A Small City of 17,000 Near Los Angeles
Dining Scene Thrives After SpaceX Goes Public
Upscale Restaurants Open One After Another
A quiet small city near Los Angeles, California, is emerging as a new hub for upscale dining. The listing of nearby aerospace company SpaceX has created thousands of millionaires, bringing changes to the local business scene.
According to the New York Post and other U.S. media outlets on Oct. 20 (local time), El Segundo, California, is a small city with a population of about 17,000 that has recently drawn attention as a new dining destination in Southern California. Located near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), El Segundo has long been regarded as a center of the aerospace industry.
EZPZ, a pizza restaurant that opened in El Segundo, California, last June. EZPZ Instagram.
SpaceX Goes Public, Creating More Than 4,000 Millionaires
While restaurants are closing one after another across Los Angeles amid financial difficulties, upscale restaurants, wine bars, and pizzerias are opening in El Segundo.
The initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is seen as a key factor behind the changes. SpaceX went public on the U.S. stock market last June, and an estimated 4,000 current and former employees became millionaires in the process. Many of them are said to have ties to nearby areas, including El Segundo.
SpaceX moved its headquarters to Texas in 2024, but it still maintains a large business facility in Hawthorne, adjacent to El Segundo. In addition to SpaceX, about 100 small and medium-sized aerospace companies are based in El Segundo. According to local authorities, these companies have recently attracted a total of $6 billion in venture investment (about 8 trillion won).
The photo is unrelated to the specific content of the article.
Upscale Wine Bars and Restaurants Open One After Another
As the aerospace industry grows and the local economy picks up, the dining scene is also changing. One notable example is EZPZ, a pizzeria that opened last June. Serving New York–style Brooklyn pizza, the restaurant offers premium California ingredients and organic soft-serve ice cream.
New types of restaurants catering to demand for upscale dining are also appearing in El Segundo. Vinoteca, a natural wine bar, recently opened inside Blum, a wine and flower shop near Pacific Coast Highway. It serves carefully selected wines alongside light upscale dishes, including vegetable platters and charcuterie (meat products made through processes such as curing, smoking, and drying).
Julia Blum, a sommelier and co-founder of Blum, told SFGATE, a San Francisco-area media outlet, “Natural wine was somewhat unfamiliar in the South Bay. I thought people needed a place where they could experience a variety of wines.”
Popular Los Angeles dining businesses are also expanding into El Segundo. The wine bar Barsha and Japanese pasta restaurant Unico have opened locations there, while HomeState, a dining brand known for its breakfast tacos, opened a location at the outdoor shopping center The Point in September.
Hot Picks Today
“Why Is the Amount in My Account So Low?”… Why Pension Savings Subscribers Were Surprised
Chef Jackson Kalb, who opened the Italian restaurant Jame Enoteca in El Segundo in 2018, has also seen the local dining scene grow. Kalb has expanded his business in the area, including by opening the Mexican restaurant Jaime Taqueria last year. “I think more good restaurants benefit everyone,” he said. “Our restaurant has also been doing better every year. Since opening my first restaurant in El Segundo, I have expanded three times.”
This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.
© The Asia Business Daily. All rights reserved. Unauthorized AI training and use prohibited.