Mark Cuban and Andrew Friedman are backing Pawn Shop, a high-end sports bar in Los Angeles that previously operated as a pawn shop since the 1930s. Spanning 8,500 square feet, it features over 60 TVs and serves gourmet food like wagyu hot dogs and charbroiled oysters alongside typical sports bar fare. Notable investors include Mookie Betts with his tequila brand and Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila. The establishment has become a hangout for athletes and celebrities, including Chandler Parsons and Rich Eisen.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Apparently, Mark Cuban and Andrew Friedman weren’t content conquering professional sports.
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Cuban → conquer → sports
Now they’re coming for your neighborhood sports bar.
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they → come → bar
Tucked inside a sprawling 8,500-square-foot former pawn shop that dates back to the 1930s, L.A.’s newest reinvention on sports, luxury, and fine dining is born.
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reinvention → tuck → sports
Located on the corner of Melrose and Cahuenga sits Pawn Shop, a new restaurant and sports bar that features more than 60 televisions, two enormous media walls, private suites, and high-end cocktails galore.
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that → locate → televisions
It’s led by founder and CEO Diego Torres-Palma and James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Messina.
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It → lead → Palma
Together they’ve made the standard sports bar menu of chicken wings, nachos and mozzarella sticks look insulting by comparison.
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menu → make → comparison
A housemade wagyu hot dog, beef tallow fries, chicken liver mousse, caviar and charbroiled Maine oysters are just some of the menu’s highlights.
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dog → charbroile → highlights
But the most interesting thing about Pawn Shop isn’t what’s on the walls or plates.
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what → ’ → walls
It’s who is behind it.
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who → ’ → it
The list of names interested in either investing or being a part of the business is longer than a CVS receipt.
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list → interest → receipt
“We literally traded emails when Aaron announced he was coming back,” Torres-Palma said.
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Palma → trade → emails
Donald isn’t the only Dodgers-or-Rams-adjacent star circling the new sports bar.
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Donald → circle → bar
Dodgers’ shortstop Mookie Betts met with the company and will now feature his Tequila Providencia behind the bar.
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Betts → meet → bar
Torres-Palma said Providencia’s CEO Rodd Rafieha’s tequila impressed his beverage team enough to earn a place in the well.
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tequila → say → well
Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila also wanted in on the fun.
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Tequila → want → fun
“We’re excited to have 818 Tequila featured at Pawn Shop LA,” said Lanay Jacobs, President of 818 Tequila.
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Jacobs → ’re → Tequila
“It’s a lively destination that brings together sports, cocktails, and community in a way our audience will love.”
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audience → ’ → way
Torres-Palma has other meetings set up with L.A. superstar athletes as well.
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Palma → have → athletes
That collection of names helps explain why Pawn Shop has quickly become less a sports bar and more a hangout spot for athletes and celebrities alike.
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Shop → help → athletes
Former NBA player Chandler Parsons, now the co-host of the online show “Run It Back,” makes a point to stop by at least once a week.
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Parsons → run → point
“Pawn Shop is exactly what LA needed,” he said.
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he → need → what
“Great food, great energy, amazing people, and a genuine love for sports that you can feel when you walk in.”
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you → feel → that
Sportscaster and radio host Rich Eisen recently held his fantasy football draft there.
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Eisen → hold → draft
The entire LAFC team did the same.
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team → do → same
Actor Anthony Ramos has stopped by several times.
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Ramos → stop → ?
Several entertainment executives have used the space, while nearby Paramount staffers have turned its private upstairs suites into off-site work rooms.
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staffers → use → rooms
Cuban recently visited with his son and was in awe.
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Cuban → visit → awe
“Of all the investors, Mark is probably the one that I communicate with the most,” Torres-Palma said.
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Palma → communicate → that
“He’s so pumped.
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He → ’ → ?
It arrived during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, instantly giving an unknown sports bar the kind of crowds and atmosphere most restaurants spend years trying to manufacture.
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restaurants → arrive → years
Torres-Palma compares those first weeks to hosting a wedding every few days: hundreds of customers arriving together, watching the same event and wanting food and drinks at virtually the same moment.
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hundreds → compare → moment
The peak came during Mexico’s wild Round of 16 match against England.
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peak → come → England
“I’ll never forget the roars in here,” Torres-Palma said.
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Palma → forget → roars
“That feeling is why you build these things.
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you → build → things
It’s such a crazy, loud, energetic feeling that everybody experiences at the same time.”
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everybody → ’ → time
He even has a phrase for it: “monetizing moments.”
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He → have → it
It sounds cold until you stand inside a room filled with hundreds of strangers collectively losing their minds over a goal.
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you → sound → goal
When fans of El Tri or the Three Lions look back on that historic match, they’ll remember being at Pawn Shop and sharing a memory they’ll never forget with others.
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they → look → others
That’s what “monetizing moments” is all about.
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moments → ’ → what
It’s also a pretty good description of the entire sports business.
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It → ’ → business
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
