Farewell party Sunday afternoon

By Kerry Slater

After 40 years on the Venice Boardwalk, beloved restaurant Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom is closing.

“I have loved the freedom that Venice has given me to express my various sausage fantasias,” Jordan (Jody) Monkarsh said in a statement.

A boardwalk fixture located at 2011 Ocean Front Walk, the restaurant will close on December 16 with a farewell party to be held on December 15 from 2-6 p.m. celebrating the closing of Jody Maroni’s with food, drink, laughs and love.

Jordan Monkarsh, the son of a Studio City butcher, studied English at UC Berkeley while working in the gourmet food industry. In 1979, Monkarsh returned to Los Angeles and began to sell sausages on improvised carts, before opening Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom on the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The restaurant was a hit and soon Monkarsh expanded, opening storefronts across the country and operating locations in some of Los Angeles’ most famous landmarks including Dodger Stadium, Staples Center and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition, Monkarsh launched a wholesale sausage business, which the family will continue to operate.

Jordan Monkarsh

The family, who lived above the Venice restaurant for years, says that they are nothing but grateful for the Venice community.

“We have spent the last few years navigating the transforming terrain of Venice – knowing that this chapter in our family’s story would soon conclude. We end this chapter with nothing but gratitude for our family, our greater Venice community, and whatever the future has in store. We are lucky to have been able to have our story woven into the fabric of this metropolis – here at the edge where dreamers thrive,” reads a statement. “In our name, we ask that you hire local, feed locals, be locals. We have nothing but gratitude for our customers, who have come back decade after decade – and watched this neighborhood evolve with us.”