Amar Santana was already Orange County’s best-known chef.
A return to where he and business partner Ahmed Labbate first made their mark in OC—South Coast Plaza—has taken his notoriety, acclaim and influence in the area’s thriving dining scene up another notch.
The duo this year opened The Hall Global Eatery. The Costa Mesa food hall mixes high-end dining and casual fare for shoppers and workers on the go.
“We looked at the mall and said, ‘what do they need?’,” said Labbate, and “we created two fast-casual concepts,” and a third space “for those who want a full dining experience.”
With 8,000 square feet devoted to food, The Hall is among the larger additions—retail or dining—to open at OC’s top shopping center over the past year.
It’s also the most prominent example of the 2.8 million-square-foot mall’s renewed emphasis on new dining options for its nearly 25 million annual visitors; South Coast Plaza exec Anton Segerstrom last year called the pivot the “year of food” for the family-run center.
Teamwork
Developing it was a struggle, Labbate said.
“Amar and I butted heads on the fast-casual concepts. We have done fine dining, but we’ve never done this before.”
So far, so good. The Hall is doing well, the duo says, as are their two other established restaurants, Laguna Beach’s Broadway by Amar Santana, and Costa Mesa’s Vaca.
Santana and Labbate, who run their restaurant business under the Vaca Group name, are the Business Journal’s Restaurateurs of the Year for 2020.
Charlie Palmer
Santana was born in the Dominican Republic and emigrated to Queens, N.Y., in his teens. A cooking course in high school led to a restaurant internship followed by classes at Le Cordon Bleu and a scholarship to Culinary Institute of America.
After starting his career at Charlie Palmer’s elegant Aureole restaurant in Manhattan, Santana was part of the team that opened Palmer’s Reno, Nev., restaurant. Palmer then chose him to head the kitchen at his debut SoCal offering Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s—in South Coast Plaza.
That’s where Santana met Labbate, who has a degree in hotel and restaurant management and launched his career at hospitality chains in Morocco, then ran a Moroccan restaurant at Walt Disney World.
Labbate was with Charlie Palmer’s empire as well: the general manager at its steakhouse in Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, then in the same role at the Bloomingdale’s site in SCP.
Recession Lessons
Santana and Labbate left corporate comfort to start their own restaurant group—during Great Recession.
“We were there every day making it work for someone else,” Santana said. “We thought if we could make this work during the recession, we can do [our own business in] the future.”
This was Broadway, which opened in 2012, with investor backing and a prime Laguna Beach location.
“We knew our demographic, we knew what people wanted; we built a clientele and they followed us,” Santana said.
The two knew “we are not going to fail; we are going to do whatever it takes.”
That meant changes early on.
“We had a lot of small plates and some main course, doing 300 covers a night. I had food coming out of my ears.”
Labbate concurred—“We were busy for two months nonstop”—then chuckled: “After two months we said, ‘Now that everyone knows we’re here, let’s change the menu,’” he said. “We also raised prices.”
“Instead of 300 covers a night, we did 150, but three times the money,” Santana said.
“Higher check average wins.”
Experience Matters
Another winning concept: loyalty.
“People want to feel special when they go out,” Labbate said. “They want an experience, and that’s something we do well. We give people an experience, and they are loyal.”
After several years of ensuring a long run at Broadway, Santana and Labbate were ready for fresh blood.
They opened Vaca in December 2015, steps from South Coast Repertory and Segerstrom Center—and getting nearer to their OC roots, across the street from South Coast Plaza.
“We wanted to do a French bistro,” Santana said, but it didn’t seem to have legs. So the pair asked themselves, “What do we like to eat? Spanish food, tapas, steaks.”
Trips to Spain followed and Vaca was birthed. The menu is a blend of traditional Spanish and American, with only a few items—bone marrow, for example—brought along from Broadway.
“It took a while to find that balance,” Santana said. “We knew we would not make everyone happy, but we’ll give it our best.”
Top Chef
A new challenge surfaced. Santana got the call to appear on Bravo’s “Top Chef” cooking competition show while Vaca was under construction.
“The show began airing the same week we opened,” Santana said. The publicity meant a full house for two months. “We had 65 seats and you could not get a reservation.”
Buzz and bookings bombarded Broadway too.
Santana finished as runner-up on the show; it was more than enough.
“It was great for us,” Santana said. “Priceless.”
Z Tejas
As Santana and Labbate began to consider a third place, the former Z Tejas spot at South Coast Plaza became available—perfect for a new concept.
Or three.
The Hall includes a crudo and charcuterie bar, a Mediterranean offering—think shawarma and hummus—and a café with baked goods and sandwiches.
It’s a big step in many ways, including simply the amount of food.
Vaca and Broadway might order food supplies item-by-item; Santana recently sought varieties of meat in 100-pound batches.
“My supplier loves us now,” he said.
Challenges, Steps
The mall is globally known and the location near parking and with its own entrance drives business.
“South Coast Plaza has been very supportive.”
SCP’s global reach has more recently been affected by fears of the coronavirus, which has kept some crowds down at spots popular there with travelers from Asia.
Santana and Labbate take a long-term view—and knowledge that they weathered a downturn at the start of their venture a dozen years ago—and said they’re not overly worried.
As usual, they’re looking to the future.
Vaca could work in other markets, they told the Business Journal: “maybe San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas,” Labbate said.
The next couple of years, though, are about reining in and focus, and nourishing the new concept.
They compared the work to parenthood, where early years are crucial—an apt appraisal given Santana’s new son, Cyrus, who was born just before The Hall opened.
“He’s my best creation yet,” the chef said.
High Profile
Marketing is a key, and recurring, focus for restaurateurs Amar Santana and Ahmed Labbate.
To keep attention on their three restaurants, they schedule frequent photo shoots to post photos on social media.
“We think like actors,” Labbate said. “If you’re not appearing, you’re disappearing. Coca-Cola does not need commercials, but if you don’t do them, people will forget.”
“What drives you to go to a restaurant? What grabs your attention?”
Pictures. Lots of pictures.
“Top Chef” runner-up Santana has also been filmed in ads for Irvine luxe carmaker Karma Automotive.
