Since the end of January, something very big has been in the works and we've been waiting for it to be "official" to announce it.
In about 6 months time, we will be opening the doors to our very own restaurant, Aroha, located in the beautiful city of Westlake Village, California. Our location is amazing! It's in the same center as Westlake's #1 restaurant Lure, right next to The Counter, a Marriott Hotel, and across the street from The Four Seasons.
Our restaurant name means "Love" in Maori, the native language of New Zealand. Here is the official "About" for our restaurant:
Aroha (ˈɑːrɒhə) — love, compassion, or affectionate regard. [Māori]
Aroha is a classy casual restaurant founded by award winning chef, Gwithyen Thomas, and his wife Justine. Gwithyen and Justine met and fell in love through his cooking while she and her family were vacationing in New Zealand.
The menu specializes in New Zealand Cuisine and draws inspiration from French, Italian, Japanese, and Singaporian cuisine. The food is locally sourced and changes seasonally to provide the freshest and highest quality. The menu is allergy friendly with many gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options. Justine's many food allergies drives their dedication to providing a safe environment for all customers with allergy restrictions.
The opened layout restaurant is designed to provide a relaxing atmosphere for customers looking for a flavorful and beautifully presented meal without a formal setting.
Aroha will be opening in Q3 of 2014 in Westlake Village, California. To stay updated, "Like" us on Facebook and "Follow" us on Twitter.
For Gwith, owning his own restaurant has always been his dream. He's a chef and he's opened multiple restaurants between New Zealand and the US but he's never actually owned it. I, on the other hand, have always wanted a business of my own to manage. Between the Entertainment Industry in LA and the Restaurant Industry, I've been incredibly disappointed and appalled by how people are treated. There's a strong attitude of taking advantage of people out here; lack of non-exempt overtime pay, ridiculous hours, and no understanding for having a personal life. Gwith and I both believe in efficiency and fair treatment which we're ecstatic to exercise in our new restaurant. We want our employees to feel like they're respected by giving them a regular work schedule and legally pay them for overtime. It's sad that legal pay feels like an accomplishment but more companies get away with it out here than most people probably realize (or research).
This isn't the first time I've managed. Back when I was 18, my sister and I managed an entire group of 60 people for our TV pilot, "Little Blossom". It was an eye opening experience and I loved it. At the time, I believed I loved it because of the entertainment-filming aspect. However, looking back now, the reason I turned to my dad one day after an 18 hour day and said, "I could do this for the rest of my life," had nothing to do with the show itself. It had every bit to do with being a manager. I was molding this amazing new creation. I enjoyed dealing with 60 people from all ages and various departments: from actors, to crew, to makeup. Even when someone gave me a massive headache, I still wanted to continue. In the end, we had a great working relationship with the majority of our employees, and I thrived on being able to create that balance. I've seen a lot of poor management styles in the recent years and I feel like it's time to prove in one of the most challenging industries that you do not need to take advantage of people and treat them wrong to be successful.
I look forward to writing more blogs about our journey with Aroha. It will be a long one! We have 6 months to do a full buildout of our empty shell location!
Please check out our website www.ArohaRestaurant.com and keep your eyes opened for the hottest new restaurant coming soon to Westlake Village in Q3 of 2014!
30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.
Congratulations for venturing into the restaurant business, Justine! I checked out your place, and I'm really impressed with how you put everything together. I have no doubts that you will prosper in that field. Good luck and I wish you all the best!
ReplyDeleteBrian Carter @ Restaurant Business Broker
Dear Justine,
ReplyDeleteI visited your restaurant yesterday along with a friend and had a marvelous time. I wanted to send a private e-mail to you and your husband; but, did not find an e-mail address to contact on the restaurants website. I have my own blog on blogger so I sent this comment.
I was so impressed by Aroha's cuisine and staff that I actually wrote a post about my experience. This is the only time that I can remember talking about a specific restaurant. In fact my blog is not about food at all, usually the media, science, trends, boring stuff. For me to write about a restaurant means I was really impressed. I will be back, my friend will be back and others we know will also go there, you will never know it as my blog is anonymous. I do not leave this comment nor did I write my post about your restaurant for any reason other than to say thanks for exposing me to a new taste and for the treatment we received.
I chose your oldest post because this comment is really just to you and your husband and the staff of Aroha.
Pimpernel
Thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed your experience and we look forward to having you dine with us again! :D
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