If there's one thing the chef Wolfgang Puck and his first restaurant, Spago, can both boast, it's experience. Puck's storied institution of Californian cuisine, which turned 30 last month, still attracts fans old and new, and stacks up industry accolades. And Puck, after an impressive 49 years in the business, loves keeping his professional plate full. Recently, he opened another fine dining hot spot in the sleekly renovated Hotel Bel-Air. Recently, the James Beard Foundation announced that he'd be this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Currently, the celebrated chef is gearing up to feed hungry stars on Oscar night at the Governors Ball. With Spago's unwavering popularity and Puck's packed work schedule, many are scratching their heads: why has the industry veteran decided to close Spago's doors this summer for a makeover? "I've always believed change is good," Puck said while sipping a glass of Champagne at the Hotel Bel-Air's lobby lounge. And the truth is, Spago needs an update. Because it gets so much traffic and is my flagship restaurant, it needs to be in top shape, like my newer places. You know how hotels change things every 10 or 15 years, so nothing gets old? Restaurants are the same way. Aware that certain dishes in Spago's current lineup are deemed by many as Californian classics (goat cheese and beets, anyone?), Puck says of the menu revamp: "Maybe I'll leave a few dishes of the past, so as not to upset my old customers. But really, I want to do something new. He continues, "California cuisine has been stagnant for a while. I feel like so many chefs have been doing the same thing. For the revised menu, I still want to reflect California, of course, but in a lighter style. This means setting meat aside and gathering inspiration from the garden and letting vegetables play a starring role. While he's already famed for sourcing local ingredients, he'll push the ubiquitous farm-to-table concept further: "I want to be even more market-driven than we are now. I want to use the ingredients we get that very day and change the menu frequently, maybe even daily, based on what we receive. I'd like to surprise my guests every time they visit Spago. The designer Waldo Fernandez, a longtime friend of Puck's, is collaborating closely with him on the redesign of the space. Like the menu, certain elements of Spago will remain intact but get cosmetically refreshed. The open kitchen (which spawned countless others) and dining areas will incorporate more natural elements: "Think stone, wood and linen," Puck says. I want everything to feel organic. Patrons will be able to enjoy the beloved patio year-round - come rain or shine - after re-landscaping and the addition of a modern roof system, fireplace and oversize lanterns. Puck, a wine aficionado, is also eager to showcase Spago's impressive collection (for which the restaurant earned the Wine Spectator Grand Award) with the possible addition of a wine room near the entrance. In all, his goal is to recreate "a quintessential-looking L.A. restaurant. Modern and clean, with good art. And speaking of art, a striking addition to the main dining area will be an enormous, impossible-to-miss Robert Rauschenberg painting, a gift to Puck back in 1989. With Spago's reopening scheduled for September, we're already dreaming of fall.