
Curtis Stone gives a tour of Four Stones Farm
With a vineyard, a customized barbecue station and 55 acres to plant, produce and roam, celebrity chef Curtis Stone's Agoura Hills farm is giving the Australian entrepreneur new ways to grow his culinary reach. In advance of The Los Angeles Times' 2nd annual Great Australian Bite event, to be held at Four Stones Farm on May 31, the L.A. Times toured the facilities to see just how the production studio and fledgling winery works.

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Last minute data disappointment lowers GDP growth hopes
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Yahoo
an hour ago
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For Sale: Byron Allen Puts Investment Bank In Charge Of Selling Television Stations
Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen is making moves to sell several owned television stations and has hired a high-quality investment firm to take the lead, The Los Angeles Times reported. Allen, the company's chairman and CEO, enlisted the help of Moelis & Co. to assist in the sale of his network-affiliate television stations after spending over $1 billion to grab outlets in smaller markets. In an announcement made June 2, Allen said the move is due to the company's desire to pay down debt. 'We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations, and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment,' Allen said. 'We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt.' With nearly two dozen stations under its belt, including some in Northern California; Honolulu; Flint, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; and Tupelo, Mississippi, the media group has spent years — and significant funds — on station purchases to become the largest independent television operator in the country. Several of Allen's stations have proven their worth by featuring programming from one of the four major broadcasting networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. However, there has been some downfall in their endeavors. In 2024, the company implemented several layoffs as part of its company-wide growth strategy. As layoffs occurred at the Weather Channel, Entertainment Studios, and its HBCU Go Series, that wasn't the first time. Before that, Allen Media Group downsized to 'be more efficient.' According to CNBC, the media company has struggled financially for a while. It was reported that Allen Media Group had been late with their payments, worth tens of millions of dollars, to network owners, past the net 90-day due date. The reasons for the late payments were unclear. In early 2025, the company refinanced a $100 million debt facility. S&P Global Ratings announced that the company must maintain a high level of liquidity over the next 12 months, but also noted that the company continues to hold a junk rating, with the risk of future debt. Financial struggles can also be attributed to the marketing challenges that television stations have experienced over the years. As media buyers shift their budgets to digital platforms to cater to younger audiences, the market for television advertising is strained by competing with streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. RELATED CONTENT: Caribbean Under Siege: Is Paradise Lost For American Tourists Amid Rising Violence?


Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
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Celebrity haunt that made ‘Chinese chicken salad a household name' to close this summer
One of L.A.'s most iconic Chinese American restaurants will close next month, ending nearly a half-century of Chinese chicken salads, dumplings and pan-fried noodles in West Hollywood's Sunset Plaza. The first location of Chin Chin — a decades-long celebrity haunt — will close on the Sunset Strip on July 27. Other locations will remain open. The West Hollywood originator helped proliferate Chinese American cuisine in Los Angeles since it debuted in 1983, when founder Bob Mandler introduced many Angelenos to dim sum and Cantonese specialties. A representative for the restaurant told the L.A. Times that while nearing the end of negotiations for that location's five-year lease, the building's landlord chose not to continue the arrangement. Chin Chin's owners hope to reopen elsewhere. 'At the last minute I think the landlord had a change in vision for the place, and as much as we wanted to be part of that, Chin Chin just wasn't part of their vision,' said David Choi, a partner in the restaurant. 'It was just a very sudden change, and so we were kind of left scrambling.' When reached by phone, a representative for Sunset Plaza said, 'Absolutely no comment.' It's the latest in a stretch of West Hollywood restaurants to close this year. The Den on Sunset, Rock & Reilly's and Le Petit Four — the latter of which also resided in Sunset Plaza — all shuttered in 2025. Choi said that First to Market Hospitality, which has operated Chin Chin for roughly a decade, is grateful for its years in Sunset Plaza. The local chain's remaining locations — in Studio City, Brentwood and Las Vegas — remain in operation. Through the years the casual-dining restaurant chain amassed a legion of notable fans, including Britney Spears, the Kardashians and Sean Hayes. The fandom is so fierce, Choi said, that when the restaurants temporarily switched ginger purveyors due to a supply shortage two years ago, customers instantly noticed a change in the signature Chinese chicken salad and cried out. Sweet-crunchy, crispy-wonton-laced Chinese chicken salad was most likely created by Madame Sylvia Wu at her Santa Monica restaurant Madame Wu's Garden, but a large share of the dish's popularity across L.A. in the 1980s and '90s can be credited to Chin Chin. 'Owner and founder Bob Mandler is the man responsible for making Chinese chicken salad a household name in Los Angeles County, the man who elevated the fine art of Chinese grazing to undreamed-of plateaus,' former L.A. Times restaurant critic Max Jacobson wrote in 1992. During the pandemic First to Market Hospitality tapped new culinary talent, including Rockey Dominguez and Maketto chef-owner Erik Bruner-Yang, who helped introduce new dishes and retool some of its older recipes — but some, including the most iconic, remain the same. The hospitality group plans to relocate some of West Hollywood's staff to its other restaurants, and launched a GoFundMe campaign for those who will need financial help after July's closure. But the Brentwood location has seen impacted sales due to the recent Palisades fire, Choi said, while Studio City's Chin Chin has suffered from the entertainment-industry strikes and continued production downturn. A sizable amount of Chin Chin's business comes from delivery orders, Choi said, but third-party apps take commissions of 20% to 30%; ordering directly from the restaurant, he said, would help their survival. Given the restaurant industry's financial precarity, Choi said the prospect of investing capital into a new Chin Chin outpost might not be prudent unless his team can find 'a sweetheart deal or a great location.' At the Sunset Plaza location, many guests are already trickling in to pay their respects since the closure announcement posted to Instagram on Friday. 'We've been around for 45 years and that's been incredible, and we couldn't have done it without our customers,' Choi said. 'It's been a very pleasant surprise that we've had so many people that felt so strongly and had so many memories with us.' Chin Chin is located in Sunset Plaza at 8618 W. Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood, and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.