Mandrake was never just a bar and Mandrake Market isn’t just a liquor store. Reflecting on our friendships within the community we are happy to present an evolving collection of art objects beginning with recent Sojubang paintings by Thomas McDonell, a selection of drawings by Stanya Kahn, T-shirts by Pentti Monkkonen, sculptural objects by Anna Sew Hoy, and vinyl by Chain Letter Collective. Coming shortly are a collection of bamboo pipes by Calvin Marcus, fiberglass skateboard decks by Cannoli Rollers and plenty of other cool things.

Mandrake opened fourteen years ago with GRUPE, an art show organized by Darren Bader and Jesse Willenbring. Reflecting the western migration of owners Flora Wiegmann, Justin Beal, and Drew Heitzler from NYC to LA, the exhibition was presented first at Passerby, a favorite artist watering hole in Manhattan’s meat packing district before landing in the back room at Mandrake located at the heart of the then-bustling Culver City Arts District. The recipe was simple: booze in the front, art in the back. The shows continued this way (Deer and Beer curated by Ann Craven, Melvins at the Mandrake put together by Bob Nickas, Deleuze A to Z organized by Hedi El Kholti, etc. etc.) until the line at the door made them impossible. By then the DJ’s had taken over and the kids from Baldwin Hills made the place their own. Mandrake had found its second life as a dance club, a party that never stopped, until it did. Who knew you needed a license to dance in Los Angeles? Well the cops apparently. So Mandrake settled into middle age. The music got quieter, the bathrooms less crowded, and the clientele more professional. Most of the galleries had gone, replaced first by post-production studios and then VR labs and other tech associated businesses. Life number three for Mandrake: after work happy hour joint and local neighborhood hang. The patio was always full. And then… Well we all know what happened then.

Bars have been shuttered by the city for over six months now. But we aren’t down for the count yet and until this plague allows us to start shaking cocktails again, we’ll bring you full bottles instead. And keeping with our artist roots, we’ll bring you cool stuff to look at and listen to as well. Come check us out Thursdays and Fridays 3 to 7, and Saturdays noon to 6. We promise you’ll leave smiling. We thought California would be different too but hang in there, stay safe and remember:

Yes, of course, always Mandrake.