Thirty years before the space at 1301 N. Manhattan Ave. in Hermosa Beach became Abigaile, it was known as “The Church,” a combined living and rehearsal space for several of the most influential punk/hardcore bands in music history. As seen during an interview in the seminal documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, members of Black Flag were paying about $16 a month to rent out a closet in the abandoned Baptist church, rehearsing where they slept and trying to make enough money to buy some food (although the Colt 45 seemed to be flowing like water).

As mentioned in the clip, Black Flag shared the space with several other bands and rotating cast members of the South Bay Hardcore scene like Descendents, Red Cross (later to become Redd Kross due to legal issues), Circle Jerks, and The Last. The label that put out most of the records from these bands, SST Records, was founded by Black Flag’s Greg Ginn and, for a time, was run out of a large rented room at the back of the Church. Scene legends like Keith Morris, Mike Watt, Chuck Dukowski, Henry Rollins and Steven McDonald were all connected to the Church at one point or another. The influence of these bands and musicians in Hermosa Beach and the South Bay would reverberate for years to come, including in one of Hermosa’s most famous punk rock exports, Pennywise.

Fletcher Dragge, one of the founding members of Pennywise, attended Mira Costa High School during the heyday of the South Bay Hardcore scene (1981-1984) and has seen first-hand how the scene has grown. He’s also had a hand in helping to foster and grow that community with Pennywise.

With Abigaile, our goal with the interior was to pay homage to the history of our location and its role in one of rock’s most influential movements. To that end, Fletcher and his crew of tattoo artists from 3rd St. Tattoo were given carte blanche over the blank canvases of Abigaile’s walls to create the feeling that this space was a gathering place and home base for an entire scene. They studied the portion of The Decline of Western Civilization that was shot inside the Church and have recreated some of the graffiti that can be seen on the walls behind Ginn and Ron Reyes, Black Flag’s lead singer at the time, during their interview. They also added their own touches including reproduced flyers from some of the hardcore shows in and around the South Bay and LA during those years up.

The video above captures Fletcher, Andrea, Charles and Jeremy, all of 3rd St. Tattoo, on the first night they took to the walls of Abigaile. Check it out.

Photos from the graffiti session below.

photo by Elizabeth Daniels 2/12

This right here is the handy work of Venice-based design firm Bishop Pass headed by Anthony Agriam who worked on Gjelina’s aesthetic. What was once Union Cattle Co reopens on Monday as Abigaile, a hip new seasonally-inclinedsmall plates space cheffed by Max DiMare out of Wood Tavern in San Fran.Drinks follow suit with a slew of fruity crafty cocktails, microbrews on tap and by bottle, plus domestic and international wine.

Abigaile

What: The punk rock co-op gets reincarnated into a Californian brasserie with an ever-changing menu of seasonal small plates (slow-cooked lamb osso buco, shaved Brussels sprouts with almond brown butter).

Why: An in-house brewery and graffitied walls by Fletcher Dragge and the 3rd Street Tattoo crew.

When: Daily, 5-10 p.m.

Where: 1301 Manhattan Ave., b/t 14th St. & Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach (310-798-8227).

Opening Monday, Abigaile’s a new farm-to-table brasserie and brewery, with food cooked up by a notable San Fran/Boston transplant, all in a former church that was once the rehearsal space for Black Flag and now’s gussied up w/ graffiti art from one of the dudes behind Pennywise — so even if you don’t like their shows, don’t expect to get a Nickelback.

Like dudes who transport stolen vehicles, the food’s all about shared plates, with options like Rogue Creamery-blue-cheese-slathered fried slab bacon w/ red wine-glazed onion and watercress; grilled escarole salad w/ creamy anchovy vinaigrette, olive-chili salsa & egg; and tomato sauce/polenta-aided “Nana Carmella’s Meatballs”. If you ask nicely, they do have entree-sized ish, including a grilled double-cut pork chop w/ wild mushrooms, cippolinis, and bacon-marsala sauce; grilled flatiron steak w/ Parmesan mash; and a brown butter-fried branzino w/ pancetta, creamed fennel, and pearl onions that were roasted, marking the first time people cutting into them will actually cry with laughter.

Drinks-wise, the main attraction is house-brewed beer, w/ five options: dry-hopped pale ale, Canadian orange blossom ale, a double-pale, a brown sugar porter, and a vanilla-infused strong ale — go to the bottom of every bottle and you’ll finally know the answer to “Are we having fun yet?!?” Yeah yeah yeah …no no.

Read more: http://thrillist.com//los-angeles/ca/90254/south-bay-/abigaile_bar-food_great-beer-selection_american_brewpub#ixzz1lttQNaNf

Food photos by CaraTompkinsFoodPhoto.com

The black, blank slate before Fletcher (above, left) and friends had at it.

Fletcher Dragge, lead guitarist of Pennywise, and his crew from 3rd Street Tattoo were given free reign to graffiti the walls of Abigaile last night. With the sounds of his favorite punk acts blaring in the room and fueled by “PBR and Benadryl,” Dragge took to the walls with spray paint and stencils to pay homage to Black Flag and the other punk acts who used to live and play in the space back when it was known as “the Church.” Along with the graffiti, Dragge also worked in reproductions of actual show fliers from the early 80s featuring acts such as The Descendents, Minutemen, the Misfits, Germs, Exploited and Wasted Youth.

Stay tuned for a full gallery of photos showing the completed project, or better yet see it in person when Abigaile opens Monday, February 6. For a chance to experience Abigaile first, be sure to join our Facebook page to learn how you can be a part of our special preview opening this Friday and Saturday.

Planet Hollywood returns with a new concept calledPlanet Dailies set to open on the upstairs mezzanine at the Farmers Market, with an Eclectic menu of Asian, American and Southwestern dishes. The real star, however, is the cocktail program created by renowned London-based mixologist Salvatore Calabrese, who’s known in the industry as…”The Maestro.” Expect an opening in the spring (The Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St.).

As of this coming Sunday, Hermosa Beach’s Union Cattle Co calls it quits. Owner Jed Sanford will retool his neighborhood pub into Abigaile, a more food-focused affair presided over by Max DiMare, a Rising Star Chef from Wood Tavern in San Francisco. The plan is to rehabilitate 1301 Manhattan Avenue, a historical building which began as a baptist church in the early 1900s, then became the Craft House in the 1970s, and later served as home base for punk band Black Flag. Sanford hired Venice-based design firm Bishop Pass (run by Anthony Agriam who helped design Gjelina) to restore past design elements and create an easy communal setting. As for foodstuffs, expect a seasonal Cali/Mediterranean brasserie menu which will be printed daily. Abigaile should open in early February. [EaterWire]

A Hermosa Beach landmark will change character this week as Union Cattle Company restaurant closes for a makeover. Owner Jed Sanford is bringing celebrity chef Max DiMare from Northern California to create a menu using meats cured in-house and seasonal produce. Sanford says the new restaurant, to be named Abigaile, will take the history of the building into account with the restaurant design.

“This was originally a Southern Baptist church that later became a creative arts space and a music studio, and there are references to all of those things in our design,” he explained. “There is something of that in the name Abigaile… this used to be a church, so the word Abbey fits in.”

The building has indeed been put to a variety of uses — built as a church in 1924, it was sold to a developer in 1973, but plans for a restaurant didn’t work out. It was an artist’s cooperative called the Creative Craft Center for a few years, then went on to fame as the rehearsal space for punk rock’s Black Flag, Redd Kross, and other bands. Penelope Spheeris shot much of her famous music documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization” in the dilapidated and vandalized building shortly before it was scheduled to be demolished. Black Flag played a famous final show using the altar as a stage, and then the majority of the building fell to the bulldozers.

In 1998 the remains were rebuilt into Ein Stein’s Brewery, and when that business closed in 2002, Jed Sanford and his brother Allen stepped in to open Union Cattle. At the time it was a daring proposition – a large, beautifully decorated place with an impressive wine list that also had a mechanical bull in the bar.

“There weren’t any other steakhouses in Hermosa back when we opened… there were places where you could get a steak, but they didn’t really focus on it,” Sanford reminisced. “It could still do well as Union Cattle, but I want to change the name and décor to show that we’ve taken an evolution, food-wise. When we opened up we were pushing the edge in Hermosa, and I think we’re now ready to do that again.”

Sanford’s decision to change the food and décor reflects a change in his own tastes and ambitions as much as it does a reading of the changing demographics of Hermosa. Asked about a comment Palmilla co-owner Greg Newman made in an Easy Reader article to the effect that as he got older he preferred his upscale restaurant to the college bar he also owns, Sanford said that mirrored his experience.

“I started Union Cattle while I was in my late 20s, now I’m in my late 30s,” he said. “Every business owner wants to work with what generates their passion, and as you develop new ideas and products, that passion changes. I think the same people who went to Union Cattle will be interested in Abigaile, just as I am.”

The famous mechanical bull will not be part of Abigaile, but when Sanford talks about it you can hear the wistful note of a child remembering a favorite toy.

“I remember the first day they drove the bull in and my brother and I took turns controlling it and riding it. We had a lot of fun with that – it wasn’t just the bar crowd, we had a lot of kids who loved it. I haven’t ridden it for quite a while, actually.”

From Sanford’s description of his new concept, the bull would definitely be out of place. “The designers I’m using are Bishop-Pass, who also did M Street and Gjelina on the Westside. It’s going to have an upscale feel but be casual, to fit the experience here.”

Another element of the restaurant uses an asset that most people forgot was still there.

“This used to be Ein Stein’s Brewery, and the brewing tanks are still in place. It’s a Ferrari of a brewery, but we haven’t been using it because it didn’t fit the Union Cattle concept. I brought in Brian Brewer from Stone Brewery, and we’ve been rebuilding and testing the system and we will have some new releases when we open Abigaile.”

“As for the menu, we don’t like to be put in boxes, but if you have to, then we’re a New American brasserie. A lot of what our chef does has an Italian and French Mediterranean influence, and we’ll have a mix of small plate dining options and full entrees. It will definitely be different from anything else in Hermosa.”

Sanford is counting on the skills of new chef Max DiMare, a newcomer to the area.

“We moved Max down here from Northern California. He had been at Wood Tavern in the Bay Area and made a huge reputation there, and was ready for a move,” Sanford said. “He fell in love with surfing, and Hermosa was very attractive to him. He’s a great guy and a really talented chef, and the South Bay is super lucky to have him. He moved here last week and I took him out to the cove where I grew up surfing, and we had a fantastic time. He was a natural, really took to the big waves.”

The chef remembers the surfing trip slightly differently.

“I love surfing, but I’ve only been doing it for two years,” DiMare said. “Jed took me out last week when the waves were really high and I thought I was gonna die out there. It was really exciting, paddling out into those massive waves, and I was glad to make it out alive.”

His surf skills may need some honing, but there is no doubt about his talents in the kitchen. DiMare worked at San Francisco restaurants Scala’s Bistro, Paragon, and Frascati before becoming founding chef at Wood Tavern in 2007, winning several awards including a “Rising Star Chef” designation from the James Beard Foundation. He developed a devoted following for menus that were heavy on seasonal produce and sophisticated versions of American and Italian favorites. Both at Wood Tavern and in his planned menu at Abigaile, DiMare drew on his own heritage for inspiration.

“My family is from Sicily, and that is reflected in my menu – you’ll see some meatballs, osso bucco, gnocchi, some pasta starters,” he said. “There will be a very large appetizer menu, and if you want to dine that way you can, or you can be more traditional.”

His own tradition includes the art of making many items in-house.

“I make my own charcuterie, pates, rillettes, and I’m going to start making my own dry-cured salamis,” he said. “It takes a full day of hard work to make the sausages, but they have to hang and cure for two months. I’ll be using local suppliers for fresh cheeses and as many other things as I can. As it happened, I’ve been getting my specialty produce from a Los Angeles-based company for years, so I can keep using a supplier I trust.”

Though DiMare is new to Hermosa, he has been enjoying dining out at South Bay restaurants and has already found a restaurant that is similar to what he wants to do.

“I ate at MB Post this weekend and had a great meal there… they’re doing some of the same things I’m doing, but there’s a lot of Asian influence on their menu,” he said. “My menu will be American, with Italian, Spanish, and French influence. Like the menu I had at Wood Tavern, I’m sure that it will grow and change with the community; what I was doing when I left was way different from what I started with. I’m writing the menu now and will bounce it off Jed and the other guys – I know how to put together some great things, but they know the community better.”

Union Cattle’s last day in business is Jan. 14, with Abigaile scheduled to open on Feb. 3. The Ocean Bar, which is upstairs from the restaurant, will remain open with their current menu until Abigaile opens, at which time the menu will expand to include items from DiMare’s kitchen.

Sanford is confident that the transition will go smoothly despite the unusually short amount of time that has been allotted, and is optimistic about the prospects for an innovative restaurant in a downtown that is dominated by party places.

“I think there’s a really interesting scene going on in Hermosa, and I try to be active in it – I’m the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and I see an influx of energy in the business community. I also enjoy history and think it’s important to remember our roots – my goal is to push the envelope in certain areas and in others to really be grounded in what has come before.”