Bistro bustle
HAYLEY FELDMAN • Coucou
WORK • Thursday Routine
HAYLEY FELDMAN • co-founder • Coucou
Neighborhood you work in: Venice, West Hollywood & Manhattan Beach
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
We literally just opened the doors on our third location of Coucou in Manhattan Beach [opened yesterday! –ed], so it’s truly all-hands-on-deck as we get into the rhythm of our new space and community. As co-founder and owner alongside my partner (and husband) Jesse, I’m being pulled in a million different directions right now.
My mornings start early (usually around 530a) with a lot of iced black coffee. It’s when I’m most productive. I spend that time reviewing end-of-night reports from the restaurants (which also include our Venice and West Hollywood locations), flagging anything that needs attention, and also celebrating the team’s wins from the night before.
What’s on the agenda for today?
After an early meeting, I’ll snag a sandwich from our next-door neighbor, Bread Head (one of the best tuna sandwiches in LA), and head back to the Westside to pick up my two kids from school. After some family time, I’ll go into either our Venice or West Hollywood location for a pre-shift manager meeting. I’m neurotic about the details of how the restaurant looks and feels. I spend the hour before service refreshing florals, dialing in our playlist, and mood-lighting.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
We love sitting at the sushi bar at Uchi (right next to our West Hollywood location). We’ll also go see our friend Jesse, the manager of Lulu at the Hammer Museum, which I think is one of the most underrated restaurants in Los Angeles. It’s always a beautiful, market-driven meal and they know our martini order by heart.
If we’re in Venice, we’re usually walking into RVR or Felix (which is one of those neighborhood restaurants that, I swear, just keeps getting better).
How about a little leisure or culture?
Before the fires, we spent a lot of time renovating our backyard with Terremoto, who are just incredible landscape designers who focus on native, drought-resistant gardening practices. They really created a true haven for us.
We like to stop by our local gourmet shop, Canyon Grocer (run by our friend Kurt) for a snack-friendly spread that we can enjoy in the garden: a wedge of Challerhocker, Larchmont’s Best Hummus, or a La Morra Pizza.
Any weekend getaways?
We love taking a quick flight up to Santa Rosa and driving into Healdsburg. My mother-in-law owns Barndiva in Northern California, which she’s run for over 20 years. They also have a (dry-farmed) apple orchard about an hour north that’s incredibly special… very low-key, incredibly peaceful. For a family-friendly meal and truly excellent pizza, we absolutely love Offspring in Boonville.
What was your last great vacation?
Our last vacation wasn’t really a vacation at all. After being displaced from our home during the Palisades fires, we ended up traveling abroad for six months. It was chaotic, but also incredibly meaningful. We spent most of our time in Paris, and it really allowed us to immerse ourselves in the culture. Some of our newer favorites were Pluto in the Marais and La Bonbonnette, a wine bar also in the Marais with an incredible wine selection.