Community Highlights: Meet Vanessa Pellegrini of Vittorios Restaurant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Pellegrini.

Hi vanessa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We started 40 years ago in the Marquez Knolls neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. One of 2 Italian restaurants in the entire village. My mother was selling cakes out of her bakery in the Valley to all the Westside restaurants, and stumbled on Vittorio’s. The owner, Giovanni, after a few years, asked her to be a partner. She thought about it for a year, and then decided to give it 6 months before deciding to fully commit herself to the business. She never looked back. She sold her bakery and was full time at Vittorio’s starting in 1989. In October 2024, we celebrated 40 years. We invited all our customers, friends, neighbors and staff to commemorate the last 4 decades, not realizing it would be the last time we would all be together in one place again. On Jan. 7, 2025, the Palisades fire burned our restaurant to the ground. We watched on TV, with everyone else. We made calls, sent texts, emailed anyone who had some information about what was happening, only to find out that everything had burned to ash and twisted metal. We mourned with everyone who lost homes, heirlooms, decades of memories, businesses, and community for months, and still trying to pick up some of the pieces.

Fast forward to early April when I started engaging a company that had reached out about a Mobile Food Trailer they had for lease. It was so far from my mind to start anything up again; The thought of not coming back in some way, and maybe finding some of our community, seemed liked going backwards. So, my sister Sabrina and I decided to work on starting up a mobile food truck – a Pop up, if you will. Our current location, at the Canyon Square, fell into our lap – almost a kindness from the universe. After several meetings with Frank Langen, our current landlord, some construction, design, logistics, and recruiting our old staff, we opened up Vittorio’s at Canyon Square on Aug 24, 2025. We were immediately embraced by this very chill, eclectic, and vibrant canyon community, that had also embraced may of our patrons who were displaced. We quickly found out that we were part of something bigger than us; a community that had lost so much, but were so willing to find a little piece of home.

We are planning on rebuilding in our original location, but that seems like a distant dream right now. We are focused on the present, and hope for the future.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. There were may obstacles, first being that we had never had to start from ground zero. Second, that we were going from 2500 sq ft to 18 FEET. It was a little bit of a logistics nightmare but we have such a great team, that most if not all the kinks have been ironed out. We had to reduce our menu, reevaluate hours and operations, understand that we are now in the “elements” and not shielded from wind, rain, noise pollution, air pollution etc. It’s definitely a labor of love.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a family owned and operated, all women business that serves homemade Italian pizzas, pastas, salad, and sandwiches, and has been serving Pacific Palisades and Los Angeles, for over 40 years. We are most proud of our legacy and the thousands of families that we have been a part of over the past 4 decades. We are currently operating a mobile version of our favorites items from our restaurant in the Canyon Square, located in Santa Monica Canyon, just off PCH and Chatauqua, on West Channel Rd. We’re known for all of pizzas and pastas, but our most popular item is the Garlic Rolls!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
There isn’t one book or podcast that helps. I’m an avid reader and to be honest, life, my parents and sister, and my husband have been my best resources when it comes to helping me do my best.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vittoriosla.com
• Instagram: vittorios_pacific_palisades
• Facebook: vittorio ristorante and pizzeria

Image Credits
Albert Frigone and Jon Duede