a lot of people staying home so that it did affect the attendance on local restaurants," said Steven J. Rose, president of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce. "I personally don't think it was a huge positive or a huge negative. It just happened."

On Overland Avenue, the manager at Tub's Fine Chili said that business was pretty much at normal levels, which he credited to the "Double-Barreled" special the restaurant ran, serving two hot dogs for $4.05.

"We had a good turnout with the locals because of that," said Rico Cuevas, the restaurant's manager.

He said that he noticed that a lot of patrons were on foot, possibly because the restaurant is near both Veterans and Dr. Paul Carlson parks.

In Culver City alone, small businesses took advantage of the freeway closure by offering extra incentives for those looking to stay off the roads. Westfield Culver City had a tailgate party, Johnnie’s pastrami offered a kids meal for under $7 and Em’s Artist Cafe boasted a Carmageddon burger.

Marcella Zimmermann, store curator at , said that business wasn't hampered in the least by the closure.

"Things were completely normal," she said. "People came for our French toast. The store was busy. We sold a lot of beach towels. It was business as usual."

With some shops reporting business as usual, one local favorite reported a significant drop in sales. , which sells ingredients and equipment to make beer and wine at home, lost significant traffic during the 405 closure. Because home beer and winemaking is a niche market, the store draws its customers from all around Los Angeles, particularly the Westside that was the most affected by the closure.

"We were down over 50 percent of what we would normally do on a weekend," said Kevin Koenig, co-owner of the shop on Sepulveda Boulevard. "It was just slow. A lot of people decided not to go out."

Despite the temporary blip in business for a few local shops, many Culver City residents welcomed the change of pace. “In the grocery store, I heard several people wishing we could close the 405 more regularly. It makes you think,” said Jesica Borneman Davis.