After more than a year of renovations, Warehouse 72 Modern Bistro + Bar, the final piece of the Hyatt Regency Irvine hotel, opened on Aug. 15.
This location is the restaurant’s second, following its debut in Houston in 2019, and replaces the resort’s previous two dining tenants.
Founder Doug Pak is a longtime resident of Newport Beach, and Warehouse 72 marks his first restaurant opening in his home of Orange County.
Pak considers the Warehouse 72 concept “his proudest achievement” as it was the first restaurant brand he built “from scratch.” He also founded investment firm BLD Ventures in Costa Mesa in 2007 and owns and operates more than 70 Papa John’s pizza locations in three states via his franchise group Serazen.
The restaurant’s Executive Chef Jaime Salazar oversees the menu of both locations and brought some of the classic dishes from Houston to Irvine, such as his truffle angel hair pasta and bone marrow with a bourbon wash. Salazar plans to add a few more Southern California-suited items to the rotating menu now that the hotel location is open.
Pak aims to offer the 6,200-square-foot upscale restaurant as an additional events space for hotel guests and locals to book. The Hyatt Regency finished renovating its 56,000 square feet of meeting space late last year to hop back on the meetings market during its $55 million upgrade.
The American bistro sports a wraparound bar and offers both indoor and outdoor seating on the first floor of the Irvine hotel. The main room features a white interior with “natural” green touches from the seats to live plants.
Pak noted that the restaurant was waiting on final permits from the city to fully utilize the patio for events. Once fully opened, the space can host private parties of up to 300 guests, Pak said.
A notable piece of this Warehouse 72 location for Pak is a 30-foot LED screen that plays a curation of digital art for diners. The screen can be used for private events and bookings as well and comes with customizable music playlists.
As for the name of the restaurant, Pak said that the number 72 is known as an angelic number and fits into his themes of vitality, positivity and beauty. This leads to a menu of “clean” ingredients from local vendors and the digital art focus.
“It’s a product of my personal journey,” he said, noting he came up with the concept following “the darkest time of his life.”
“We’re just starting out, and we’re full of imperfections,” Pak told attendees during a pre-opening event. “But we’re on a journey to create something amazing here.”
