A new restaurant and sports bar called Pawn Shop has opened at the corner of Melrose and Cahuenga in Los Angeles, occupying an 8,500-square-foot building that once housed a pawn shop dating to the 1930s. The venue combines fine dining with a sports-viewing setup, and it counts billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman among its investors.
Pawn Shop was founded by CEO Diego Torres-Palma along with James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Messina. The menu departs sharply from typical sports-bar fare, offering items such as a housemade wagyu hot dog, beef tallow fries, chicken liver mousse, caviar and charbroiled Maine oysters.
The space includes more than 60 televisions, two large media walls, and private suites. Torres-Palma said the team built a system that lets customers request specific games to be routed to nearby screens within seconds — whether that’s USC football, the Dodgers, Texas football or the U.S. Open. During NFL Sundays, the two central media walls can display different games simultaneously, splitting the room between rival fan bases.
“A lot of bars in L.A., we’re learning, don’t put the sound on,” Torres-Palma said. “We will fully lean in to actually having the sound on.”
A Growing List of Investors and Regulars
According to Torres-Palma, Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald has discussed investing in Pawn Shop alongside his wife, Erica. “We literally traded emails when Aaron announced he was coming back,” Torres-Palma said, referring to Donald’s return from retirement to the Rams.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts met with the company, and his Tequila Providencia is now featured behind the bar. Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila is also on the menu. “We’re excited to have 818 Tequila featured at Pawn Shop LA,” said Lanay Jacobs, president of 818 Tequila. “It’s a lively destination that brings together sports, cocktails, and community in a way our audience will love.”
Former NBA player Chandler Parsons, now co-host of the online show “Run It Back,” said he visits at least once a week. “Pawn Shop is exactly what LA needed,” Parsons said. “Great food, great energy, amazing people, and a genuine love for sports that you can feel when you walk in.”
Sportscaster Rich Eisen has held his fantasy football draft at the venue, and the entire LAFC team has done the same. Actor Anthony Ramos has stopped by multiple times, and staff from nearby Paramount have used the upstairs private suites as off-site workspaces.
Cuban visited recently with his son. “Of all the investors, Mark is probably the one that I communicate with the most,” Torres-Palma said. “He’s so pumped. Honestly, he’s probably been our top supporter.”
An Auspicious Opening
Pawn Shop opened during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, drawing large crowds from the outset. Torres-Palma compared the early weeks to hosting a wedding every few days, with hundreds of customers arriving at once to watch the same match.
He pointed to Mexico’s Round of 16 match against England as a high point. “I’ll never forget the roars in here,” Torres-Palma said. “That feeling is why you build these things. It’s such a crazy, loud, energetic feeling that everybody experiences at the same time.” He described the strategy as “monetizing moments.”
Whether that energy holds now that the World Cup has ended is an open question in a city where restaurants and sports bars routinely open to hype and later close. Torres-Palma sounded unconcerned. “When people say the restaurant business is brutal or very tough, I always ask them, ‘What’s an easy business so I can go do that?'” he said. Of competitors who might struggle, he added: “Let them quit. They should have never played the game.”
What’s Next
Pawn Shop is planning original digital programming pairing athletes with chef Messina, including segments where Messina recreates a player’s favorite childhood meal. “Sinatra Tuesdays,” featuring old-school Italian dinners with Hollywood-inspired programming, are coming, along with outdoor movie nights in October.
With the Super Bowl returning to Los Angeles in February, Torres-Palma said companies are already approaching Pawn Shop about buyouts, pregame parties and postgame events. He said a second location could open, or be close to opening, by next summer — most likely in Las Vegas.
“I just really want people to talk about Pawn Shop as a place where, like, ‘Oh, this crazy thing happened to me here,'” Torres-Palma said.
