Rendering of Mama Intento, one of several dining establishments coming to The Lafayette Hotel (Post Company)
Entertainment, North Park

North Park’s Lafayette Hotel to Undergo a $26 Million Transformation

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

If it seems as though downtown-based CH Projects is taking over every hot address in town with its various themed restaurants and bars, you’re pretty much correct.

The ever-expanding hospitality group, co-founded by the uber-ambitious Arsalun Tafazoli, most recently transformed the former Bar Pink in North Park into a “hi-fi listening bar” and record store called Part Time Lover. Then in the last few weeks came word it acquired the beloved Starlite in Middletown. That will join a burgeoning portfolio of other conceptual ventures like The Reading Club atop downtown’s InterContinental Hotel; East Village’s Invigatorium; Little Italy’s Born & Raised and Morning Glory, and several others that came before them.

But its costliest and latest endeavor points squarely to the historic Lafayette Hotel on El Cajon Boulevard.

Since purchasing the colonial-style structure last year, the property has remained largely unaltered from past renovations by different owners. Although that’s about to radically change starting this fall, when CH begins sinking $26 million into the hotel to create seven…yes, seven…different drinking and dining establishments in various vintage styles, all contained within the property. Some of the budget is earmarked to restore the hotel’s rooms as well.

The property shut down to the public as of Oct. 1. But here’s what to look for when it reopens in May:

Beginners Diner will be a historical recreation of a 1940s Worcester lunch car. It will operate 24/7 to the tune of classic American fare.

The Gutter will boast a vintage bowling alley, cocktail bar and game room. Look for rich mahogany, classic Manhattans, and a custom made gravity-fed ball return system.

Mama Intento is slated to be a stylish agave bar replete with a wood-fired oven used for roasting a wide variety of meats. The menu will also feature handmade masa cakes, a seasoned mole list, and mezcals and tequilas. It is being modeled around a 100-plus-year-old altar salvaged from a Mexican church.

Faux Pas will pay homage to early 20th-century hotel fine dining with a focus on prime rib cut tableside, cold martinis, and dining-service carts.

The Pool Bar promises an environment that beckons to summers spent in Capri while sipping cafe cocktails and Italian aperitifs.

Additional outlets will include the Mississippi Room, a rum bar, and a Chef’s Table featuring a rotating list of guest chef events.