Food Court Royalty in the Valley, B.J. Novak’s Chain Moves Into Westfield Topanga
The actor’s pop cuisine company opened its first long-term residency, a six-month run inside Topanga Social in Canoga Park.
The mall food court got its close-up on September 2, when Chain, the pop cuisine company founded by B.J. Novak, opened inside Topanga Social, the food hall at Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park. The run is set for six months, and it is the first long-term residency in the brand’s history.
Chain started in 2021 as a pop-up in a West Hollywood parking lot, reworking chain restaurant menus with fine dining technique. Novak, the actor, writer and producer known for NBC’s The Office, founded it with Nicholas Kraft, Jack Davis, Byron Ashley, Abe Burns and chef Tim Hollingsworth, and Studio Ramsay Global backs the company. Along the way it has staged ChainFest and served dishes at HBO’s 2024 Emmy party.
The malls were always part of the nostalgia. “The same way people have a deep down primal love for the chains of our childhoods, we feel that way about the malls that have always featured them. We love malls and we love chains,” Novak said.
Four chefs write the menu. Roy Choi turns the mall’s old toothpick teriyaki samples into a Charred Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, Calvin Eng of Brooklyn’s Bonnie’s makes a Crispy Cantonese Fishwich, Mason Hereford of New Orleans’ Turkey and the Wolf builds a Spicy Chicken Chainwich, and Mei Lin of 88 Club and Daybird wraps a Mapo Wagyu Cruncho Perfecto in a pan-fried flour tortilla. “I grew up going to the mall, eating at the mall, and even working at the mall,” Choi said in a statement.
General Mills supplies the sweet side, with a Lucky Charms Taco Frío, a Honey Nut Cheerios Matcha Cloud, Reese’s Puffs Churros and a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Tiramisu. A Cheez-It Court stall, the residency’s first brand partner, served a cinnamon roll, a Wagyu hot dog and a cheesesteak through September 30. Westfield Topanga sits at 6600 Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
