Adolfo Suaya [1](born March 16, 1961) is an Argentine-American restaurateur, hotelier, and television host. He has founded or financed numerous Southern California restaurants and bars including Gaucho Grill, Dolce, the Lodge, Osaka, and others. He served as host of the Sun Channel television series, Latin American Foodie and Foodie Trips. Suaya also owns hotels in Uruguay and Argentina.

Adolfo Suaya
Born (1961-03-16) March 16, 1961 (age 63)
Occupations
Known forFounder of Gaucho Grill (and other LA area restaurants)
Host of Latin American Foodie

Early life

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Suaya was born on March 16, 1961.[2] He dropped out of high school early to pursue entrepreneurship. At age 17, he opened a children's clothing business, and, two years later, he began a separate business designing and manufacturing ski jackets.[2] At age 21, Suaya moved to Europe where he lived for a year and a half before returning to Buenos Aires to study acting.[3] In 1985, at the age of 24, he moved to Los Angeles to more thoroughly study film and acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.[2][4] After his schooling, Suaya had roles in a few films and directed another prior to focusing on his entrepreneurial career.[1]

Career

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Suaya opened his first restaurant, Gaucho Grill, on Sunset Boulevard in 1986.[2][4] By 1996, he had opened a chain of 12 Gaucho Grill restaurants. In 2003, he opened Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante.[5] By 2006, he was the landlord for or operator of 15 Southern California restaurants including Memphis, Bella Cucina, The Lodge, Geisha House, Sushi Roku, and others. He was also in the process of opening two other restaurants, Goa Nightclub and BlackSteel.[4]

In 2008, Suaya branched out into the hospitality business, opening Casa Suaya, a resort hotel in José Ignacio, Uruguay.[6] Two years later, he opened The Surly Goat, a West Hollywood bar on Santa Monica Boulevard.[7] In 2011, the number of restaurants or bars in which Suaya had a stake had gone from 17 at his peak to 3: The Surly Goat, BoHo, and Osaka (which opened that year).[8][9]

That year, Suaya began work as host on the Sun Channel television series, Latin American Foodies. The show aired Latin American and featured Suaya traveling to different locations to sample food from local eateries.[9][10] In 2013, Suaya opened The Phoenix, a Beverly Hills bar located on La Cienega Boulevard.[11] After opening and closing several times,[12] Suaya moved the establishment to Los Angeles and rebranded it as a whiskey bar called The Phoenix LA in 2016.[13][14] In 2015, he opened his second hotel, the Hotel Clásico, in Palermo Hollywood in Buenos Aires.[15] He also opened the Casa Suaya Condo Hotel, a companion to the original Casa Suaya in José Ignacio.[16][17] In June 2016, Suaya filed plans with the city of Los Angeles for a hotel near the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[18] He also began work on a new series, Foodie Trips, also for Sun Channel.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Moseley-Williams, Sorrel (11 June 2016). "LA Man". Buenos Aires Herald. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "El empresario Adolfo Suaya, un argentino que conquistó Hollywood con su comida". La Voz Arizona (in Spanish). 7 March 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  3. ^ Corbacho, Luis (December 2015). "Adolfo Suaya" (in Spanish). El Planeta Urbano. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Brown, Corie (25 January 2006). "Scene and be seen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  5. ^ Karp, Hannah (5 June 2009). "By Invitation Only". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  6. ^ Singer, Paola (6 November 2008). "Chic but Not Famous: A Resort Named José". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Q&A with Adolfo Suaya". Club Planet. April 1, 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  8. ^ Gelt, Jessica (19 August 2011). "Adolfo Suaya's Osaka is ready for its close-up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  9. ^ a b Gonzalez, Irina (9 March 2012). "Meet Hollywood's hottest Latino chef". Mamas Latinas. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  10. ^ Obelmejías Valdez, Yolimer (28 September 2012). "Adolfo Suaya come de todo en "Latin american foddie"". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  11. ^ Odell, Kat (6 September 2013). "The Phoenix Bar Reopens Tonight on La Cienega". Eater. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  12. ^ Elliott, Farley (2 February 2015). "The Phoenix Will Rise Once Again on West Third". Eater. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  13. ^ "The Phoenix is Back!". The Editorialist LA. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  14. ^ "Over 200 Whiskeys Is a Good Start". UrbanDaddy. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  15. ^ Moseley-Williams, Sorrel (27 November 2015). "Hotel Clásico, Buenos Aires - Hotel Review: Hollywood Charm, On Location In Argentina". The Independent. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  16. ^ Reina, Laura (8 November 2015). "Adolfo Suaya: "Trato de protegerme de lo moderno porque envejece antes"". La Nacion (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  17. ^ Rebón, Nuria (15 July 2015). "El creador de la parrilla Gaucho Grill abre hotel boutique en Palermo". El Cronista (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  18. ^ Sharp, Steven (28 June 2016). "One More Hotel for Hollywood". Urbanize LA. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
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