Willow Springs Modernizes 1953 Track as Focacceria and Met Gala Debut

Historic motorsport preservation in Southern California, artisanal Italian bakery expansion, and museum fashion curation are shaping cultural destinations across the West and nationally. In California's Antelope Valley north of Lancaster near Rosamond, Willow Springs Raceway is undergoing a multi-year modernization and safety overhaul while preserving the original 2.5-mile, 9-turn Big Willow road course layout unchanged since 1953.

Purchased from the Huth family—who owned the facility since 1962—by a joint venture of CrossHarbor Capital Partners (co-founded by managing partner Sam Byrne) and Singer Vehicle Design, with Rick Fedrizzi and Speedway Motorsports Inc. assuming day-to-day operations in spring 2025, the raceway has added new fire-response trucks, fresh asphalt, tire barriers, and expanded runoff areas across Streets of Willow and the kart track. Alongside construction of trackside garages and condominiums, Kai Lerman and Summit Speed Events renovated the track diner with an upgraded menu and hosted the sold-out Willow Springs Reimagined Day on October 17, drawing 5,000 ticket holders.

In culinary craftsmanship, Robb and Ashley Hammond are expanding their viral downtown Phoenix restaurant First & Last into First & Last Focacceria & Market inside the 1925 Gold Spot Building (which turned 100 years old in 2025 and housed Gordon's Grocery for nearly 4 decades starting in 1948). Opened in 2022 before launching a September 2024 lunch menu that beat sales projections by 40% and doubling volume within 48 hours of a review of its Little Jerry sandwich by Matt James, the restaurant previously converted its basement bar, Little Debbie's, into a micro focaccia factory baking focaccia, sourdough, and semolina bastoni. By absorbing an adjacent yoga studio, the Hammonds are expanding their 60-square-foot patio to 1,000 square feet with seating for 50 diners, dog-friendly areas, planters, umbrellas, and misters by late December or January ahead of full market completion in April or May of spring 2027—joining a downtown dining district that Downtown Phoenix Inc. counts at more than 250 restaurants and bars (80% locally owned, with 185 net new venues since 2008 and a residential population of 25,118, up from 9,051 in 2000).

On the museum calendar, Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute announced Thursday that the 2027 Met Gala theme will be 'extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday'. Held on the first Monday of May and chaired by Condé Nast Chief Content Officer Anna Wintour with curation by Andrew Bolton, the exhibition celebrates everyday garments such as T-shirts, jeans, and puffer jackets, replacing a canceled John Galliano exhibition dropped in August following backlash over Galliano's 2011 Paris conviction and $8,400 suspended fine.