Latest news with #Relan
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This downtown pizzeria from Issa Rae and partners comes with spritzes and classic funk
A new pizzeria from entertainment multihyphenate Issa Rae and her business partners is set to debut this weekend, bringing funk-inspired pizza to their popular cafe. By day, the downtown space will continue as Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen. At night, starting May 3, it flips to Downtown Dough, a pizza joint that specializes in a kind of California-meets-Neapolitan style, the crust leopard-spotted from a wood-fired brick oven. 'The daytime is really for the drip, and the nighttime is for the dough,' said co-owner Ajay Relan. Relan and business partner Yonnie Hagos launched Hilltop via their hospitality group, GVO, and quickly partnered with the 'Insecure' actor and producer, whose mission of creating inclusive spaces aligned with theirs. In the years since, the trio launched another four Hilltop locations, downtown rooftop bar Lost and a sleek restaurant, bar and jazz club called Somerville. 'We could not think of a better partner and ambassador for our mission,' said Relan, who added that Rae is 'very involved' in the restaurants' operations and menu planning. At Downtown Dough, the menu calls for almond wood sourced from Northern California, which is used at the wood-fired grill — for dishes such as chicken, branzino and steak — as well as in the pizza oven. Chef Geter Atienza (previously of Broken Spanish, Bouchon Bistro, the Fig) brushes his crust with garlic oil and sprinkles it with Parmesan and tops the pizzas with pepperoni, local honey and Fresno chiles; truffled fondue and farmers market cauliflower; bacon, Manila clams and caramelized onions; and more. There are pastas, Black Angus meatballs, salads and crispy calamari. Funk can be found in the restaurant's flavor — and in the air and on the walls. 'All of GVO's venues have a very music-first vibe curation, but funk is a genre that we had always enjoyed the most,' Relan said. 'It was just always the most fun, and [we're] marrying our love for pizza with the free and forward era of the '70s and the music that came along with it.' Artwork, color schemes and, of course, the playlist will all take their inspiration from funk. Expect to hear James Brown, Bootsy Collins, the Womacks, Sly and the Family Stone and other classics, plus newer acts inspired by those bands. Steen Bojsen Moller (also of Lost and Somerville) oversees the full bar, which focuses on spritzes — some of which are named for funk musicians, their albums and the movements they started. This particular Hilltop, which debuted in 2023, was intended to serve as a pop-up, but due to its popularity it became permanent. The 6,000-square-foot location accommodates nearly 200, including a 22-seat private dining room. In the evenings the trio previously used the open kitchen and ample space for catering and events but knew they wanted to open a full restaurant eventually. Rae, Hagos and Relan hope to serve the downtown community with a series of experiences: coffee by day at Hilltop, pizza and spritzes by evening at Downtown Dough, a nightcap and a taco at Lost's nearby rooftop — and more projects for Rae and GVO are already in the works. Downtown Dough launches May 3, and will open Wednesday to Sunday from 6 to 11 p.m. 718 S. Hill St., Los Angeles, One of the best wine shops in Long Beach recently expanded next door with a restaurant and wine bar. Last year, Alicia Kemper closed her cafe, Mangette, which she co-owned and sat next to her popular natural-wine shop, Buvons. Now, she's reimagining the Mangette space as an evening-only restaurant and wine bar that works in tandem with the bottle shop. Buvons Wine Bar + Restaurant offers a more extensive food menu than what was found at Mangette and in Buvons (which offers by-the-glass pours and snacks). It draws on weekly farmers market bounty and plays off the bottle shop's lengthy wine offerings. Both the food and wine menus rotate each month. Guests might find smoked-eel carbonara with dashi and a confit egg; duck confit with leek chutney; or house-made terrine. Sometimes the kitchen will be helmed by a guest chef; May features a menu by Côme Richard, who is visiting from Paris. Plates such as charcuterie and cheese boards can still be found in the bottle shop alongside wines by the glass, but more prepared dishes can only be found in the new wine bar and restaurant. The new wine bar and restaurant also features more seating areas than were available in Mangette, and hosts classes and events such as a monthly pasta workshop. Buvons Wine Bar is open Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m., while the adjacent bottle shop's hours are now Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. 1145 and 1147 Loma Ave., Long Beach, (562) 342-6557, A 'Top Chef' contestant with a range of Italian restaurants is branching out with his first taqueria. Via his hospitality group Memento Mori, chef Jackson Kalb operates Ospi in Venice and Brentwood, Jemma in Hollywood, Jame Enoteca and John Thomas Bar in El Segundo and the temporarily closed Jemma Pizzeria in the Palisades. He launched Jaime Taqueria, his newest restaurant and first foray into tacos, to bring some new flavor close to home. 'This isn't supposed to be inspired by any one regionality,' Kalb said, telling The Times that he lives in the area and wanted to open a cantina for the neighborhood. He tapped executive chef Marco Arreguin (Puesto, MXO) to lead the kitchen, and together they're serving large-format plates such as al pastor-inspired pork shank under pineapple glaze; starters such as guacamole topped with scallion and black garlic chile crunch; sides like brown-butter esquites; and tacos piled with beef cheek quesabirria, filet mignon, citrus-achiote chicken and mojo shrimp gobernador. Wash it down with margaritas, mezcal old-fashioneds, tequila flights, mocktails and more. Jaime Taqueria is open Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with brunch slated for the future. 450 Main St., El Segundo, (310) 648-8231, One of the country's most famous doughnut chains just launched a bright-pink outpost at the corner of Melrose and La Brea. Voodoo Doughnuts — which also operates a smaller location in Studio City's Universal CityWalk — can now be found slinging its signature bacon-topped maple bars along with classics, an array of vegan options, and seasonal specials such as cherry cola. The new Fairfax-neighborhood Voodoo Doughnut is open nearly 24 hours a day and features a larger menu than the shop in CityWalk. It also offers merch such as shirts, crewnecks, pink mugs and bags of coffee. A beachy location just under the famous Venice sign is also in the works. Melrose Avenue's Voodoo Doughnut is open daily from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. 7101 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 782-7666, Sign up for our Tasting Notes newsletter for restaurant reviews, Los Angeles food-related news and more. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
This downtown pizzeria from Issa Rae and partners comes with spritzes and classic funk
A new pizzeria from entertainment multihyphenate Issa Rae and her business partners is set to debut this weekend, bringing funk-inspired pizza to their popular cafe. By day, the downtown space will continue as Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen. At night, starting May 3, it flips to Downtown Dough, a pizza joint that specializes in a kind of California-meets-Neapolitan style, the crust leopard-spotted from a wood-fired brick oven. 'The daytime is really for the drip, and the nighttime is for the dough,' said co-owner Ajay Relan. Relan and business partner Yonnie Hagos launched Hilltop via their hospitality group, GVO, and quickly partnered with the 'Insecure' actor and producer, whose mission of creating inclusive spaces aligned with theirs. In the years since, the trio launched another four Hilltop locations, downtown rooftop bar Lost and a sleek restaurant, bar and jazz club called Somerville. 'We could not think of a better partner and ambassador for our mission,' said Relan, who added that Rae is 'very involved' in the restaurants' operations and menu planning. At Downtown Dough, the menu calls for almond wood sourced from Northern California, which is used at the wood-fired grill — for dishes such as chicken, branzino and steak — as well as in the pizza oven. Chef Geter Atienza (previously of Broken Spanish, Bouchon Bistro, the Fig) brushes his crust with garlic oil and sprinkles it with Parmesan and tops the pizzas with pepperoni, local honey and Fresno chiles; truffled fondue and farmers market cauliflower; bacon, Manila clams and caramelized onions; and more. There are pastas, Black Angus meatballs, salads and crispy calamari. Funk can be found in the restaurant's flavor — and in the air and on the walls. 'All of GVO's venues have a very music-first vibe curation, but funk is a genre that we had always enjoyed the most,' Relan said. 'It was just always the most fun, and [we're] marrying our love for pizza with the free and forward era of the '70s and the music that came along with it.' Artwork, color schemes and, of course, the playlist will all take their inspiration from funk. Expect to hear James Brown, Bootsy Collins, the Womacks, Sly and the Family Stone and other classics, plus newer acts inspired by those bands. Steen Bojsen Moller (also of Lost and Somerville) oversees the full bar, which focuses on spritzes — some of which are named for funk musicians, their albums and the movements they started. This particular Hilltop, which debuted in 2023, was intended to serve as a pop-up, but due to its popularity it became permanent. The 6,000-square-foot location accommodates nearly 200, including a 22-seat private dining room. In the evenings the trio previously used the open kitchen and ample space for catering and events but knew they wanted to open a full restaurant eventually. Rae, Hagos and Relan hope to serve the downtown community with a series of experiences: coffee by day at Hilltop, pizza and spritzes by evening at Downtown Dough, a nightcap and a taco at Lost's nearby rooftop — and more projects for Rae and GVO are already in the works. Downtown Dough launches May 3, and will open Wednesday to Sunday from 6 to 11 p.m. 718 S. Hill St., Los Angeles, One of the best wine shops in Long Beach recently expanded next door with a restaurant and wine bar. Last year, Alicia Kemper closed her cafe, Mangette, which she co-owned and sat next to her popular natural-wine shop, Buvons. Now, she's reimagining the Mangette space as an evening-only restaurant and wine bar that works in tandem with the bottle shop. Buvons Wine Bar + Restaurant offers a more extensive food menu than what was found at Mangette and in Buvons (which offers by-the-glass pours and snacks). It draws on weekly farmers market bounty and plays off the bottle shop's lengthy wine offerings. Both the food and wine menus rotate each month. Guests might find smoked-eel carbonara with dashi and a confit egg; duck confit with leek chutney; or house-made terrine. Sometimes the kitchen will be helmed by a guest chef; May features a menu by Côme Richard, who is visiting from Paris. Plates such as charcuterie and cheese boards can still be found in the bottle shop alongside wines by the glass, but more prepared dishes can only be found in the new wine bar and restaurant. The new wine bar and restaurant also features more seating areas than were available in Mangette, and hosts classes and events such as a monthly pasta workshop. Buvons Wine Bar is open Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m., while the adjacent bottle shop's hours are now Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. 1145 and 1147 Loma Ave., Long Beach, (562) 342-6557, A 'Top Chef' contestant with a range of Italian restaurants is branching out with his first taqueria. Via his hospitality group Memento Mori, chef Jackson Kalb operates Ospi in Venice and Brentwood, Jemma in Hollywood, Jame Enoteca and John Thomas Bar in El Segundo and the temporarily closed Jemma Pizzeria in the Palisades. He launched Jaime Taqueria, his newest restaurant and first foray into tacos, to bring some new flavor close to home. 'This isn't supposed to be inspired by any one regionality,' Kalb said, telling The Times that he lives in the area and wanted to open a cantina for the neighborhood. He tapped executive chef Marco Arreguin (Puesto, MXO) to lead the kitchen, and together they're serving large-format plates such as al pastor-inspired pork shank under pineapple glaze; starters such as guacamole topped with scallion and black garlic chile crunch; sides like brown-butter esquites; and tacos piled with beef cheek quesabirria, filet mignon, citrus-achiote chicken and mojo shrimp gobernador. Wash it down with margaritas, mezcal old-fashioneds, tequila flights, mocktails and more. Jaime Taqueria is open Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with brunch slated for the future. 450 Main St., El Segundo, (310) 648-8231, One of the country's most famous doughnut chains just launched a bright-pink outpost at the corner of Melrose and La Brea. Voodoo Doughnuts — which also operates a smaller location in Studio City's Universal CityWalk — can now be found slinging its signature bacon-topped maple bars along with classics, an array of vegan options, and seasonal specials such as cherry cola. The new Fairfax-neighborhood Voodoo Doughnut is open nearly 24 hours a day and features a larger menu than the shop in CityWalk. It also offers merch such as shirts, crewnecks, pink mugs and bags of coffee. A beachy location just under the famous Venice sign is also in the works. Melrose Avenue's Voodoo Doughnut is open daily from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. 7101 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 782-7666,
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Issa Rae and GVO Hospitality Jazz it Up at Somerville
Actress, producer and entrepreneur Issa Rae has long uplifted and amplified the South L.A. neighborhoods where she grew up — on TV shows like her groundbreaking HBO hit Insecure and via her involvement in Destination Crenshaw, the art and culture redevelopment project celebrating the area's Black history and its future. Her partnership with GVO Hospitality's Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan, of Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, has been a big part of this, too. Providing a more independent and soulful alternative to Starbucks, Hilltop has become a meeting ground for the Black community and beyond — a place for caffeine lovers, laptop workers and friend dates. After launching the original View Park space in 2018, GVO's popular concept has expanded to four locations across Los Angeles — and Rae got involved in 2019 with the opening of the Inglewood branch. Now the trio are tackling something new — something alluring and nighttime-geared, where locals and visitors alike can get dressed up, enjoy a mindful food and drink menu and have a little relaxed, sophisticated fun.'I was out celebrating my birthday, and it was one of [my] 30s-birthdays,' Rae recalls. 'We were going to dinner, and we didn't feel like going to a club — because, you know, 30s. We just wanted to go to a lounge that played good music, that had Black people, where we could just chill and have a great night.'Her efforts were futile: 'We went to like three different places, and it just wasn't a thing,' she says. 'And it made me so mad that we were just traveling all over L.A. trying to find the spot. So I hit my business manager up the next week like, 'I want to start a lounge in my neighborhood.' I had been working with the Hilltop guys probably for a year. So we tried to find a location and they were like, 'Do we want a restaurant too? Like, what if we could just elevate and have a fine-dining experience?''Rae knew they could pull it off and when she learned Relan and Hagos already had a locale in mind, everything came together. The 5,000-square-foot space on Slauson had the perfect layout to create the atmospheric hot spot she wanted — where the trio aspired to evoke the heyday of Black entertainment and nightlife. 'In addition to growing up here, all of us — Issa, Yonnie and I — currently live in this community,' says Relan. 'We always wanted a space we could go to in our own backyard, [with] quality food, great cocktails and a curated musical experience. We knew we weren't alone. The idea for Somerville was inspired by historic South L.A. venues like the Dunbar Hotel, which was known as a space that pioneered the West Coast Jazz scene and the cultural heyday of South-Central Los Angeles in the middle of the 20th century.' The cozy, mahogany space — named after the Dunbar Hotel's original name, the Hotel Somerville — has just the right ambiance, with velvet booths and a small stage featuring the grand piano that's used for nightly live jazz and R&B sets. Chef Geter Atienza (Broken Spanish, Fig and GVO's Lost cocktail bar) created the comfort-leaning menu of American classics, from which Rae has many favorites.'Oh my God, the duck confit is phenomenal,' she says. 'I love the chicken caviar sliders. The Brussels sprouts are outstanding. I love the mashed potatoes — even though I don't typically eat mashed potatoes when I'm out — the gravy and the way that that dish is constructed, I've never seen them like that.' As for the vibe? 'When you walk in, you're kind of like, 'Where am I?'' Rae says. 'You hear the jazz band playing and you're just automatically transported to this particular time period. And it promotes a social atmosphere.' Rae's enthusiasm has always been infectious — in her business pursuits as well as her acting/writing/producing projects — and she's growing on all fronts. She famously played the president in last year's Barbie and shares that she's got many projects ahead — including a cameo in Black Mirror and movies with her production company Hoorae Media, like the recent Jan. 2025 buddy film One of Them Days she produced, starring Keke Palmer and SZA.'Issa has always been intentional with her platform,' says Hagos. 'She always put on for the city of L.A. in a way most of Hollywood historically ignored. The reason her fans and this community love her so much is the authenticity she brings and her desire to consistently amplify voices that have historically been overlooked.' He adds: 'It's aspirational across the board.'4437 W. Slauson Ave., Windsor Hills,
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pharming Group to participate in March investor conference
Leiden, the Netherlands, February 28, 2025: Pharming Group N.V. ('Pharming') (Euronext Amsterdam: PHARM/Nasdaq: PHAR) announces that Pharming's management will participate in the following investor conference in the month of March: 37th Annual Roth Conference, Dana Point, CA, USA, March 16-18, 2025Anurag Relan, Chief Medical Officer, and Michael Levitan, VP Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, will participate in a fireside chat question and answer session on Monday, March 17 at 01:30pm PT/21:30 CET. For more information about this conference, or to schedule a one-to-one meeting with Pharming's management team, please contact Pharming's Investor Relations team at investor@ or your Roth representative. About Pharming Group Group N.V. (EURONEXT Amsterdam: PHARM/Nasdaq: PHAR) is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with rare, debilitating, and life-threatening diseases. Pharming is commercializing and developing an innovative portfolio of protein replacement therapies and precision medicines, including small molecules and biologics. Pharming is headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, and has employees around the globe who serve patients in over 30 markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit and find us on LinkedIn. For further public information, contact:Pharming Group, Leiden, the NetherlandsMichael Levitan, VP Investor Relations & Corporate CommunicationsT: +1 (908) 705 1696E: investor@ FTI Consulting, London, United KingdomSimon Conway/Alex Shaw/Amy ByrneT: +44 203 727 1000 LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsLeon MelensT: +31 6 53 81 64 27E: pharming@ Attachment Pharming attending Investor Conferences March 2025_EN_28FEB25
