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When restaurateur Nancy Silverton opens a new dining venue, Los Angeles takes notice. When the four-time James Beard Award-winning chef teams up with billionaire developer Rick Caruso, the city’s culinary and business scenes pay even closer attention.
In partnership with Newport Beach-based River Jetty Restaurant Group, Silverton and Caruso are launching Spacca Tutto, a new Italian American steakhouse set to open in August at Caruso’s Palisades Village. Their new project coincides with Caruso’s broader revitalization plan announced earlier this summer for the reopening of his upscale shopping and dining enclave. Also set to open in August, the Village sustained just minor damage from the January wildfires, thanks to Caruso’s private firefighter team.
“When we were talking about the rebirth and the reopening of the (Palisades) Village, I couldn’t think of anyone better,” Caruso said of Silverton, whom he’s wanted to work with for “many, many years.”
He added: “She’s an L.A. icon.”
Silverton, who helped redefine Italian dining in the city and beyond, co-owns eight restaurants in the U.S. and internationally under Mozza Restaurant Group. For Silverton, this venture isn’t about shifting the culinary focus. It’s not even about food – it’s about rebuilding a community.
“After the devastation, my first response for myself was, ‘What can I do to help? Do I feed the fire people? Do I invite people in for dinner? What can I do?’,” said Silverton, a San Fernando Valley native.
The answer came after her call with Caruso offering the opportunity to open a restaurant that’s part steakhouse and part Italian trattoria.
“My instinct was, ‘Absolutely, that’s how I can help by giving people hope, something to return to,’” Silverton said, adding that L.A. has always had “such a strong community, and the restaurant industry has always been a big part of that.”
Joseph “McG” Nichol, River Jetty’s co-founder and partner, echoed that sentiment. “We believe in California, we believe in the Los Angeles Basin,” said Nichol, also a film director and producer behind the 2003 movie “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” “We want to rebuild. And it’s cool to also hitch your wagon to someone like Rick, who leads by example.”
Caruso, whose flagship developments include The Grove LA in Fairfax and The Americana at Brand in Glendale, founded the civic nonprofit SteadfastLA in February to accelerate the rebuilding efforts in Palisades and Altadena. Both communities saw more than 16,000 homes and businesses destroyed. A recent report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. found that the total economic impact from the disruption could be as high as $10 billion.
SteadfastLA was Caruso’s way of bringing together a coalition of private-sector leaders in real estate, finance and construction.
“There are a lot of people out there that are all hat, no cattle, and that’s not Rick,” said Nichol, who co-founded River Jetty with Jordan Otterbein in 2007.
The two own and operate a collection of restaurants in Orange County, including A Restaurant in Newport Beach, A Crystal Cove in Newport Coast and CdM Restaurant in Corona Del Mar. They also have A PCH in Long Beach.
Construction will start soon on the new restaurant, the trio announced at a gathering last week at the Palisades Village site – an anchor spot in the mall covering about 3 acres.
French-inspired brasserie The Draycott was a notable tenant at that location for six years before closing in December. It was among many L.A. restaurants to shut last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cassia in Santa Monica shuttered in February after about a decade of service. Downtown upscale restaurant Otium, which was located next to the Broad Museum, also closed in September, citing the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, who opened the spot in 2015, wrote on Instagram: “We never would have thought we would have to shut our doors for 18 months during a pandemic, putting us in a position that was a constant climb to get out of.”
Such turmoil for local restaurants has persisted into the new year. Michelin-starred Shibumi, Mid-Wilshire’s Southern dining spot My 2 Cents and chef Michael Mina’s Mother Tongue all closed over the summer.
Caruso is still optimistic. He noted that more than 1.5 million patrons visited Palisades Village last year.
“For such a relatively small property, it has a huge draw,” he said of his 125,000-square-foot shopping center featuring more than 40 luxury businesses and boutiques like Bottega Veneta and Aesop.
In May, he announced that fashion designer Elyse Walker will open a boutique at the Village once it reopens next year.
While Spacca Tutto’s doors won’t open until late summer 2026, the trio revealed early renderings and the conceptual details of the new dining location – from overall architectural designs to the menu and live music options. Designed by New York-based Avroko, the restaurant covers 3,500 square feet, with plans for a largescale patio and bar featuring a grand piano.
“Everything is very intentional to make it feel authentic, to make it feel real, to make it feel like it’s been here for a while,” said Caruso, adding that the space was prime for an American Italian steakhouse concept. Also, “people want to be reconnected.”
Even the name has meaning. Spacca Tutto translates loosely as “go for it” or “give it your all,” and speaks to the “resilience, creativity and courage” within the Palisades community, Caruso said.
Nichols considers the name a “call to action. What could be more appropriate for what we’re going through?”
Silverton added that the new moniker “really kind of flows off the tongue. I love the ring, the sound to it.” While Silverton wanted the name to exude “the familiarity and the reputation of Spacca” from her Chi Spacca restaurant in Hancock Park, she wanted to change things up a bit for her Palisades venture.
Silverton’s marquee dining spots in L.A. include Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza in Hollywood, Pizzeria Mozza, Mozza2Go and Chi Spacca – all of which are in Hancock Park. She also recently opened a classic diner in Larchmont – named Max and Helen’s – with television producer Phil Rosenthal, the Times reported. (He also hosts the Netflix show “Somebody Feed Phil.”)
Spacca Tutto will serve as a more casual offshoot of Chi Spacca – which Mozza touts to be a “meat speakeasy” featuring house-cured salumi and grilled meats such as the 50-ounce, dry-aged Porterhouse steak.
“(Chi Spacca has) one of the best steaks and one of the best meals in the city,” Caruso said. “So that sort of cemented the direction and the idea, and then it developed from there.”
What sets Spacca Tutto apart from Chi Spacca is that it will be open for lunch and dinner service and will offer lighter options on its menu. These include salads, seafood and seasonal vegetable dishes. The menu will also feature nearly 250 Italian and domestic wines, along with a “fast craft” cocktail menu.
“I didn’t want it to just be Chi Spacca in the sense that people thought they were getting the exact same menu,” said Silverton. “So, we wanted to give a little bit of a hint that it might be a little bit different, a little bit zestier, a little bit more fun.”
Still, it was crucial for Silverton to have a dining spot that made patrons feel at home.
“I know for myself, when I’m looking for a restaurant, all I ever think about is something that’s familiar, comforting and a place that I want to be in,” she said. “And I think that’s what we are creating here.”
Managing Editor Monée Fields-White contributed to this report.
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