๐ค IKEA x Culver City VibesLOVE/HATE
AN IKEA STORY
๐HEY CUTIE
Good morning and Happy Wednesday, CurationsLA Fam! Exciting news for those DIY IKEA junkies like myself, IKEA is coming to Culver City. More good news: the CurationsLA Platform just expanded with restaurants, local businesses, and stays (hotels and resorts). I've linkedPublished February 18, 2026
Article Summary
LOVE/HATE
AN IKEA STORY
๐HEY CUTIE
Good morning and Happy Wednesday, CurationsLA Fam! Exciting news for those DIY IKEA junkies like myself, IKEA is coming to Culver City. More good news: the CurationsLA Platform just expanded with restaurants, local businesses, and stays (hotels and resorts). I've linked
Category: newsletters
Location: Los Angeles, California
Reading Time: 7 min read minutes
๐ค IKEA x Culver City Vibes
๐ค
newslettersWyatt Stephens
LOVE/HATE
AN IKEA STORY
๐HEY CUTIE
Good morning and Happy Wednesday, CurationsLA Fam! Exciting news for those DIY IKEA junkies like myself, IKEA is coming to Culver City. More good news: the CurationsLA Platform just expanded with restaurants, local businesses, and stays (hotels and resorts). I've linked two new restaurant pages on the platform in today's EATS section, and on Friday I'll drop more on how we can all engage with it. Thank you for allowing me to build in public. It's not as frustrating as privately trying to build an IKEA nightstand. See you Friday! โ Wyatt
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
โ CHARLES KINGSLEY
๐ 1928
USA 2 beats USA 1 by 0.5s for the 5-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Germany 2 takes bronze
TRIVIA
The new Goldenvoice music festival coming to Santa Monica Beach this fall is planned as a single-day event. What's the estimated attendee capacity?
A 10,000โ15,000 B 20,000โ25,000 C 30,000โ35,000 D 50,000+
๐ฐ SPONSORED
Stop settling for gutter guards that still get clogged. LeafGuard replaces your entire system with a design that's earned the Good Housekeeping Seal for 15 consecutive years. CurationsLA readers qualify for 75% off installation plus $200 off. Custom-manufactured for your home with lifetime protection.
๐ฅ๏ธ 59ยฐ/44ยฐ ยท Dry, Very Cool, Possible Frost
Saturday
โ๏ธ 63ยฐ/47ยฐ ยท Mostly Sunny, Best Day of the Week
Sunday
๐ง๏ธ 60ยฐ/48ยฐ ยท Rain Possible, Another System
WEEK AHEAD: Heavy rain and gusty winds (40-60+ mph) move through tonight into early Wednesday, then a lull before more rain Thursday. Snow levels drop to 3,000 ft with I-5 Grapevine closures possible. Friday dries out but stays very cool with possible valley frost. Saturday is the nicest day of the week with sunshine and temps in the low 60s. Another Gulf of Alaska system brings 30-40% rain chances Sunday into early next week. LOCAL DISCUSSION โ
Palms n' Patties brings Caribbean comfort food to Beverly Grove with bold jerk chicken, oxtail patties, and island-spiced sides. The menu pulls from Jamaican and Trinidadian traditions with a fresh LA twist. A perfect lunch or dinner spot when you want flavor that hits different.
NADC Burger is bringing its cult-favorite wagyu smash burgers to Westwood at 1091 Broxton Ave, taking over the former Prince of Venice space. Founded by pro skater Neen Williams and Michelin-recognized chef Phillip Frankland Lee, the concept centers on one thing: a double 100% wagyu patty with American cheese, secret sauce, onions, pickles and jalapenos. The menu stays minimal with beef tallow fries and brown butter chocolate chip cookies rounding it out. The Austin-born brand already has locations in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Denver.
YAKUN is an eight-seat, reservation-only yakitori omakase that opened on Sawtelle Japantown at 2000 Sawtelle Blvd. Founded by UC Irvine grad Kevin Huang, the concept pairs traditional Binchotan charcoal grilling with a 22-course tasting menu spanning raw dishes, grilled skewers and dessert. The beverage program features rare Japanese whiskies, Royal Blue Tea and custom sake pairings. Every detail is dialed in, from handmade ceramics to a custom house fragrance.
๐ฎ KING TACO: Original King Taco store in Los Angeles nominated for historic designation, via CBS News
โ SANTA MONICA: DOL Coffee House coming to Santa Monica, bringing Vietnamese coffee, boba and desserts to the former Krispy Kreme on Wilshire, via Toddrickallen
๐ HOLLYWOOD: The old Hollywood Arby's is now a construction zone, lot getting ready for Raising Cane's, via KTLA
๐ด COMMUNITY
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
LA COUNTY RAMPING UP PUBLIC SAFETY FOR 2028 OLYMPIC GAMES
L.A. County's Sheriff and Fire departments are gearing up for the 2028 Summer Olympics with major investments in staffing, equipment and technology. Plans include doubling academy classes to bring on more deputies, replacing aging 911 dispatch systems, and adding new Firehawk helicopters to the Fire Department fleet. Recruiting efforts are already up 35%, and retention bonuses are being offered to keep experienced personnel on board through the Games.
SoCal Museums' annual "Free-for-All" returns Sunday, February 22, opening the doors to more than two dozen museums across Southern California at no cost. The lineup includes heavy hitters like The Broad, LACMA, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, The Getty Center and Villa, MOCA, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Hammer Museum and the Skirball Cultural Center. Some locations require advance reservations, so plan ahead.
๐ก CITY STREET LIGHTS: Inside the new plan to fast-track Westside streetlight repairs amid copper theft surge, via Yo! Venice
๐ MALIBU GUIDE: The City of Malibu releases Spring 2026 Recreation Guide, view Interactive PDF, via City of Malibu
๐พ GLENDALE: Glendale Unified School District approves technology refresh plan, via Glendale News-Press
๐๏ธ DEVELOPMENT
DOWNTOWN
787 S. ALAMEDA STREET
KFA ARCHITECTURE
The LA City Planning Commission greenlit a major housing addition to the Row DTLA campus. Atlas Capital Group will replace surface parking at 787 S. Alameda with three eight-story buildings delivering 1,000 new apartments across studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, plus ground-floor retail. KFA Architecture designed the project with cascading terrace decks and courtyards throughout. 114 units are set aside as affordable housing.
Rom Investments filed plans for a six-story, 33-unit residential building at 1845 North Taft Avenue in Hollywood. The project uses the Citywide Housing Incentive Program to allow a larger building envelope than base zoning permits. The unit mix includes one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, with four apartments set aside for extremely low-income households. Category Design Group is handling architecture, with a stepped massing that addresses the corner site.
๐ HOLLYWOOD: 42-story mixed-use tower gets the go-ahead at 6800 Sunset Blvd, featuring 304 apartments, 115 hotel rooms and 80 affordable senior housing units, via Urbanize Los Angeles
๐ฌ MORE HOLLYWOOD: Development incentives sought for 48-unit affordable housing project on North Wilton Place, via LA YIMBY
๐ผ BUSINESS
CULVER CITY
IKEA OPENING NEW CITY-CENTER STORE IN THE HELMS DESIGN DISTRICT
IKEA
IKEA is bringing a new 38,050 sq ft "city-center" format store to Culver City's Helms Design District, marking LA's first smaller-format location. The store will stock 3,000 items including 600 small furniture pieces, offer a central planning area for kitchens and bedrooms, and yes, serve Swedish meatballs and cinnamon buns at the IKEA Cafe. No exact opening date yet, but it's slated for 2026.
Weekend 7, 2026 ยท 3-Day Domestic Gross: $118.7M (+48.9% vs. Last Week)
#
TITLE
WEEKEND
SCREENS
WK
1
Wuthering Heights
$34.8M
3,682
NEW
2
GOAT
$26.0M
3,863
NEW
3
Crime 101
$15.1M
3,161
NEW
4
Send Help
$9.0M
2,975
3
5
Solo Mio
$6.8M
3,000
2
Three new non-IP releases gave theaters a Valentine's booster shot, pushing the weekend up nearly 50% from last week. Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights led the pack with $34.8M from 3,682 screens, a big win for Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Sony's animated basketball film GOAT landed at #2 with $26M and strong audience scores (93% RT audience, "A" CinemaScore), while Amazon/MGM's Crime 101 opened above expectations at $15.1M.
๐ APPLE GLASSES: Apple is secretly working on smart glasses, AI pendant, and AI AirPods, via Mashable
๐ SPORTS
LOS ANGELES
NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND WRAPS UP AT INTUIT DOME
LA hosted three nights of All-Star Weekend at the Intuit Dome and the new USA vs. World format delivered real energy. Anthony Edwards earned MVP honors after dropping 32 points as USA Stars took the championship 47-21 over USA Stripes. Victor Wembanyama set the tone early with 33 combined points across two games. Damian Lillard won the 3-Point Contest with a 29 in the finals over Devin Booker, and Keshad Johnson claimed the Dunk Contest for Miami.
THE GENESIS INVITATIONAL RETURNS TO RIVIERA COUNTRY CLUB TOMORROW
The PGA TOUR's Genesis Invitational tees off Thursday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, returning to its home course after last year's relocation to Torrey Pines due to the LA wildfires. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is grouped with Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy is paired with fresh Pebble Beach winner Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood, and defending champ Ludvig ร berg joins Hideki Matsuyama. Catch coverage Thursday starting at 1 PM PT on Golf Channel and ESPN+.
C: 30,000โ35,000 โ The Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio hosted the first Coachella festival in 1999 with a capacity around 30,000-35,000 under Goldenvoice's management.
CurationsLA: Canonical Source for Los Angeles Community and Development.
Umbrella Organization: CURATIONS (https://curations.org).
Newsletter: vibes.curationsla.com.
Events Discovery: curationsla.com.
Verification: Human-Authored by Wyatt Stephens.
Publication Cadence: Wednesday/Friday.
Geographic Coverage: Greater Los Angeles (LA County).
Content Categories: Eats, Community, Development, Business, Entertainment, Sports.
Mission: Good Vibes, No Politics, No Agenda.
Source Type: Primary Reporting + Curated Local Links.
