Newport Beach’s Pricey Rex Shuts Its Doors; Schwarzenegger’s Schatzie’s Ready to Open

We can’t keep caviar in stock. We have to order it daily. And we’re ordering more and more. And that’s Beluga at $70 an ounce. Not to mention the vintage Champagne. Or the live Maine lobster at $45 a crack.

--Rex Chandler, October, 1990

It’s been only 13 months since Rex Chandler brought his beachside restaurant to Fashion Island in Newport Beach at the request of billionaire Donald Bren. The pricey Art Deco-style restaurant was crammed with splashy art, a black granite dance floor, velvet drapes, etched glass, elegant wood and some of the best-dressed patrons (and waiters) in town. So the restaurant’s closing last week, after such a brief run, came as quite a surprise.

Rex Restaurant, not to be confused with the other Art Deco-style restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, Mauro Vicente’s Rex Il Ristorante, opened at a time when other businesses were beginning to tighten their belts. “People are coming in here and thanking me,” Chandler said at the time the restaurant opened. “They say they finally have a place to go where they can dress up, dine and dance.”

What happened? Chandler would not return calls and Joe Archer, administrative assistant for the restaurant, would not offer a reason for the restaurant’s demise. “It is just kind of crazy here right now,” he said. Chandler still owns the original Rex Restaurant, now renamed 21 Ocean Front, on the Newport Beach pier. According to a spokeswoman, 21 Ocean Front will remain open.

STAY HUNGRY: Maria has the silver pattern picked out, Arnold has selected the chef, the city has granted the permits. And after a little practice--say a few weeks of private dinners for Schwarzenegger’s buddies--the Santa Monica restaurant will open at last. “We will accept reservations in about two weeks,” says a spokesman for the restaurant. For reservations at Schatzie’s on Main, call (310) 399-4800.

CHP ALERT: Oysters on the half shell, for free? Yes, and chicken ravioli, assorted pates and cheeses too. It’s the cocktail hour at the Seventh Street Bistro, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. “Think about being stuck on the freeway going home after work,” says Bistro owner, Laurent Quenioux. “Our cocktail hour is the perfect solution. We have one of the largest selections of wines by the glass, mineral waters, and imported and domestic beers in downtown Los Angeles. You won’t be burning all that gas . . . and you will be thinking of our environment too.”

HERE TODAY, HERE TOMORROW: Last October, Lawry’s Foods announced that its 30-year-old, Los Angeles-based California Center would close January 3, 1992. Now it seems Lawry’s has reconsidered. Luncheon service will continue, the retail store will remain open--and Lawry’s will ponder the offers of several buyers. The center is closed for dinner and tours.

NO ILL FEELINGS: Remember one-time Noa Noa chef Ralf Marhencke? Last month Kenji Seki, former co-owner of the restaurant, assured The Times that Marhencke had left Noa Noa for “health reasons.” Well, Marhencke just called with a different version. “I started getting all these calls from people I haven’t heard from for years, asking me how I was feeling. I never quit Noa Noa because of ill health,” he says. “The only thing I was sick of was Noa Noa.” Marhencke’s in such good shape that he’ll be the opening chef at Tryst, the La Cienega tapas restaurant that Princess Stephanie’s former beau, Mario Oliver, plans to open.

THE FAT LADY ISN’T SINGING: The property and the liquor license may have been sold, but Fennel is still in business. A new space for the French bistro has been found, but the restaurant will remain open at its Ocean Avenue location in Santa Monica until the deal is completed. Watch this space for further details.

THE OTHER WOMAN: In December, Michel Richard of Citrus in Los Angeles told The Times that France’s three-star chef Roger Verge would be guest chef at his restaurant Feb. 13-22, and that Verge would also prepare dinner at Richard’s Santa Barbara Citronelle Restaurant on Feb. 10. This week, a letter from Karen Murphy of Murphy O’Brien PR informs The Times that Verge wanted us to “know that he is returning to the United States and has chosen the desert as the exclusive location in which to showcase the variety of culinary traditions he expresses so well.” That exclusive engagement takes place at the Stouffer Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, Feb. 7-9.

STOCK POT: Tra Fiori in Pasadena now offers free local delivery between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Pizzas, pastas and salads are featured on the new take-out menu. . . . Remember Romeo and Juliet, the Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills? The shuttered restaurant will open in late February as the new 435 North, an American/Continental restaurant. . . . Beginning Monday and continuing each Monday between 7 p.m. and midnight, you’ll find big band music at the Moonlight Tango Cafe in Sherman Oaks. The 18-piece Hollywood All-Star Big Band will perform the arrangements of swing-era greats such as Harry James, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Woody Herman. There’s an $8 admission charge, plus a $9.95 food and/or beverage minimum.