River Wild Inc. is a community based
Design & Development enterprise

We started as a pop-up cafe on the LA River Bike Path in Frogtown

We are inspired by the Los Angeles River & the people who live nearby

We put on pop-up events to highlight the lack of amenities in underserved communities. This is our form of community & economic development

Commercial Projects

We love coffee and designing community spaces where people gather to meet in a post-pandemic Los Angeles. Cafes, bakeries and bodegas are our specialty. We've worked primarily in North East Los Angeles, but our reach extends to high desert enclaves, too. In addition to managing Design and Construction phases, we are especially proud of our work in attaining Health Department approvals during different phases of a venture. We can design, permit, construct and close out a punch-list on a project to help open a new business. We work with a team of engineers, consultants and contractors but can collaborate with client's architects and contractors, too.

Stone Cat Cafe

We have been hired by Red Car Properties to convert a utility room into a sidewalk cafe with counter service. It is adorned with a golden cat mural and will be topped by a stone cat sculpture designed by the Haas Brothers in the Dolls Kill complex at their Highland Park location. It will open in 2024

Cafe Sinizki

We collaborated with the chef/owner of Dune and Elf to design a new East European themed bar & restaurant during the CoVid pandemic and encountered a unconventional delivery. River Wild created the interior, did plan check expediting and is the project manager for . Currently being built by Barling Construction, we plan to open in Spring 2024. This all-day cafe has a full bar with outdoor seating and is located in the heart of Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village.

Bub & Grandma's Bakery

We enjoyed working with Andy Kadin on expanding his Frogtown bakery to accomodate the production of bread by adding an oven, flour lift and mixing room. The operation now maximizes the 2 story former sausage factory to allow for future growth.

Canyon Coffee Roasting

River Wild was hired to facilitate getting an 8,000 sf factory warehouse approved by the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. We consulted on food processing workflow teaming with both the Architect and head coffee roaster to create a future factory for this company making bold moves in the grocery and hospitality world

Kitchen Mouse

We had helped rebuild 2 coffee bars for Kitchen Mouse at their cafe and bakery locations. During CoVid we took on the conversion of a 60's donut shop into the third Kitchen Mouse location serving coffee & waffles. We translated their food program into a compact kitchen, drawing up plans, getting LADBS andHealth permits, then managing construction and equipment installations. Opened September 2023.

Cookbook

River Wild collaborated with Marta Teegen and Robert Stelzner on their second grocery store location in Highland Park. This was a full design and build to suit project, taking the former swap meet space from dirt floors to a sparkling store. We designed the front of house retail, a beverage bar and two commercial kitchens in the back of house and managed the delivery with Gardner Austin Construction.

man jumped on desert during daytime
man jumped on desert during daytime

Days of Heaven Cafe

We are design and permit consultants for the Owners of Wonderlake Coffee in Twentynine Palms CA. Adding a kitchen, developing a bar area and getting quality craft cocktail ice out to this desert outpost. Opening 2024

Dune Cafe

River Wild Inc. reworked the dining room of Dune's DTLA location. We used salvaged, old-growth redwood to re-organize their dining room. We have multiple seating arrangements, designed and built credenzas, benches and counters our of salvaged old-grown redwood gleaned from our Dad Pad project..Opened 2023

Go Get 'Em Tiger

We have advised and attained Health Department permits and licenses for Go Get Em Tiger's coffee roasting facility in Vernon. We've also been a kitchen consultant and Health Department liaison for future cafes. G&B has been a great client and we can relate to a brand that started as a pop-up.

Pulley Collective

River Wild worked with the Miersich family, a Brooklyn based coffee roasting co-op on their new facility in Vernon California. We provided architectural design, Health Department approvals, project & construction management. We continue to help in facility management at their 6,000 sf coffee roasting collective

Residential Projects

With experience in building multi-family apartments and retirement communities, we scaled down to focus on single family home development. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), Master Site Plans, additions and other creative remodels are what we like to do in residential design. Using our commercial kitchen space planning experience we can make a home kitchen into an efficient, multi-use gathering space for your home.

 The Dad Pad (ADU)

Originally conceived to house our aging parents, we loved the idea of transforming a 2 car garage into a ground floor Studio living space with an Exercise room on top. Now it does triple duty as a Pool Cabana, a guest house and a Party Pad.

Come visit our 1,000 SF, 2-story ADU designed & built in 2022.

 Boyce Avenue Kitchen

After many walks with our dogs, we offered our help in realizing our friends' vision for a new kitchen and workspace as they were tired of the kitchen they used for the last 24 years. We expanded the kitchen and rearranged key food prep centers to provide maximum storage opportunities. We collaborated well and had fun creating an entertaining gather space in this Atwater Village home.

Vincent Street Addition

This project we worked with a family of two chefs and guided them on their first remodel project. 1200sf 2-story addition. Currently it is a two-story addition to be sold with the house in 2024.

Armour Place Redux

Our friends approached us about their desire to re-think their entire house and site in the foothills of Glendale. We first studied the land, the contours and started sketching potential areas for re-development,, for added living space and explored new uses for the multi level back and side yards. This project is unfolding in Phases as we have outlined rough budgets and pulled bids for each Phase. Phase 1 was a dramatic kitchen remodel that turned a tiny galley kitchen into a family hub for gathering and celebrations.

Slow Growth Planning Advocates

Development PROJECTS

If can be useful to hav Land Use Letters to help guide families who want to redevelop their property   River Wild Inc. can help find the highest and best use of a property, usually focusing on adaptive re-use methods. We are good at identifying and narrowing the restraints of a site and discovering new opportunities for repositioning an asset. We have a solid team of consultants and engineers to assess buildings and develop pro-forma. Often we start with new owners while they are in escrow on a purchase. Other times we work with families that have owned a building for generations.

We are known for engaging well with community leaders, organizations and local government agencies with respect and rational thought. We believe development should add to a community fabric not detract from it.

Highland Park Icon

Glass LIONS

2024 Coming Soon!

Adaptive Re-use

The Angelus

We worked with the Harb Family and Utopiad Architects to conceive of a re-development plan for a 4,000 sf car showroom from the 1930's.  We divided the old Angelus Chevrolet high bay room into 4 retail shops with lofts and restrooms.  The corner location is perfect for a cafe and we did CUP entitlements and utility upgrades for the complex.  The building owner chose to act as the general contractor, thereby saving money but doubling the construction schedule. River Wild has also been involved in the curating of tenants and advising on TI projects.

Desert Bloom

Flamingo BLOSSOM

We were tapped by a development group to envision an Events center complex in a Qualified Opportunity Zone as a chance for investors to park money with tax-free  benefits. The building type was an airplane hangar to reflect the old rural setting in the desert north of Joshua Tree. We helped develop a marketing deck, plans, renderings and received a pre-development review from the County of San Bernardino. This project is currently in fundraising mode.

Arts District History

The MATEO

In this case, we were hired by Arroyo Hill Development to demonstrate to a building owner that their coffee bag warehouse had the potential for a creative office use that would get them Class A rent as opposed to storage rental rates.  We developed the concept, videos and 3D concepts to prove the redevelopment was viable and marketable.  Our concept worked to provide the lightest intervention on this historic structure. Structural upgrades occurred from within and as of 2022 it is fully occupied.

Collaborate with River Wild Inc.

Currently, we’re looking for partners on FOOD & BEVERAGE and Hospitality Design projects.

In addition to Design & Deelopment we do Health Department consulting, permit expediting, construction management. We hope to do more custom kitchen remodels and ADU's in 2024.

Damian is always up to talk shop over coffee.