944 shuts down

another one bites the dust. sad to lose 944...

By Chris Mohney at BlackBook June 01, 2011

Print media! Who needs it! Well, there's one less rag to kick around now, as 944 Media will apparently be shutting down 944 Magazine as of the June issue. 944 filed for Chapter 11 last year, and in February of 2011 was acquired by Sandow Media. The troubled 944 had rapidly expanded over the last several years into a multi-edition urban lifestyle stroke book with plenty of celeb tie-ins. Unfortunately, one of those tie-ins contributed to the mag's demise, as a botched Super Bowl party led to messy legal and financial woes.

Regardless, 944 is just one of several lifestyle/design acquisitions from Sandow, which has been snapping up various fire-sale media entities for awhile now (Surface mag, Gen Art, and even Furniture Today, among others). 944 might have just become encumbered with too many alabtrosses to make for a viable relaunch. UPDATE: Looks like the Las Vegas incarnation of 944 will survive in some form.

BlackBook Mag reviews Culinary Sound

Huntington Beach Nightlife Goes Upscale with ‘Culinary Sound' by Charlie Amter.

Huntington Beach, just south of Los Angeles, is known for its infamous pick-up scene at bars such as Sharkeez, but it’s less well known for upscale lounges, though the city has a few. Joie De Vivre’s new-ish Shorebreak Hotel has been slowly winning over skeptical Orange County residents with a low-key yet posh lounge attached to its restaurant, Zimzala. This spring, the hotel is raising the game on its second floor destination with a new series of events dubbed Culinary Sound, aimed at a demographic hungry for upscale food and nightlife that transcends the bimbo-and-himbo scene found just blocks away on Main Street.

Every other Wednesday night (the next event is March 23), Zimzala morphs into a no-cover DJ-driven lounge with Wally Callerio spinning smart house music. But the best part of the party might be the pop-up shop, which features a diverse group of clothing designers and boutiques with everything from t-shirts, sweaters, and dresses to aromatherapy candles.

So does Culinary Sound portend a shift in Huntington Beach nightlife towards upmarket mingling and away from $3 shot specials at frat-rock dives? It’s too soon to tell, but this spring, Orange County residents seem happy to explore a new after-dark option in a city lacking in casual settings to drink, shop, and socialize all at once.

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