Santa Monica/Culver City: One of the core members of the team that brought you Fraiche and Riva sends along word that he's no longer involved in the aforementioned restaurants. Co-owner Thierry Perez, who also ran the front-of-house operations in the GM/maitre d' role, has left.
However, the silver lining to the breakup is that Perez will be opening his own restaurant in Culver City. It will be called Ben Fatto—Italian for "well done"—and the theme will indeed be that of a rustic Italian restaurant and cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. He's reportedly already nailed down a location and even hired a chef straight from Naples. More details on Ben Fatto as they come in, natch.
