Meet Ellen Picataggio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Picataggio.

Hi Ellen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My family emigrated to the US from Korea in the early 1970’s. The first business we owned was a motel on the Las Vegas strip called the Minuteman. From that point, our family has remained in hospitality on both coasts. Fast-forward to the 90’s when my parents bought an aging motel in 1979 called the Farmer’s Daughter Motel on Fairfax. My husband (Peter) and I came down from the Bay Area to run the motel in 1999 and became partners.

We fell in love with the retro vibe of the neighborhood and the iconic residents that we were surrounded by (Farmer’s Market, Canters, LACMA, Melrose Shopping, and CBS Studios). We remodeled in the early 2000’s and doubled-down on the namesake and as the narrative for the brand. Peter oversees the business and operations side of the business and I oversee anything that involves the more creative aspect of the business. I studied Art History and have an insatiable desire to collect art/decor/vintage items borderline hoarder 🙂 so my outlet is the hotel. Since it’s family-owned, it has allowed us the freedom to create a brand that was based on something outside the box before “boutique” was a mainstream term for hotels. In the past twenty years that we’ve been on Fairfax, we’ve seen so many trends come and go and witnessed how technology revolutionized the travel industry. But good or bad, we still show up to our brick and mortar and approach our business like a small “mom and pop” establishment.

It’s inspiring to see other businesses that have been here for almost a hundred years also show up day to day as cornerstone members of this neighborhood. In a time when things are fleeting and businesses come and go so quickly – we enjoy steady and under the radar vibe. Our restaurant and hotel have had a lot of notable clients but we shy away from exploiting that. As a creative – what’s most rewarding is when seeing guests discover the little gems we have around the property. I liken the hotel’s vibe to be like visiting the crazy aunt’s house that you’d visit in the country – where things were comfortable but just weird enough to tickle your fancy. Never shiny – but patinaed. Through our business, we’re able to work with a talented group of creatives that have helped make the brand unique and more original.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think the biggest challenge is that we are a family-owned business instead of a large corporation. Whatever investments we are making on the property are out of our own pocket which can be limiting sometimes. It also means that Peter and I work together and live together which is a lot of “together time”. We’ve had to learn to define and respect each other’s roles so we don’t step on each other’s toes. We’re also getting better at separating “work time” and “family time” especially for the sake of our two boys at home.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our business is a mom and pop style operation. We wear a lot of hats but I work mostly on anything that is design related. When we needed to define our titles, I decided on “Brand Officer”. So I oversee anything that relates to the hotel narrative. We are only a 66 room hotel but we put a large focus and effort on the creative aspects that enhance the experience. We are lucky to have a talented network of artists and artisans that have worked to make our vision possible. Most items are custom creations. We rarely buy anything that is mass-produced or without some back-story. I collect a lot of knick-knacks from all over – I can’t pass a good flea market or estate sale! The hotel allows me to weave those pieces into the surroundings without making it a “thing”. I hate when the design isn’t organic. Though the pieces aren’t original to my handiwork, I treasure the idea of that heritage as much as the piece. I try to not make it an ironic piece.

For example, we have one of the few Art-O-Mat machines that exist around the US. Clark rehabs old cigarette machines into vending machine of original artwork by professional and amateur artists. It’s been our lobby for years and people that know will drive hours to get one of the art pieces out of the vending machine. I like that it’s this experience but not as a fad. We also have hand-painted original work by a close friend and artist from Vermont – Jesse Azarian. His signature piece is bacon being held up by Spok from Star Trek. He can paint anything and is a multi-talented artist/musician but the art he enjoys doing is sort of weird – which we love! We have a piece in each of the rooms and we sell them in the gift shop, Baggage along with some high-end custom clothing and accessories by local designers. These items aren’t the shopping mall brands but true gems that are a “find”. That journey – the excitement of discovery is what I love about travel. The slogan for our gift shop (Baggage) is, “have fun packing”.

What are your plans for the future?
Hmmm – with COVID, all the plans or ideas we had are now being put on pause. Now we are trying to take it day by day. Since travel has been greatly affected by Covid, we have had to lay off a majority of our staff and are working the front desk ourselves. It has felt grounding to be back in our old roles at the front desk, checking people in. I also learned to cook and bartend so that I could open the restaurant (TART) back up during COVID. We worked with a skeletal crew of just four people with a few of my girlfriends that came in to help when we got busy. This gave me a better understanding about the restaurant side of the business that was usually managed by others. The vision for the future is something in the line of a bed and breakfast feel – where the menu will be smaller with a chef’s special that changes regularly. We’ve also wanted to implement a new model on staffing that rethinks the idea of departments in the traditional sense.

Pricing:

• $155-195 during Covid
• $325 for suite (we have only 2)

Contact Info:

• Email: ellen@farmersdaughterhotel.com
• Website: www.farmersdaughterhotel.com
• Instagram: @farmersdaughterhotel
• Facebook: @farmersdaughterhotel

Image Credits
Left column from top to bottom: Mike Kelley, Mike Kelley, Ryan Phillips, Cherokee Presley Right column from top to bottom: Mike Kelley, Krystena Patton, Ryan Phillips, Ryan Phillips