Smog City Heights—the Cal Heights kitchen and patio from the brewers of Torrance-based Smog City—finally has its alcohol license after months of bureaucratic battles. And with it, owner Laurie Porter and kitchen head Chef Jeff Lustre hope that the neighborhood and surrounding city will come out to one of Cal Heights’s most unique dining and drinking spaces.
It officially marks a new chapter for the Torrance-based craft beer brand after its nine-year run at SteelCraft came to an unexpected end.
“We were at SteelCraft for nine years, and when our lease negotiations came up, they decided not to renew us,” said Laurie. “But we had built this amazing community there. And we had invested so much in the neighborhood and in our staff. There was no question: we knew we needed to stay in the area.”
That commitment sparked a nearly year-long search for a new location. Porter spent 10 months scouting spaces before connecting with Robert Molina, owner of nearby Roxanne’s. A former restaurant space became available, and Porter immediately saw its potential.
Leaving SteelCraft was a blessing in disguise for the creation of Smog City Heights…
The move also allowed Smog City to address a challenge many taprooms have faced in recent years: the growing need for a strongly crafted, in-house food program.
“Like much of the craft beer industry, we realized over the last three or four years that a taproom really can’t survive without food,” Laurie said. “Food trucks are great, but they’re not always enough. People want a complete experience.”
The new Smog City Heights delivers exactly that, echoing what others in the industry—Ian McCall noted this when he rebranded his brewery, ISM, to include “kitchen” in its title: “ISM Brewing & Kitchen”—have long been noting. Taking over the former Verdes location—the short-lived vegan concept that was previously home to the decades-long breakfast legend, Babes—the venue combines Smog City’s beer lineup with a full kitchen and an outright rad patio. While much of the infrastructure was already in place, opening the doors wasn’t immediate.
“It took us six months to get to this point because we had to go through the city’s Conditional Use Permit process for alcohol service,” Porter said. “That was a long road, but now we have the full concept we wanted.”
What Smog City Heights represents and what you can expect…
“I walked in and fell in love,” she said. “I love indoor-outdoor spaces, and this already had a kitchen in place and a bar mostly built out. It gave us the opportunity to create something bigger than what we had before.”
The result is a space that feels distinctly neighborhood-oriented. It’s perfectly comfortable, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, along with two bar countertops: one inside and another outside with garage-style doors that open to the bar. It’s a gathering place designed to serve both longtime Smog City fans and newcomers discovering the brewery for the first time.
“It’s genuinely fun,” Laurie said. “It’s got a nice, cozy neighborhood vibe. The neighbors have really come out and supported us. And they love it.”
Currently open six days a week—Tuesday through Sunday—Smog City Heights plans to expand to seven-day service in the future as the restaurant settles into its new home. For Laurie, however, the biggest victory is simply remaining rooted in the community that helped make the SteelCraft location a success.
Who is behind the food at Smog City Heights?
Leading the kitchen is Chef Jeff Lustre, whose culinary path is anything but conventional. Born in the Philippines and raised in Los Angeles, Chef Jeff spent years traveling throughout Asia, Europe, and beyond before ever considering a career in food. Looking back, he now sees those travels—and the countless meals prepared alongside the home cooks around the world—as an informal culinary education.
“I didn’t realize I was training for it at the time,” Chef Jeff said of his travels. “I was just working with aunts and grandmas in different countries and learning how people cook.”
His professional journey began at Washington D.C.’s renowned DC Central Kitchen, where volunteering led him into the organization’s culinary training program and ultimately a career in restaurants. From there, he worked in the White House kitchen, spent time in Hawaii, lived in Beijing, and continued to absorb influences from cultures across the globe. Studying French, Spanish, Italian, and more cuisines, he carries the flavors of his Filipino upbringing into many of his dishes.
“It’s finally coming together in my head,” he said. “All those experiences are finding their way into the food… We started with burgers and kind of built from there. Some things were a little too adventurous for the neighborhood at first, so we’ve simplified it and focused on making really good comfort food.”
That approach is evident throughout the Smog City Heights menu, which avoids the expected brewery playbook of pizzas and pretzels in favor of elevated comfort food. Together, the menu balances approachability with creativity, giving neighborhood diners familiar comforts elevated by a chef whose culinary passport spans continents.
A dive into the menu…
Comfort food but slightly elevated. Approachable but not boring. Here are some highlights from the inaugural menu at Smog City Heights.
Shared Plates
Chicken Wings ($17 for seven | $20 for nine | $47 for 21): House buffalo | lemon pepper | orange sesame | spiced celery | ranch or blue cheese
Pickled Eggs in a Nest ($9): Two pickled eggs | pretzel sticks | fried ramen noodle nest
Crispy Brussels Sprouts ($12): Thai sweet chili sauce or sea salt
Burgers & Sammys
Smog City Cheese Skirt ($18): Jack cheddar cheese skirt | house aioli [“Saturn ring,” shown here, is an off-menu request]
Yardbird Chicken Sammy ($18): Fried chicken thigh | gochujang aioli | coleslaw
Salads & Sides
Chickpea Kale Caesar ($18): Chickpea panisse | shaved parmesan | crispy chickpeas | Tuscan kale (Vegetarian) Add chopped tenders (+$6) | add black bean burger (+$5)
Crispy Chickpea Fries ($5): Chickpea panisse | house aioli or Thai sweet chili sauce (Vegetarian)
Seasonal Pickled Veggies ($5): Seasonal pickled vegetables (Vegan | Gluten Free)
Pickled Egg ($2 for one cut in half): À la carte pickled egg (Gluten Free)
Dessert
Chocolate Bacon Brownie ($10): House-baked brownie | vanilla ice cream | bacon
Smog City Heights is located at 1106 E Wardlow Rd.
