Whereas most, if not all, of the previous Tibi Eats editorials have revolved around a singular restaurant, for 017, I have decided to diverge from this path so as to feature an independent brand that is doing, put simply, the truest, rawest, and most complete form of hospitality.
When I traveled to Los Angeles in April to conduct research for the new CP City Guides project, I knew the restaurants we wanted to feature, the shops we love, the sights and sounds to experience, but I had no idea where to sleep. While LA certainly has an abundance of beautiful hotels, there were none I could find that truly resonated, none that emphasized the hand behind the work, the importance of independence, the uniquely inspiring culture of Southern California. That was the case, until I was made aware, by a deeply tapped in creative, of Gjelina Hotel. Given my background as a cook, I was well aware of Gjelina’s culinary prowess as a restaurant, but a hotel? I was in awe from the jump.
Gjelina, started in 2008 as a restaurant on Abbot Kinney, is named as a tribute to the mother of Fran Camaj, the brilliant founder who I had the pleasure of sitting with on my last day in the city – we’ll touch more on this later. The Gjelina Group is essentially a treasure hunt of creative endeavors that take the form of imaginative concepts linked by one common thread, that which Fran loves and is best for his family, employees, and city - the deeper you dig the more you discover. After opening Gjelina, Fran opened Gjelina Take-Away (GTA), followed by Gjusta Bakery a few years later. Originally a commissary kitchen to support Gjelina and GTA, in 2014 Gjusta naturally evolved into an all-day bakery, deli, and café, but more precisely, it is a continuation of Fran’s mission to support the local Venice community with thoughtfully nourishing food and culture.
The evolution continues, and in 2016 with Shelley Kelyn Armistead at the helm, Gjusta Goods opened next door to the bakery. The market sells artisanally crafted items for life and goods for the home - locally produced linens (the same ones from Gjelina), cookbooks, and stunning floral arrangements from Gjusta Flower Shop, which opened inside Gjusta Goods in 2022. Organic progression is the name of the game here, as a tight-knit Gjelina team continues to pursue veracious passion over massive profit, which is truly the best way their ventures can be depicted – passion projects executed with the highest degree of detail, care, and love.
As we carry on down the Gjelina rabbit hole, we find ourselves in Gjusta Studios, an interdisciplinary gallery space tucked away behind Gjusta Goods featuring artists across a range of creative mediums. Upstairs, above the bakery, goods market, and studio, you’ll find Gjusta Apartment, a 700-square foot space furnished like the rooms at Gjelina Hotel, with especially curated vintage homewares and fittings, made-to-order furniture, bespoke vintage rugs, locally sourced ceramics, and more. Oh, and all the carefully selected items in the apartment are available for purchase.
The next treasure to be discovered is the Gjelina Hotel. Opened in 2023 just one block from the Venice boardwalk and a 12-minute walk from Gjelina and Gjusta Bakery, the hotel has 27 rooms and suites of varying size and shape, each uniquely designed and out-fitted. The experience is that of a home away from home, cozy and perfectly imperfect with a clear hand and human eye behind every decision and detail, all the way down to the mis-matched teacup set from the 80s. Each morning begins with a complimentary coffee and pastry from Gjusta Bakery, followed by a warm and breezy walk along Venice beach as you return to your room, sandy and salty haired, before the day officially begins.
Normally, when experiencing new restaurants, hotels, and others of the like, it can take a moment to fall in love, to feel at home and part of the family, but in the case of Gjelina, few, if any, hospitality concepts have made such an inspiring impact on us in such a short period of time. On my last night in Venice, I received an email from Fran to meet for a coffee, perfectly timed as I had one more day in the city and was deeply interested in rounding out the trip through a conversation with the man who started it all. I was incredibly curious to learn his story, the why behind Gjelina and its many projects, and the principles that have driven Fran, consciously or subconsciously, to where he stands today.
Overarching everything Fran does is a genuine desire to provide for the Venice community and his employees, with an immense emphasis on fostering a family atmosphere within the brand, an effort that is felt by all who pass through any of the Gjelina Group’s doors. Nothing has been forced into existence, a fact that is abundantly clear when observing the various concepts from a bird’s eye view and seeing the deeply rooted, principle oriented through-line that ties them all together. An insistence on surrounding yourself with and providing for good people, on living a fulfilled and family-oriented life, and on the importance of maintaining the agency to make decisions, both creative and business - these are the principles of Fran, and consequently those of the Gjelina Group as well. (Sounds a lot like our ethos at Tibi, so it’s no surprise that everything at Gjelina resonates so deeply with us.)
In the words of Fran, “We try as hard as we possibly can to make it appear as though we haven’t tried at all.” Well, we felt it, and I am positive others do and will as well. Our gratitude goes out to the wonderful Gjelina team, from dishwasher to CEO, for cultivating and caring about the little things, facilitating endless core memories in the process. We can’t wait to be back.
How have I missed all this Gjelina developement? Covid happened, and things that used to feel close, feel far. Thank you for this. Checking it out, for sure.
Oh, I would love to stay there!