The city of Santa Monica is searching for a cafe operator to run the historic Camera Obscura Building on Ocean Avenue, opening a competition that will help shape the future of a coastal landmark set to double as Switzerland's official hospitality house during the 2028 Olympics.
The city released a request for proposals Aug. 20 seeking qualified cafe operators, hospitality professionals and food-and-beverage concessionaires to program and operate up to 2,000 square feet of cafe and warming-kitchen space inside the building at 1450 Ocean Ave. Proposals are due Oct. 1.
The cafe is one piece of a broader renovation that will add about 2,000 square feet of exhibition space, programmed by the city's Cultural Affairs Division, along with a new outdoor deck and wraparound patio overlooking Palisades Park and Santa Monica Beach.
"This Request for Proposals (RFP) is intended to identify and select an experienced operator, obtain market feedback, and inform the City's final operating model and interior design," the document states.
City officials are keeping the terms flexible. The RFP says the lease term and financial structure are negotiable, inviting bids from short-term operators for a year or less, long-term operators for three to five years with possible extensions, or a hybrid arrangement that would run through the Olympics before transitioning into a longer partnership. Operators are asked to propose base rent, percentage rent tied to gross receipts, capital investments and equipment contributions.
The search is part of the Parks and Recreation Department's 2025 Vision Plan, which calls for activating parks and public spaces with high-quality concessions and programming. Once renovated, the facility is expected to include a cafe with indoor seating, the outdoor deck and patio, a warming kitchen, flexible event and gathering areas, and community meeting and cultural programming space.
Renovations are expected to be finished, with the building ready for operations, in summer 2027. The city says it intends to run the site year-round after the Games as an active community destination with cultural programming, community events and private rentals.
For roughly three months, though, the building will belong to Switzerland. From about June through September 2028, the Camera Obscura will serve as the country's official hospitality, cultural, media and event venue during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which Los Angeles will host.
The arrangement stems from a license agreement the Santa Monica City Council approved in May with Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Under the deal, Switzerland is paying a base license fee of $300,000, with an option to pay an additional $200,000 to expand into adjacent areas of Palisades Park. The Swiss government, which decided in October 2025 to mount a presence at the Los Angeles Games, has budgeted roughly 5.5 million Swiss francs — about $6.9 million — for its overall Olympic showing.
Switzerland has staged a public "House of Switzerland" at every Olympics since the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, using the venues to showcase Swiss food, culture, business and innovation and to celebrate its medalists. Unlike many national hospitality houses, it is typically open to the general public.
City leaders have cast the Swiss partnership as a way to finally reopen a building that has largely sat idle. "We're using the partnership with the Swiss Federation to build out an actual park concession so that hopefully maybe even next year we could open it as a park concession so people can get a drink or a quick bite to eat," Assistant City Manager Susan Cline told the council, describing a goal of providing "moments of respite in our parks."
The Camera Obscura has been a Santa Monica curiosity for more than a century. The optical device — a darkened room that projects a live image of the surrounding park and shoreline through a lens — dates to the late 1890s, when it operated as a beachfront novelty. It has been housed since 1955 in the current mid-century modern building, which later served as a senior recreation center and, more recently, the Camera Obscura Art Lab. The device has been closed to the public since 2020.
The city held an optional open house at the site Tuesday. Questions about the RFP are due Thursday and must be emailed to econdev@santamonica.gov, with answers to be posted Monday. Proposals are due Oct. 1, and an initial review of applications is tentatively set for Oct. 5, after which the city may conduct interviews before selecting an operator and negotiating a final lease.