OWNER, VINE RESTAURANT & BAR
WHY: Business Journal’s Restaurateur of the Year in 2018, exec continues to expand local fine dining empire.
IN THE NEWS: In December 2022, officially opened latest endeavor, Bloom Restaurant + Bar, in San Juan Capistrano, across from the city’s famed Mission. It’s the fifth restaurant for Bendel and his partners: Chef Jared Cook, Beverage Director Gabe Whorley and Operations VP Kyle Simpson.
NOTEABLE: Bloom is in the officially designated historic Ferris Kelly building, which served as San Juan Capistrano’s original City Hall in 1930.
QUOTABLE: Bendel said he had “been working for over a year trying to get a good location in San Juan Capistrano.”
