Incoming Piatti restaurant: Why they chose Laguna Beach

On my Best of Laguna Beach show this week, a very special guest joined me – Matt Stuhl – to talk about all the plans for his company’s incoming restaurant, Piatti on 222 Ocean Avenue (previously Taverna/Ocean at Main/Suenos/Cabana). Listen in as he talks about what they have in play and what’s in the plan. What a great introduction between a locally-centric restaurant company and the residents and visitors of Laguna Beach!

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Show Notes


✅ Why did the Founder Tim Harmon have an eye on Laguna Beach, this “very special new spot” per Matt?

✅ Why Palisades Hospitality Group grows from the concept of “intentional growth” and what that means to Laguna Beach residents.

✅ The hyper-local customization Piatti does in each of its communities.

✅ Admittedly, I have a love for this restaurant because my now-business partner, Bruce Russo, initially developed this property from a 1950s floor plan for a bank (which eventually becoming a Big Dog store and then a rug store before Taverna was constructed). Matt talks about the unique differences in this building and build-out that proved the winning decision. We talk about Bruce’s love for this patio and what he did to restore the one-of-a-kind fountain there. This leads to our discussion on one of Matt’s favorite storied concepts he developed, and why these occasional stories stick with you as you create the concept.

✅ Piatti’s intention to not just “fill a hole” but complement the restaurants around them while zeroing in on what might be missing in the town’s current food offerings. (They have some ideas.)

✅ Matt talks about his favorite food items on the Piatti menu but his anticipation of what their Laguna guests will demarcate as their favorites moving forward.

✅ Matt addresses their grandfathered night club permit at the 222 Ocean Avenue location … and what they’re going to do with it.

✅ We talk about their Piatti specially labeled wines and Matt’s initial skeptic’s alarm when he first came on board after enduring other restaurants’ private brand jugs of wine. He talks about the differences in their Piatti private label wine and the pride he takes in the special vintages they create.

✅ What’s their plan for Opening Day in May? They’re hiring now! They’re also honing in on their chef, and Matt talks about the process they go through with prospective chefs. Here’s where to go for applications:Apply to Work at Piatti: Careers

✅ Matt started in restaurants because he was an actor … and he did the stereotypical thing of “acting like a restaurant server” while working to be an actor. The decision to move into hospitality involved his physical move from Minneapolis to California … and here’s why.“I want to know the nooks and crannies of every operation. I want to be able to have a boutique experience where we get to know every guest and every guest is welcomed back often, and we build our experiences around what they want and invite them to be part of the hospitality experience.” - Matt Stuhl

✅ Before joining Palisades Hospitality, Matt worked with two boutique hotel groups in the Oceanside area in that redevelopment process. Here’s how he compares it to Laguna Beach. “You’ve got to be part of a community. You can’t just walk in and think you can take over a community no matter how much money you have.”

✅ Matt leaves us with his favorite Piatti dish … and why it’s his favorite.