Rocket riches could be fueling a sleepy Los Angeles area city’s sudden interest in the finer things.
uncertain
riches → fuel → things
El Segundo, the unassuming South Bay enclave best known for its proximity to LAX and a booming aerospace industry, is quickly emerging as one of Southern California’s hottest dining destinations — just months after area employer SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO famously minted thousands of overnight millionaires.
asserted
IPO → know → millionaires
While restaurants across struggling LA are dropping like flies, this sleepy coastal burg of roughly 17,000 residents is experiencing a culinary renaissance — with trendy natural wine bars, upscale eateries and buzzy pizza joints popping up around town.
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asserted
bars → struggle → California
SpaceX’s historic June stock market debut reportedly created an estimated 4,000 new millionaires among current and former employees, many of them with local ties.
uncertain
debut → create → ties
The company maintains a large presence just next door in Hawthorne, even after moving headquarters to Texas in 2024.
asserted
company → maintain → 2024
El Segundo is also home to approximately 100 smaller aerospace firms, according to local officials — which have drawn a whopping $6 billion in venture capital, the California Post earlier reported.
uncertain
Post → accord → capital
Add it all up, and restaurateurs in El Segundo say business is soaring — straight into the stratosphere.
asserted
business → add → stratosphere
Among the newest arrivals is EZPZ, a trendy Brooklyn-inspired pizza joint that opened in June, serving up pies made with premium California ingredients and organic soft-serve ice cream.
asserted
that → inspire → ingredients
The restaurant comes from Hollywood producer Beau Flynn and his wife, actress Marley Shelton Flynn.
asserted
restaurant → come → Flynn
“We’ve discovered that El Segundo is LA’s best-kept secret,” Flynn told SFGATE after opening EZPZ.
asserted
Flynn → discover → EZPZ
Part of the appeal is the city’s welcoming attitude towards small business, according to Mayor Chris Pimentel.
uncertain
Part → accord → Pimentel
“We try to reduce friction,” Pimentel earlier told the California Post.
asserted
Pimentel → try → Post
“It’s a whole city effort; this is a city that likes business.”
And El Segundo clearly likes to support local, too, once a business is open: “We already have so many regulars, which is cool to see in such a short period of time,” Flynn said.
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Flynn → ’ → time
El Segundo’s growing appetite for more sophisticated dining has helped inspire Vinoteca, a new natural wine bar tucked inside Blum, a wine and floral shop located along Pacific Coast Highway.
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appetite → grow → Highway
The intimate spot serves thoughtfully selected wines alongside elevated bites like crudités and charcuterie.
asserted
spot → serve → crudités
“Natural wine was a little foreign for the South Bay, so we knew we needed a space for people to try all these interesting wines,” sommelier and Blum co-founder Julia Blyum told SFGATE.
asserted
Blyum → know → SFGATE
LA favorites smelling success in El Segundo are also rushing to stake their claim.
uncertain
favorites → smell → claim
Wine bar Barsha and Japanese pasta purveyor Unico are now there, while beloved breakfast taco mini-chain HomeState opened a location in September at the open-air retail destination The Point.
asserted
HomeState → open → destination
Chef Jackson Kalb, who opened Italian restaurant Jame Enoteca in 2018, has watched the city’s culinary cred grow, and his own business along with it.
asserted
cred → open → it
Kalb also opened Jaime Taqueria last year, cementing the investment in the city.
asserted
Kalb → open → city
“The way I see things, the more great food we have in town, everyone wins,” Kalb told SFGATE.
asserted
Kalb → see → SFGATE
“We’re doing better every year, too.
asserted
We → do → ?
We’ve expanded our first restaurant three times since we moved in.”
asserted
we → expand → restaurant
The Aporia
