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Campanile to close in November; Republique to open in spring

Walter Manzke prepares dishes in the open kitchen at Church & State.
(Jamie Rector / For The Times)
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After months of lease negotiations, storied Los Angeles restaurant Campanile is expected to close at the end of November after 23 years. Chef Mark Peel and then-wife Nancy Silverton opened the restaurant in 1989, setting the tone for farm-to-table dining in the ‘90s.

The owner of the iconic building, Larry Silverton (Peel’s former father-in-law), sealed a deal late Wednesday night with restaurateur Bill Chait and chef Walter Manzke, who will open a new-wave bistro called Republique in the spring.

Manzke and his wife, pastry chef Margarita, also plan to open a bakery-cafe in the storefront where Nancy Silverton founded La Brea Bakery, which is connected to Campanile. Manzke was formerly chef at four-star Bastide in West Hollywood and the uber-popular Church & State downtown, where his plans for Republique began to crystallize.

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“Church & State was an experiment for me. ... I had never worked in an open kitchen, never worked somewhere without tablecloths. I wanted to experience that,” he said. “It was the most exciting, energetic place I’d ever been. It’s still one of my favorite dining rooms in L.A.”

Manzke says he’s inspired by Paris’ “bistronomy,” young talented chefs serving polished, though somewhat less expensive food in more casual environments: “I love what’s happening in Paris. It’s where my head is at, not because it’s a trend -- it’s a movement. Out of necessity, it’s the future of the business. Great chefs are going to more casual spots, and it’s happening everywhere.”

Manzke has abandoned his attempt to open Republique at the Factory Place Arts Complex downtown. Last year, he announced he had signed a lease for the 8,000-square-foot space, but it never got off the ground. Factory Place developer Howard Klein didn’t return calls seeking comment.

Chait said changes to the Campanile space will include “revitalizing the original architecture,” including a more open kitchen with a wood-burning oven, a redo of the foyer with its vaulted ceilings and skylights, and a renovation of the back dining room to “deformalize” it.

During the day, Republique is to be very cafe-like. At night, the foyer and adjacent bakery are to have a bar/wine bar energy with communal seating, Chait and Manzke said.

The idea is to “step up the energy a bit,” Chait said.

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