How the restaurant is thriving while others falter
By Ezra Salkin
Published September 27, 2024 5:00 AM
Pasta Sisters in Culver City.
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Ezra Salkin
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Topline:
Pasta Sisters started as a small three-table restaurant in Mid-City and later expanded to the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City. Despite the challenges of the restaurant industry, the eatery has managed to keep prices affordable and take care of its employees as it continues to grow. How is it doing that?
Why it matters:L.A. has been looking like a graveyard lately for beloved restaurants. There’s much talk about how letting employees live decently comes at the expense of the food establishments that employ them and vice versa. Pasta Sisters is an exception to the rule. We take a glimpse into what they're doing to make it work.
The backstory: When Paola De Re and her children moved from the small, extremely old, museum-like northern Italian city of Padova to Los Angeles they had no restaurant ambitions. All they had was a love of family, a good cook and a belief that everyone deserved to eat delicious food, regardless of their socio-economic status. They made that belief reality and simultaneously took care of their workers. They also became a key player in their food economy.
As we hear about more of our favorite L.A. restaurants closing, it’s easy to question the viability of the mom-and-pop going forward. Labor costs, among other things, is one of the oft-cited scapegoats.
That said, the picture isn’t completely apocalyptic. There are restaurants out there that manage to offer sustenance to owners, workers, and customers alike and still make money.
One of them is Pasta Sisters. This popular West Side red sauce spot opened its first deli-sized, three-table Mid-City location in 2015 before expanding into its much larger home in Culver City a few years later on a sun-soaked and cinematic corner of the Helms Bakery District.
As it approaches its 10th anniversary, business appears to be better than good, with lines consistently out the door and down the street during peak times.
What’s most striking about this business is that it manages to take care of its employees without skimping on benefits, while keeping menu prices affordable and importing high-quality Italian ingredients, like 100% Italian flour, tomatoes, and olive oil during this high-inflation epoch.
You can still get a real sit-down meal for just under $20. No surcharges or junk fees to pass the cost down, either.
How they started
Pasta Sisters consists of matriarch and lead chef Paola Da Re, son Francesco Sinatra, and daughters Giorgia and Francesca Sinatra, all of whom hail from the northern Italian city of Padova. While Paola was nannying, news of her magnificent gnocchi started spreading through local Italian circles, and L.A.-based restaurants began commissioning her to make them.
That led to a family-based pasta-production side hustle and, ultimately, their store in a Pico Boulevard strip mall. A few tables out front were added, simply because it was easier, red tape-wise, to open an eatery than a food production business.
While that was never meant to be the focus of the business, hungry customers kept coming, and Pasta Sisters kept growing. But how have they managed to thrive when so many eateries haven’t?
We asked Giorgia Sinatra to tell us about their operation, evolution and overall philosophy. Here are the key takeaways.
A server at Pasta Sisters in Culver City
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Ezra Salkin
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Keep it simple
It starts with the menu. At Pasta Sisters, guests pick a daily pasta (spaghetti, tagliatelle, pappardelle, gnocchi) and pair it with their desired sauce (tomato basil, arrabbiata, pesto, bolognese).
That didn’t originate as a marketing strategy, Giorgia said. It was more of a shoot-from-the-hip approach in the first phase of their business when their aim was food production.
“If someone wants to stop by, they literally come in, we tell them what we have, and they can choose. So, we said, let's just give them the option to pick the pasta and choose the sauce…That was literally what we had in-house,” Giorgia said.
That afterthought ended up being one of their strengths.
After that, the name of the game is volume, volume, volume. No, this doesn’t mean fast food. The pasta is all handmade and the sauce cooks for up to nine hours daily. Because diners order at the counter, the restaurant is able to save on service. And the level of volume gives them leverage with distributors, Giorgia said.
Raise your game
Fast-casual, low-price or not, they look for ways to outperform people’s expectations. Not only is their food good, but they elevate their plate presentation, forming their pasta into a “tower” like you might get in a five-star hotel. Their interior aesthetic is equally polished. Guests in the deli area are greeted by a large sculpture of bending, undulating wood evoking the fresh-made pasta, as well as hand-crafted green terracotta tiles and custom dining tables made from reclaimed wood.
Tagliatelle pasta with salmon and cherry tomatoes ($18) at Pasta Sisters in Culver City
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Ezra Salkin
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Stay thrifty (like the Italians)
“We opened Pasta Sisters because we wanted as many people as possible to experience how good my mom's food was,” Giorgia said, "not because we wanted to be millionaires."
She says it’s a very Italian, less capitalistic mindset. “It's bad because Italians are known for not paying taxes and all those things, but that's not the case,” Giorgia said. “The Italian way is that you spend what you can afford…You don't spend one penny more than what you have.”
In other words, they don’t mess with credit or debt.
Find mentors
Francesco worked in many restaurants before Pasta Sisters and learned a lot from many chefs and business owners of well-known establishments, including Angelini, Madeo, and Papa Cristo’s.
“He worked in so many…but Angelini is still a mentor for my brother…When he has questions or, even just for a chat , he always calls him,” Giorgia said.
Use the power of virality (or hope it finds you)
Back in the Pico days, the family was more than pleased with what they had already accomplished. Then BuzzFeed called, asking to include Pasta Sisters in an L.A. “best value” pasta video.
“We’re not social media people; we’re not YouTube channel people. We didn’t know anything,” Giorgia said. The video gained some 20 million views, and the next day they were slammed. “My brother remembers the day almost like a nightmare.”
They had to hire about 15 people over the course of a few days. Customers had no place to eat and sat wherever they could, even at the laundromat. It almost broke them.
The video “brought many good things. But I think it also brought some bad things,” said Giorgia.
They lost old customers for new ones, and some of the personal touch, among other things. “Fancier Beverly Hills-type people” started showing up.
One of them was the owner of HD Buttercup, the Helms Bakery furniture store, who told them about the open space in Culver City formerly occupied by Evan Funke’s dissolved Bucato. It was a 2,200-square-foot increase from their Pico location.
That led to a sit-down with the landlord, who they convinced of their potential as renters with a plate of the Tomato Basil pasta, their most simple dish.
Hungry patrons place their order at Pasta Sisters in Culver City for an affordable bite.
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Ezra Salkin
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Take care of staff
Having loyal, reliable, long-term employees is part of the success formula. When your business runs efficiently, you save money all-around, Giorgia said.
Therefore, management somehow never says no to vacations — even during the holidays. “Sometimes we joke about it that their schedule is our schedule…But we’re going to make it work,” Giorgia said.
Pasta Sisters pays 50% of the health insurance premiums for hourly employees and 100% of the premiums for salaried employees who can choose whatever plan they like, including the most costly Blue Shield Platinum. Management does extend coverage to family members, though they don’t cover those costs.
When COVID hit, they were reluctant to send their staff home, so they went looking for areas in the restaurant that needed work done, things that were impossible to do while open seven days-a-week, like refinishing all the tables. “It wasn’t, of course, what they had before, but at least it was enough,” Giorgia said. The restaurant also offered free lunches and dinners to employees.
Their business model, cash flow and lack of debt positioned them to come out on the other side. And among the 70 or so employees, all but two returned to work. “We like to share our success, because they are part of our success,” Giorgia said.
While the family takes pains to be nice to everyone, not everyone has been decent back. In 2022, burglars lifted a bolted-in safe that contained a prized diary/Italian cookbook that belonged to Paola’s mother, the only thing she had from her. The family offered a $5,000 reward, but nothing ever came of it. They lost a precious memento of home — the type of environment the family aspires for both guests and, importantly, employees.
“I think of the loneliness sometimes that we have in L.A. — a lot of people feel lonely — and, I always hope that they would feel less lonely, and feel part of something bigger than just a shop or a restaurant.”
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published June 23, 2026 6:09 PM
A for-sale sign hangs outside a $1.6 million house on L.A.’s Westside.
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David Wagner
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LAist
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Topline:
The Los Angeles City Council decided Tuesday to put off the full effects of a major new state housing law by allowing low-rise apartment buildings in some neighborhoods where such housing has long been banned.
The details: All council members voted in favor of those plans except for Traci Park, who was absent from the meeting. California’s Senate Bill 79 is set to take effect July 1.
What is SB 79? The law overrides local limits on housing development by allowing apartment buildings between five and nine stories tall near train stations and rapid bus stops. However, cities are allowed to postpone those changes until 2030 by developing their own incremental plans for more housing. L.A. elected leaders have chosen to delay. They’re doing so through the city’s new Low-Rise Ordinance, which aims to allow buildings up to four stories tall in 57 neighborhoods near transit lines.
Why it matters: L.A. lawmakers have tried many approaches to bring down L.A.’s high rents. But they have consistently voted to stop apartment developers from encroaching on the nearly three-quarters of city residential land reserved for single-family homes. Pushed by state lawmakers, city leaders are now having to accept some changes in single-family neighborhoods located near public transit lines.
Read more... to learn whether new apartment buildings could be allowed in your neighborhood.
All council members voted in favor of those plans except for Traci Park, who was absent from the meeting.
California’s Senate Bill 79 is set to take effect July 1. The law overrides local limits on housing development by allowing apartment buildings between five and nine stories tall near train stations and rapid bus stops.
However, cities are allowed to postpone those changes until 2030 by developing their own incremental plans for more housing. L.A. elected leaders have chosen to delay. They’re doing so through the city’s new Low-Rise Ordinance, which aims to allow buildings up to four stories tall in 57 neighborhoods near transit lines.
Why it matters
L.A. lawmakers have tried many approaches to bring down L.A.’s high rents. But they have consistently voted to stop apartment developers from encroaching on the nearly three-quarters of city residential land reserved for single-family homes.
Pushed by state lawmakers, city leaders are now having to accept some changes in single-family neighborhoods located near public transit lines.
The reaction
Some local officials and homeowners have expressed frustration over new state limits on their ability to stop development in low-density zones. But advocates for more development said the council’s decision will help address high rents by allowing more housing in areas that have long been off-limits to new apartments.
“The City Council voted to open up high-resource single-family neighborhoods near transit stations,” said Scott Epstein, policy director with Abundant Housing L.A. “This reform is long overdue and will help build a future where Angelenos of all incomes can find homes in the neighborhoods of their choice.”
Where will the projects be allowed?
Officials with the city’s planning department said residents can see whether Low-Rise Ordinance projects will be allowed in their neighborhood by clicking on this interactive map and making two selections from the “layer list” menu: “Opportunity Station Sites Eligible for Low Rise” and “Sites Eligible for Low Rise Outside of Opportunity Station.”
The map shows that some of the areas eligible for new apartment buildings under this plan include Westside neighborhoods within a half-mile of the E Line’s Westwood/Rancho Park station, pockets of the San Fernando Valley near G Line stops, and parts of Eagle Rock along Colorado Boulevard’s planned North Hollywood to Pasadena rapid bus line.
Is this a done deal?
Both plans — the decision to delay full SB 79 implementation, and the new Low-Rise Ordinance — now go to Mayor Karen Bass for final approval. Council members are also considering some tweaks they say would help Low-Rise Ordinance projects get built.
Those changes would include letting developers build denser projects if they reserve more units for low-income renters, as well as rules that would let developers build ground-level parking instead of costlier underground parking. The council’s planning committee voted Tuesday to forward those suggestions to the full City Council for further debate.
A drone is on display at a Los Angeles Police Commission meeting earlier this year. You might spot one overhead this Fourth of July.
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Martin Romero
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Topline:
SoCal is adopting a new form of surveillance to monitor illegal firework use: drones.
Why now: The devices are now an easier way to patrol local neighborhoods after a call to the police department has been made, allowing officers to determine if someone should be sent to the scene or a citation should be given.
Read on… for more information about this system.
There’s a new tool to fight illegal fireworks this Fourth of July: drones.
“A drone’s real-time aerial view can help officers assess situations faster, improve safety, support faster response times and ensure the right resources are sent where they’re needed most,” the Anaheim Police Department stated in an Instagram post.
Anaheim's department is the latest law enforcement agency using the technology to quickly identify illegal fireworks use. The Downey City Council is expected to vote Tuesday night on potential new fines and new rules that would allow local law enforcement to use drones to patrol neighborhoods for illegal fireworks usage.
How it works
Here's how the tech is put to use: Seconds after authorities receive a call reporting illegal fireworks activity, drones can take to the air, hovering above neighborhoods and businesses to find a specific location and an offender. The surveillance devices are equipped with night vision and zoom lenses that allow first responders to record high definition videos right from their Real Time Crime Center at the station.
Then, officers can determine whether to send out a patrol car or issue a citation for the incident.
Why it matters
The city’s drone usage comes as law enforcement agencies across Southern California brace for the annual flood of complaints about illegal firework use at this time of the year. Drones make the most effective use of time and resources, experts say.
“We'll typically see about 2,000 calls and about 300 related to fireworks,” Anaheim’s chief communications officer Mike Lyster explained about the Fourth of July. “It really is a better use of resources on what is always a very, very busy holiday for us.”
Drones allow officials to collect enough evidence to issue these citations. In Anaheim, the punishment starts at $1,000 and climbs to $3,000 by the third offense. But authorities say the goal is to curb illegal fireworks use altogether due to the risk of injury and wildfires.
Lyster hopes that people will think twice about using illegal fireworks this holiday — not just because of the fines — but because of its negative impact on local communities.
“The Palisades fire was ultimately started by illegal fireworks, and sadly, not in our city, but in our neighboring city, a young Anaheim girl died in an illegal fireworks incident last year,” Lyster said.
Where are drones already in use?
More cities are testing this method in order to crack down on illegal firework use. Sacramento, San Bernardino and Riverside are just a few of the other areas that have adopted this technology in recent years.
How do I know what's legal?
If you have any questions about what is legal or not in your community, a quick Google search can help.
Each county goes by different regulations for the types of fireworks you can use — if at all.
For example, parts of Anaheim allow “safe and sane” fireworks to be used only on the Fourth of July between 10 a.m and 10 p.m. This includes non-explosive, non-aerial devices like fountains, sparklers and smoke balls. State-approved fireworks will have a State Fire Marshal seal.
LAist staffer Anjanette Gile also contributed to this report.
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The LAist community engagement team spoke with Altadena residents outside Fair Oaks Burger in Altadena on January 17.
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Nubia Perez
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LAist
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Topline:
Your neighborhood has a reporter. Have you met them yet? On Saturday, coffee shops across L.A. are turning into places where you can tell a journalist exactly what’s been bugging you about your block…while drink amazing coffee.
More details: From Boyle Heights to Silver Lake to Inglewood to Long Beach, local reporters will be set up at neighborhood coffee shops from from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — to hear what’s on your mind. Got a tip about a pothole that’s been eating tires for years? A landlord the city keeps ignoring? A community hero nobody’s written about? We want to hear it all!
Connect with us: LAist has been meeting community members in person through LAist Listens tabling events by popping up at local businesses.
Read on ... for more on where LAist and other local news outlets will be across L.A.
Your neighborhood has a reporter. Have you met them yet?
On Saturday, coffee shops across L.A. are turning into places where you can tell a journalist exactly what’s been bugging you about your block … while drinking amazing coffee.
From Boyle Heights to Silver Lake to Inglewood to Long Beach, local reporters will be set up at neighborhood coffee shops from from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — to hear what’s on your mind. Got a tip about a pothole that’s been eating tires for years? A landlord the city keeps ignoring? A community hero nobody’s written about? We want to hear it all!
It’s part of Local News Day LA, a pop-up series organized by The LA Local that connects you with your local reporter and give you a chance to become the source instead of just the reader.
LAist has been meeting community members in person through LAist Listens tabling events by popping up at local businesses.
See below for the full list of participating media outlets and coffee shops — The LA Local and our media partners hope you’ll join us:
LAist will be joining The LA Local and other local media partners for Local News Day LA on June 27.
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The LA Local
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Where to find a journalist
The LA Local – Koreatown, Pico Union, Westlake will be hosted by Open Market
The LA Local – Inglewood and South LA will be hosted by Asteroid Vinyl Cafe
Boyle Heights Beat will be hosted by Picaresca Cafe
CalMatters will be hosted by Yia Caffe
Calo News will be hosted by Cruzita’s Deli and Cafe
The Eastsider will be hosted by Rosebud Coffee (Highland Park location)
LAist will be hosted by Cafe Calle
Los Angeles Radio Collective will be hosted by Spoke Bicycle Cafe
LA Sentinel will be hosted by Patria Coffee
LA Taco will be hosted by Cafecito Organico (Silverlake location)
LA Public Press will be hosted by Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea
Long Beach Post will be hosted by Wrigley Coffee
Q Voice News will be hosted by Hot Java
USC Annenberg Media will be hosted by South LA Cafe (Western location)
Come enjoy a cup of coffee (or tea) with us while supplies last.
Bottles of Pantene conditioner are displayed at a Costco in San Diego.
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Kevin Carter
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Getty Images
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Topline:
A coalition of 17 states and a trade association representing U.S. wholesalers and distributors have sued California to block the enforcement of a stringent recycling law that aims to reduce plastic packaging waste.
The backstory: The lawsuit, filed yesterday in federal court, argues that California’s recently finalized regulations that will gradually require companies to scale back single-use plastics and ensure all packaging is recycling or compostable should be struck down.
Why now: The plaintiffs called the regulations “onerous mandates” that will cause steep price increases in everyday necessities that will be passed on, at least in part, to consumers.
What California officials say: Melanie Turner, a spokesperson for CalRecycle, said in an emailed statement that the agency does not comment on pending litigation and that it remained focused on implementing the law.
A coalition of 17 states and a trade association representing U.S. wholesalers and distributors have sued California to block the enforcement of a stringent recycling law that aims to reduce plastic packaging waste.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, argues that California’s recently finalized regulations that will gradually require companies to scale back single-use plastics and ensure all packaging is recycling or compostable should be struck down. The plaintiffs called the regulations “onerous mandates” that will cause steep price increases in everyday necessities that will be passed on, at least in part, to consumers.
“Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country. If California goes unchecked, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic necessities,” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who led the coalition, said in a news release.
The law, called the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, was enacted in 2022.
“Virtually every product packaged or shipped in plastic containers, as well as a significant number of other types of packaging materials that merely incorporate plastics, fall into the Act’s remarkable sweep,” the lawsuit said.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, which represents companies that import and distribute goods in California, also joined the lawsuit.
“California is not entitled to pronounce nationwide policies,” Eric Hoplin, the trade association’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Because the Act extends California’s regulatory reach far beyond its borders and brings within its sweep conduct wholly unconnected to California, the Act violates principles of federalism, the horizontal separation of powers, and due process.”
The lawsuit argues the law violates both the U.S. and California constitutions. It asks the court to declare California’s law invalid and unenforceable, and halt its implementation.
The lawsuit names as defendants Zoe Heller, director of California’s recycling agency known as CalRecycle, and the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit involved with implementing the law.
Melanie Turner, a spokesperson for CalRecycle, said in an emailed statement that the agency does not comment on pending litigation and that it remained focused on implementing the law.
The alliance said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit and closely monitoring developments while at the same time working to implement the law’s “ambitious goals.”
In a May news release announcing regulations under the law, state officials said the changes would fight plastics pollution while protecting the interests of taxpayers and local governments.
“California is shifting the responsibility of managing single-use plastic and packaging onto the producers. New packaging reforms lower waste costs for communities and decrease garbage and pollution across the state,” Environmental Protection Secretary Yana Garcia said in a statement. “This approach pushes producers to innovate and design packaging that truly supports a circular economy.”
Joining Nebraska in the lawsuit were 16 other states with Republican attorneys general: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.Environmental groups also have sued over the law. A coalition that included the Natural Resources Defense Council recently filed a complaint over what it said in a news release were “weakened” final regulations for the “landmark” law.
