PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact: Julia Lemke
562-427-4124
jlemke@howardcdm.com

BELLFLOWER, Calif. (May 10, 2018)—On Monday morning, May 7, 2018, dozens of people gathered at the project site to celebrate the SteelCraft Bellflower groundbreaking ceremony. The current grassy lot, located at 16500 Bellflower Boulevard, will become home to the outdoor urban eatery made of repurposed shipping containers late this year.

The groundbreaking ceremony program included remarks from president and CEO of Howard CDM (the developer, managing partner, and general contractor for SteelCraft) Martin Howard, SteelCraft founder Kimberly Gros, and Bellflower Mayor Ray Dunton. The three each lauded the City of Bellflower’s placemaking efforts to revitalizing the existing Downtown area.

The theme of the morning was overwhelmingly that “Bellflower is back.” Mayor Dunton shared his excitement with members of the community and said, “With the Addition of SteelCraft, it just proves that Downtown Bellflower is thriving.”

Also in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, Council members Juan Garza, Dan Koops, and Ron Schnablegger, alongside City Manager Jeffrey Stewart, and Economic Development Director Jim DellaLonga and his team. Representing SteelCraft was the Howard CDM and SteelCraft team, their architect Studio One Eleven and kitchen designer Turpin Design Group.

All of the SteelCraft Bellflower tenants, their families and many members of the public attended to hear the tenant lineup announcement and celebrate as a community.

Founder Kimberly Gros was overwhelmed with the turnout. “The energy was surreal. Looking out into a sea of people gathered in the space that will soon become SteelCraft Bellflower, it felt like we already succeeded in what we set out to do — to bring the community together for something really special. Kids sitting in the grass with their parents, employees with their teams, generations of families who grew up in the City, and people walking by all celebrated together. Even Ten Mile Brewing’s dog, Barley, was there with us!”

Gros added, “I am humbled that so many people attended to share our excitement for the project and welcome the incredible tenants we put our hearts into curating.”

City Manager Jeffrey Stewart looks forward to the vibrancy the project will bring to the Downtown area.

“SteelCraft is a creative and revolutionary way to provide savory fair to our diverse community. We are looking forward to the energy, creativity and opportunities provided by SteelCraft Bellflower,” said Stewart.

SteelCraft Bellflower will bring nine new businesses to the Downtown area: five food offerings, craft beer, wine, coffee and dessert. Coffee and dessert will both be open to the street to further activate the already busy Bellflower Boulevard.

The current tenant lineup for SteelCraft Bellflower is as follows.

CRAFT BEER: Ten Mile Brewing

Ten Mile Brewing is a pet- and kid-friendly space in Signal Hill opening a satellite taproom at SteelCraft Bellflower. All their employees are part of the family, including their dog Barley. The name Ten Mile Brewing is a tribute to the family’s cabin near Hume Lake where they have vacationed for generations. With a type of beer for everyone, Ten Mile Brewing will be a welcome addition to SteelCraft Bellflower.

COFFEE: Solid Coffee Roasters

Solid Coffee Roasters, located in Artesia, roasts their own beans in-house for pour-overs and Nitro Cold Brews that are bar none. The owners are longtime local residents who are excited to become even more active in the Bellflower community.

BREAKFAST: Cassidy’s Corner

Locals know Cassidy’s well from their store in Lakewood where they consistently have lines out the door for their homemade bagels and bagel bites. Cassidy’s will serve freshly baked bagels, bagel bites, sandwiches, fresh-pressed juices, and açaí bowls all day in Bellflower.

BURGERS: The Standing Room

Lowell Bakke started selling homemade burgers out of a tiny space in the back of a liquor store in Redondo Beach. Bakke’s incredible burgers earned him a cult following where the store had quite literally, standing room only hence the name “The Standing Room.”

SteelCraft Long Beach hosted a burger cook-off where The Standing Room competed using their made-from-scratch Napoleon Burger topped with: a tender piece of braised short rib, bacon, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, smoked gouda, Korean aioli, tomato jam, arugula, truffle parmesan fries, and a fried egg.  

Now, with a second brick-and-mortar in Hermosa Beach, The Standing Room will bring its third location to SteelCraft Bellflower.

VIETNAMESE: Pholanthropy

Pholanthropy is a new Vietnamese concept created by two nurses who spent years working in local trauma centers. Their passion for food and the welfare of others led the founders Vincent Pham and Kim Nguyen to create a restaurant concept where a percentage of all proceeds are donated to charity.

Pham said, “Pholanthropy was established with a unique set of philosophies that revolve around pho, philanthropy, and phamily. The vision is to unite patrons over craft Vietnamese noodle soups and sandwiches with the goal of donating to a local organization every week.”

CHICKEN: Fritzi Coop

Fritzi Coop is the brainchild of Redbird’s award-winning executive chef, Neal Fraser. Located in the DTLA Arts District and the Original Farmer’s Market, Fritzi Coop serves brined chicken fried or grilled to perfection. Choose from sandwiches, wings, bites or salads served with sides like curly fries, tater tots, crispy brussel sprouts, sweet curried carrots or Southern style coleslaw.

ICE CREAM: Long Beach Creamery

SteelCraft searched all over Southern California and beyond for the best small batch ice cream and found it a few blocks from SteelCraft Long Beach. Owner Dina Amadril is endlessly creative in her ice cream flavors and seeks inspiration from the local flavors around her like using organic fresh rosemary from Farm Lot 59 or using Ten Mile Brewing’s stouts to create beer floats. Some of Long Beach Creamery’s most popular flavors include: burnt caramel, cashew fennel chip, whiskey vanilla and key lime pie. SteelCraft Bellflower will be Long Beach Creamery’s third brick-and-mortar location.

Not only is Bellflower a City with a rich dairy history, Bellflower is a particularly special place to Amadril on a personal level. “This is a double whammy for Long Beach Creamery! We are beyond excited to join the SteelCraft Bellflower family and to be in the city where I was born and where my parents were Bellflower High School sweethearts,” shares Amadril. “To be a part of revitalizing a place I love with a group of amazing artisans is a great honor.” 

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SteelCraft is in conversations with potential food concepts for the last container and is even taking recommendations from the Bellflower community.

“We want to get it right,” said Gros.

Howard CDM and SteelCraft are finalizing the design with Studio One Eleven and Turpin Design Group to bring the 12,500 SF development to life. The development will include 14 containers and approximately 400 seats, nearly twice the footprint of SteelCraft Long Beach.

“We always want SteelCraft to be a welcoming space for families, business meetings, students, and the community which is why we’re adding dedicated spaces for kids to play, a larger stage for live entertainment, and more unique seating options for people to gather,” said Martin Howard, president and CEO of Howard CDM.

Howard continues, “We have even designed a wooden barn-like shade structure that keeps the open air feel of Long Beach but provides protection from rain and sun. The wooden structure is a homage to Bellflower’s rich farming and dairy roots.”

Like SteelCraft Long Beach, the design will also include murals by local artists, movie screenings, pop-up shops, and community-based events.

With regular programming, easy accessibility via the 91 and 605 freeways, and over 700 free city parking stalls within steps of the development, SteelCraft Bellflower hopes to draw patrons from Bellflower and surrounding areas such as Lakewood, Cerritos, Norwalk, and even Greater Los Angeles and Orange County.

ABOUT STEELCRAFT

SteelCraft is an outdoor urban eatery based in Long Beach, CA with new locations scheduled to open in Garden Grove and Bellflower later this year. Built with repurposed shipping containers, SteelCraft goes beyond placing a few shipping containers on a plot of land. We strive to become part of the DNA of the community. Through outreach, live music, and community events, engaging our neighbors is how we come together to celebrate the culinary experience.

www.steelcraftlb.com  ·  Instagram: @steelcraft

ABOUT HOWARD CDM

Howard CDM is a commercial general contractor and developer headquartered in Long Beach, CA. Howard CDM specializes in the construction, development and management of hospitality, retail and commercial projects in Southern California and nationwide. Howard CDM is the builder, developer and managing partner of SteelCraft.

www.howardcdm.com  ·  Instagram: @howard_cdm

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