About Our Family

It all started When…

Founder Josh Loeb hosted an intimate series of dinners at his tree house-like home nestled in Rustic Canyon. He’d shop at the nearby Santa Monica Farmers’ Market for the best produce and come up with different themes for each night. Lovers of quality food and wine would gather around a long, candlelit table to share the joy of a meal created with thought and passion. New friends were made, stories were told and favorite wines were discovered. This is what inspired the idea behind Rustic Canyon, which opened in December 2006. Soon after, Zoe Nathan, also a Santa Monica native, joined the team as Pastry Chef. With their friend Colby Goff, Josh and Zoe began organically opening more restaurants in the neighborhood that filled a missing niche, such as a farmers’ market-driven ice cream shop, pizza parlor or wine bar and shop.

Our Rustic Canyon Family includes a variety of dining destinations, all in partnership with some of our favorite people and incredibly, talented chefs. We embrace seasonality and make as much as possible in-house using classic craftsmanship and technique, while sourcing the highest-quality ingredients from local farmers and vendors with sustainable practices. We believe in creating welcoming spaces for everyone, and really take “family” to heart, by ensuring our employees and all who walk through our doors feel at home.

Rustic Canyon - Helmed by James Beard-nominated Chef/Partner Jeremy Fox and Chef de Cuisine Elijah DeLeon, this hyper-seasonal, critically-acclaimed restaurant embodies a slow food ethos and is constantly inspired by the beautiful ingredients that come from the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market (located just blocks away) and other incredible farmers and purveyors in our area. Our motto is “Simple Ain’t Easy,” which means we believe in taking all the small, and often time-consuming or unnoticed, extra steps to make something really special. Jeremy has instilled a zero-waste ethos into the kitchen and bar, so nearly everything’s made from scratch, including sea salt and cultured butter. Our award-winning wine list, curated by Rustic Canyon Family Wine Director Kathryn Coker and Sommelier Jenna Isaacs, runs 300+ bottles deep, while longtime Bar Manager Justin Dicken’s inventive, market-driven cocktails lean heavily on small-batch spirits and an astonishing array of housemade ingredients.

Huckleberry Bakery & Café - What started off as a series of weekend breakfast pop-ups at Rustic Canyon turned into this Santa Monica Farmers’ Market-inspired bakery, cafe and marketplace that debuted in February 2009. Pastry Chef/Partner Laurel Almerinda keeps the pastry case overflowing with biscuits, tarts and doughnuts, and so much more, while the kitchen team whips up an all-day breakfast and lunch menu of egg dishes, salads, sandwiches and dinner-friendly take & bake items. The marketplace contains the best, organic fruits & vegetables from the nearby farmers’ market, jars of salad dressing, salsa & pesto, housemade baking mixes, pantry items from our favorite artisans, plus more. Zoe, Josh and Laurel also published a cookbook in 2014 called Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets and Recipes from our Kitchen. It features over 115 simple recipes for our signature pastries and sweet/savory breakfast dishes.

Sweet Rose Creamery - This neighborhood ice cream shop was born out of Josh, Zoe, Colby and Founding Chef Shiho Yoshikawa’s desire to create delicious ice cream from scratch, with a touch of whimsical, childhood nostalgia and thoughtfully-sourced, organic ingredients. Inspired by the nearby farmers’ market, ice cream flavors change monthly and with the micro-seasons, alongside a variety of fun sundaes, creamy milkshakes, playful ice cream cakes and an abundance of frozen novelties. Plus, we’re an actual “creamery,” and the only independent ice cream shop in LA (that we know of) to have both this certification AND use ALL organic ingredients in the dairy base. Our flagship, located in the Brentwood Country Mart, where everything’s made in our tiny kitchen, opened in May 2010.

Milo + Olive - This neighborhood bakery and pizzeria debuted in winter 2011, and it’s also the bread-baking hub for our group. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, pop in early for one of Head Baker Andrea Shirey’s bagels, rustic tarts or a fresh loaf of bread to-go. Later in the day, dig into our classic and seasonal wood-fired pizzas, handmade pastas, farmers’ market vegetable dishes and Italian-inspired proteins. Don’t forget the Garlic Knot—it’s a local favorite!

Cassia - This critically-acclaimed, James Beard-nominated Southeast Asian brasserie opened in June 2015 as a partnership with Chef Bryant Ng and his wife Kim Luu-Ng. It largely celebrates Bryant’s Chinese-Singaporean roots, with nods to French cuisine and Kim’s Vietnamese heritage. There’s an array of raw seafood, clay-oven breads, satay and other wood-grilled meats and fish, comforting noodles, curries and fried rice dishes—all of which showcase seasonal ingredients from California’s best organic farmers, ranchers and fishers. General Manager & Sommelier Marianna Caldwell’s comprehensive wine list encompasses an intriguing, global selection of small production, planet-friendly wines, while the bar team’s fun cocktails incorporate Southeast Asian flavors and seasonal ingredients.

Esters Wine Shop & Bar - Right across the hall from Cassia is this chic wine bar and shop that opened in July 2015. Co-owned by Rustic Canyon Family Wine Director Kathryn Coker and her husband Tug, you can come for a glass of champagne and a meal, buy a special bottle for a friend, stock your wine cellar and attend weekly Sunday tastings. There are 250+ wines to choose from curated by Kathryn and Sommelier Randall Middleton, alongside seasonal cocktails and mocktails from Bar Manager Jonah Atkins. The all-day menu pulls influences from the team’s favorite French and Spanish wine bars, with a variety of seasonal composed plates, snacks and charcuterie & cheese.

Birdie G’s - Tucked away within Santa Monica’s historic Bergamot Station, this fun, neighborhood restaurant opened in late June 2019 from Jeremy Fox. It takes inspiration from Jeremy’s Eastern European roots and California’s abundant produce, and imbues a sense of nostalgia, no matter when and where you grew up. He and Executive Chef Matthew Schaler’s comforting menu features a variety of California wood-grilled meats and fish, beautiful seasonal vegetable dishes and salads, handmade pastas and whimsical mashups like the “World Famous” Rose Petal Pie. The 250+ wine list, overseen by Sommelier Demetria Lewis, also features over 90 half bottle options, and the bar (aka “The Bird’s Nest”) is the perfect spot to post up for one of Bar Manager Stephanie Reading’s wildly creative cocktails or a classic Martini.

The Dutchess - This all-day bakery, café and Burmese restaurant opened in January 2022 in the heart of downtown Ojai, and is housed in an historic building on the site of the town’s first bakery. It’s an “everything place” that captures the spirit of Ojai’s farmers and artisans, and is a fun eclectic collaboration amongst friends and family—Zoe, Josh, Baker Kelsey Brito and Chef Saw Naing. Daytime features great coffee and tea from local purveyors, rustic breads and pastries, comforting egg dishes, fresh salads and seasonal sandwiches. Nighttime shifts into an energetic restaurant featuring Burmese fare, as a celebration of Saw’s heritage. Sommelier Emily Johnston curates a list of small production wines focused on grapes farmed in an ecologically-responsible way, alongside the team’s farmers’ market-driven classic cocktails and mocktails, and regional craft beers. Everything is crafted from beautiful ingredients, with the majority coming from within 50 miles, including Zoe and Josh’s 50/50 Farms and other farms focused on soil health.