Connect
To Top

Meet Eric and Alissa Hwang of Ocean View Bar and Grill in Montrose, La Crescenta

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric and Alissa Hwang.

Alissa has been working in restaurants since she was a teenager and she grew up in the La Crescenta area. When Alissa’s mother passed away, she left us a substantial inheritance and we knew we had to invest the money into something that was meaningful. And when the opportunity to buy Ocean View came up, it just made too much sense to us. We couldn’t pass it up. Alissa had been a customer at Ocean View back when she had just gotten to drinking age. It’s been a cornerstone of the neighborhood for 25 years and it’s a neighborhood that she calls home. When we were first dating, we would hang out on the Honolulu strip in Montrose and sing karaoke together at all the local spots in town. In a lot of ways, buying Ocean View was like coming home.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been extremely rewarding and fulfilling for both of us, but it hasn’t been easy. This is the first business we’ve ever owned, and there’s no handbook of directions to follow for this kind of thing. Alissa had decades of experience, but I’ve never even worked in a restaurant before owning this one, so this whole time, she’s had to teach me about all the basics while we’re both learning about the top level ownership responsibilities. And then of course, there’s been all the COVID complications. We closed down for a couple of months which we spent sifting through assistance programs and personal finances to see if we could reopen our doors. And since reopening, it’s been a constant adjustment period just adapting to all the new rules and regulations while trying to still maintain a high level of hospitality. Every week it seems like it’s something different. And all that on top of just the normal business of managing cash flow, supplies, and labor. It’s definitely been a major challenge.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Ocean View Bar and Grill – what should we know?
We’ve tried to let our ideals guide our decisions and make Ocean View Bar and Grill all about taking care of people. We take care of the guests when they come in to eat or drink with us. We take care of our team members by providing them a nurturing environment where they can perform to their highest potential. We take care of our community by actively seeking out donations and charity opportunities from Dine Out fundraisers for the local schools, to donating meals to our local health care heroes at Verdugo Hills Hospital, to sending food to feed the homeless. One way or the other, when you come to Alissa’s Ocean View, we want you to feel well taken care of.

The COVID restrictions have been a real acid test for restaurant owners. We’ve seen restaurants cut their service staff in order to cut back on the number of bodies in the building and pull back on labor costs. But we’ve been prioritizing spending the extra money to add staff and equip all of them with the proper Personal Protective Equipment to make everyone safe, even though it’s sending our operating costs through the roof. Because we believe that the people are at the heart of the personal service that we provide.

And we’ve been seeing our brand of hospitality having a real effect. Our guests tell us every day about how grateful they are to have a place to go where they feel safe to connect to the world. Everybody’s been locked in their houses for months, so even if it’s just an hour out to eat some good food and breathe some fresh air, it’s important to touch base with the world. And we’re seeing that every day we serve people at our restaurant. Our guests are deeply grateful to see our smiling faces, even if those faces are behind a cloth mask and a plastic face shield. And if we can go just a little further and help those people feel not only connected and safe but also taken care of and loved, then that’s the job we’re looking to do.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First and foremost, we’ve had a ton of support from our community. Whether it’s just coming by to give us some business, or sending us local talent, or booking private events, we have definitely always felt the love from our community. Local bands and musicians have built a community within our community of live music fans. And local up and coming comedians have made our private room a genuine workout room for comedians trying out new material in an intimate room. It just breaks our hearts that we can’t have any of our entertainment acts out during the COVID crisis because they are such a big part of the Ocean View community.

But we’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention our wonderful chef, Royle Kim. Finding Royle to run our kitchen has been vital for us. He’s also a hometown kid who grew up in the area, so he really connects with the homecoming part of our experience, and he’s been such an incredible and reliable collaborator for us in building the menu and executing it and crafting it to be what we want it to be.

And it’s important for us to mention our old friend Vanessa Walker, who manages the floor for us. She’s been an old friend of ours since way back when we were all just dumb drunk kids singing karaoke together. She signed on with us at the beginning as a complete leap of faith and has been at our side leading and inspiring our team ever since. Honestly, our entire staff has shown us so much loyalty and heart and talent over the years. Every member of the team is a vital part of our family.

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in