Chef and co-owner John Cleveland, who, with his wife Roni, took ownership of the restaurant in 2019, says the closing is bittersweet. “Post & Beam wasn’t put out of business,” says Cleveland. “The construction was long planned, and we were always kept in the loop. We’ll still have a presence in the neighborhood as it evolves.” He says the Harridge Development Group has been supportive since purchasing the property in 2021.
The Clevelands will continue to run dinner and weekend brunch service until the restaurant’s last day on February 27; they also plan to program community events like their longtime Black Pot Supper Club, a tasting menu dinner focused on the history of African-American foodways that will hold its last event in the space on February 17. Until its closure, Post & Beam will also host a ticketed buffet, social dating night, and a special menu for Valentine’s Day.
Post & Beam has long been a standout in Baldwin Hills, a historically Black neighborhood, where its options included vegan crab cakes made from hearts of palm, pizzas crisped in a wood-fired pizza oven, and roasted organic chicken. The side dishes were a nod to soul food classics, with greens, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, and some of the city’s best brunch biscuits.
Before they acquired the restaurant, the Clevelands were mentored by its original owner, Brad Johnson, and chef Govind Armstrong, the head of operations at Santa Monica’s the Lobster. In 2012, Johnson and Armstrong opened Post & Beam in the former longtime restaurant Golden Bird and provided something the area was lacking: a sit-down, full-service restaurant. The year it opened, former Los Angeles Times critic S. Irene Virbila gave it a positive review while the late Jonathan Gold added Post & Beam to his 101 Best Restaurants. Post & Beam was nominated as a James Beard Awards semi-finalist for Outstanding Restaurant in 2022.
During the pandemic, the Clevelands, like most restaurant owners, adjusted Post & Beam’s service to stay open. With an empty adjacent retail mall and mandatory shelter-at-home orders, attracting diners to come in was a challenge. The chef says having a cooperative landlord helped tremendously. “They were cooperative with us, especially at a time when landlords weren’t.”
Most of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza’s independent structures adjacent to the actual mall closed in recent years, including the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Kim Prince’s Hotville Chicken. The surrounding area will completely transform with the Plaza’s new face and Stocker Street Creative, a 256,700-square-foot development that will include a movie studio with four soundstages, next door to the Plaza’s forthcoming 900 apartments and condos, an office building, a hotel, and Costco. Many Crenshaw residents and activists oppose both developments, saying the ongoing gentrification could push longstanding residents out.
After the restaurant closes, the Clevelands will continue Post & Beam’s catering arm and offer delivery during construction. John Cleveland is quick to say that they are not leaving the neighborhood — and that he plans to partner with Armstrong again on his next venture.
“Owning Post & Beam has been a dream come true for me,” says Cleveland. “I came specifically to work under Armstrong and Johnson. Roni is from here. I wanted this neighborhood to be the foundation of my customer base and root myself in Baldwin Hills, and we’re grateful for their support.”
