The Tokyo-based multi-concept group Global Dining Inc. has sights set on growing across the U.S. But not in California—at least not anymore.
The company operates roughly 50 restaurants across Japan, China and Dubai. (In Japan, for example, Global Dining operates the restaurant Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu, where the famous fight scene in “Kill Bill: Volume 1” was filmed.)
In January, the company’s subsidiary, Global Dining Inc. of California, opened a stunning Italian restaurant called Settecento in downtown Los Angeles, in a park next to the city’s Central Library. It’s the group’s third U.S. restaurant, all three in the LA area.
But CEO Lucian Tudor, who heads Global Dining Inc. of California, says it has been a hard road.
Settecento opened while Los Angeles was still on fire. In fact, the opening celebration was a fundraiser for the school that Tudor’s children would have attended for high school, which completely burned down in the Palisades Fire.
Tudor lost his wife after a four-year battle with cancer not long after the opening. Settecento was dedicated to her, Tudor said, with a menu built around more healthful ingredients, produced without additives like growth hormones or pesticides. That has meant sourcing even basics, like flour and tomatoes, from Italy and other countries where ingredients are more strictly regulated, he said.
“It’s more expensive for us, but that’s a big difference behind the food,” he said.
Settecento's Italian menu is authentic but accessible. | Photo courtesy of Settecento.
Tudor is Romanian, but he spent his teen years in Italy, later moving to Japan. Settecento is designed to reflect the simple, authentic food he remembers from his youth, he said, and to take advantage of the adjacent garden.
Tudor said he fell in love with the location, despite its challenges. The park was also previously a spot favored by a transient population and had suffered some neglect.
“We wanted to create a space for the community to come back to the gardens. It had been degraded and the community didn’t feel safe,” he said. “We beautified the surroundings and clean it every day. There’s music outdoors now. For the transient population, it’s too loud. They like more silent places.”
As hard as it is to operate restaurants, generally, these are some examples of why it’s particularly hard in California.
The company first opened in the U.S. in 1991, bringing the restaurant La Bohème to West Hollywood. A second restaurant opened about five years later in Santa Monica, that was originally called Monsoon Café. The latter concept was later rebranded as 1212 Santa Monica.
When the COVID-19 shutdown hit, the restaurants survived with just Tudor and a chef, working for free, he said, and selling sandwiches out of the two restaurants as they could. It took years for the tourist areas to recover after the pandemic. La Boheme later suffered repeated attacks from vandals and an armed robbery.
The garden at Settecento, making it an ideal brunch and event spot. | Photo courtesy of Settecento.
Tudor said both restaurants are doing well now—in part because Global Dining owns the buildings.
Now, as Global Dining looks for growth in the U.S., it will likely mean leaving California, Tudor said. It’s just too costly to operate a business in the Golden State, and Tudor doesn’t believe those costs can be passed on to guests.
“Our labor costs have increased 25% to 28% over the past four or five years,” he said. “Unfortunately, we cannot deliver a good product at a good price in California.”
What bothers Tudor most about the rising costs is the fact that he can no longer hire bussers, instead asking servers to clear tables.
Tudor said he got his start as a busser.
Global Dining operates as a “meritocracy,” he said. All workers—from dishwashers to CEO—get to vote on every person’s promotion within the company, and that person must receive at least 51% of the vote to climb the ladder. It helps foster respect within the team, he said. If you know the dishwasher could have an impact on your career, you’re more likely to say hello.
It was a system that allowed Tudor to go from busser to CEO.
“Now I cannot offer the same opportunity to other people, because I cannot afford it,” Tudor said.
Tudor has another concept in mind for Global Dining: a drive-thru pizza restaurant. The company hasn’t settled on a location yet—maybe Tennessee, he said, or maybe Texas.
“Believe me, I don’t want to go to Texas,” said Tudor. “But unfortunately, we may have to, if we want to grow.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.