Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Little Sparrow

DTSA’s Little Sparrow cafe has closed for now and will become BlackBox

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Business, Food, Restaurants, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Do you remember the Little Sparrow cafe in DTSA?  They were opened just a few years ago in 2013, by Bruce Marsh and his wife, Naseem Aflakian, who live in Floral Park. At the time Marsh did not appear to have much experience in the restaurant business.

Apparently Marsh and his wife have closed the Little Sparrow and are going to keep it but change it to something they are calling BlackBox, according to their website.

Here are excerpts from the message Marsh posted on their website about their transition: Continue reading→

Mayor Pulido will honor the Little Sparrow Café at the next City Council meeting

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Entertainment, Miguel Pulido, Restaurants, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Little Sparrow window
City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: Mayor Pulido Honors the Highly Acclaimed Little Sparrow Café

Mayor Miguel Pulido will present the owners of the Little Sparrow Café with the Exceptional Service Award for their outstanding contributions to the City of Santa Ana at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting.

Armed with a dream to create a better food culture in Orange County, Bruce Marsh and his wife, Santa Ana native, Naseem Aflakian, partnered with Jenny Le to open the “Little Sparrow Cafe,” a French inspired bistro in Downtown Santa Ana in May 2013. Despite having no formal training in the restaurant business, they converted a vacant café space on Main and Third into an award winning culinary hotspot. Continue reading→

The Little Sparrow cuts back on hours and deals with health violations

Posted on by Posted in Public Safety, Restaurants, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Little Sparrow

When the owners of Downtown Santa Ana’s “The Little Sparrow” were begging the Santa Ana Planning Commission for a full alcohol license and extended hours of service they claimed to be very experience in operating restaurants, although that did not appear to the case.

Perhaps that suspected inexperience has caught up to them now as they have announced via a sign on their door that as of March 4, 2014 they are no longer serving breakfast and lunch, although they will continue to serve brunch on Sundays and will have dinner service from Tuesday – Saturday, from 5 pm to 12 midnight. Continue reading→

The Little Sparrow Cafe is now open for business in Downtown Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Restaurants, Santa Ana 4 Comments

The Little Sparrow is open

Downtown Santa Ana’s newest restaurant, the Little Sparrow Cafe, is now open for business, as of this Monday, May 13, 2013, for breakfast and lunch only, Mon-Fri, from 7am – 11am for breakfast and 11 am to 4 pm for lunch.  They are offering coffee, tea, baked goods, and simple egg dishes for breakfast, and hand-crafted original sandwiches and salads for lunch, for eat in or take-out.  They are located at 300 N. Main St., in Santa Ana.  You may call them at (714) 265-7640.

Next week, on Tuesday, May 21, they will start serving dinner as well and they will be opening up their bar. Dinner hours will be Tue-Sat, from 6pm – Midnight.  Dinner fare will be “California bistro,” serving refined dishes in a casual atmosphere. Reservations are suggested. Reservations Available Now. Continue reading→

The new Little Sparrow cafe wants to be a bar, but needs a permit

Posted on by Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Business, Restaurants, Santa Ana 14 Comments

Naseem Aflakian and Bruce Marsh of Santa Ana’s exclusive Floral Park neighborhood are looking to open an American Bistro called the “Little Sparrow,” that will “serve great bakery items for breakfast, crafted sandwiches for lunch, and candlelight dinners along with cocktails,” according to the Eat In OC Blog.

Aflakian and Marsh have raised over $25,000 for this venture via something called Kickstart, which appears to be an online funding mechanism.  You can click here to see who has invested in their restaurant. Continue reading→