Agnes - Restaurant and Cheesery in LA
General photography by Stefan Merriweather
Space photography by Yoshihiro Makino
Interview by Dunja Opalko
Vanessa, Thomas, when did you decide to start Agnes and what inspired your idea?
Sitting on a long nose boat off the coast of south Thailand in 2016. Vanessa made the decision to switch from the kitchen to working with cheese and set a goal to open a shop, and Thomas thought it’d be nice to have a small restaurant behind the shop. When we first saw 40 W. Green Street, we convinced ourselves it was too big. Every place we saw thereafter, we compared it to that charming old building on Green Street.
Tell us a bit about your past ventures and how you met.
Vanessa was sous chef at the Spice Table and wanted to experience a new city. She traveled around and ultimately landed in San Francisco. Thomas worked at Lula Cafe in Chicago and decided to move to San Francisco. We met working in San Francisco where Thomas trained Vanessa on the pasta station before leaving for a month-long motorcycle trip. When he returned, Vanessa was promoted to his boss!
Where did the name Agnes come from?
Mary Agnes McDonald was Thomas’ maternal grandmother; the Green Street building was erected the same year she was born. Mother of 15 children, she was constantly hosting and cooking so this is an homage to her and the feeling of coming home.
Give us a little overview of the people you've worked with on this beautiful project.
Oonagh Ryan, architect. Emily Brock, brand designer. Alexis Halejian, marketing/pr/social media/digital. Judy Han, operations consultant. Courtney Construction, general contractor. Another Country, furniture designer from the UK. Every collaboration, partnership, trade and craftsperson we have worked with has cared for this project as if it were their own. The skill, dedication and care that each team member has brought to the table has left a profound mark on this project and has shaped it into what it is today.
Besides the food, architecture and design elements play a big role, tell us more.
We wanted the layout to have a natural flow of how guests and staff move through the space. We wanted to take a 100 year old horse stable and transition it into a modern farmhouse, tying in old and new. The adaptively reused space opens to a beautiful and bright shop, but as you walk further in, elements and layers are peeled back to reveal something warm and inviting with every step. ORA and team did a wonderful job overall, down to the furniture. When founder Oonagh Ryan reached out to Another Country in the UK to collaborate on the furniture, their ethos and brand story of passing on pieces from generation to generation was very much aligned with ours. A very organic fit for the project and beautiful work.
Now let’s talk food and drink, what are your favourites on the menu?
Cornbread Eclair with chicken liver mousse, Loaded Baked Potato Dumplings, Half & Half board, S’mores Cocoa Taco.
What's the inspiration behind the dishes and drinks and what role does cheese play?
The food and drinks utilise seasonal and responsibly sourced ingredients. The food is inspired by regional American cooking that garners comfort and nostalgia from childhood memories and classic Americana inspired dishes. We like to showcase cheeses on their own on cheese plates, but also include cheeses in dishes that enhance the flavours of the dish like the Chicories & Stone Fruit Salad featuring Pantaleo, an aged goat cheese from Sardinia. Or on our baked potato pasta featuring an aged cheddar from Thomas’ hometown called Prairie Breeze.
Tell us a bit about where you're based and your local favourites.
Pasadena and East Los Angeles have a wide range of cuisines, parks, museums, and access to hiking and the outdoors. Some of our favorite spots to eat are Mama Lu’s, Bistro Na’s, All India Cafe as well as the local staples like Lucky Boy and Pie n' Burger. We enjoy hitting the Rose Bowl Flea Market and letting our rescue dog Clementine run around Central and Memorial Parks here in Old Pasadena and love hiking around the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
What's your ethos in regards to sustainability?
It’s very important to us and we implement it in as many places as possible. All to-go packaging, labels, straws and silverware are all compostable. Our business cards are made from recycled cotton. The cheese paper is biodegradable. The beef is sourced from a carbon positive farm near San Francisco. We compost our food waste. Our wines are made by wineries that practice regenerative and biodynamic farming. We even use our spent ash/coal in our garden to provide potassium for our plants.
Any exciting plans for the near future?
We’re excited to be a part of the Rose Bowl festivities over the new year, expand our offerings and grow with the community!
