60 Seconds With Richie Notar

New Yorker Richie Notar, the managing partner of Nobu restaurants, has a new excuse to soak up the left coast’s gentle winter rays: he’s opening a second L.A. Nobu in the former L’Orangerie on La Cienega. The launch has been pushed back to February, a minor inconvenience that has granted Notar -- an optimistic power player with razor-sharp business sense -- extra time to perfect his formula for success.

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WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE NEW NOBU?

We’re going to have a reservation-less lounge/bar with an almost-full menu. So many restaurants become victims of their own success. We want to stop people from saying, “Where do you want to go to dinner tonight? Not Nobu; we’ll never get in.”

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WHAT WILL MAKE THE NEW LOCATION SPECIAL?

I want it to be known as a restaurant first -- a lot of places become a discotheque with a guy outside with a clipboard -- I want you to come knowing you’re going to have a very good meal plus there will be what I call “dine-atainment.” Not all of us want to go on to Les Deux and LAX, so dinner is our entertainment.

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YOU WORKED FOR STEVE RUBELL AT STUDIO 54. HOW DOES THAT HELP WITH YOUR BUSINESS?

My knack is behavior; watching what people like and more importantly what they don’t like. From Facebook to YouTube, life is about social networking, so I try to keep it like a tossed salad. Too many guys -- get some girls; too many straights -- get some gays; get somebody in a flamboyant dress, keep it interesting like you would any cocktail party.

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WHAT WILL NOBU’S DECOR LOOK LIKE?

There’ll be remnants of other Nobus -- like scorched-ash tables and river stones -- but we’ll give it its own personality. Besides it’s the people inside who make a place cool. Once a guy complained that he didn’t like his table and I said, “Sir, you make the table, the table doesn’t make you.” I want to provide people with some fun. Food is about talking, it’s celebratory. Leave the BlackBerrys at home.

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WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THANKSGIVING?

I have a house in the Hamptons and, as a glutton for punishment, I’ve invited family over. The expectations are always high because I’m in the business, so I’m cooking a real country Thanksgiving. There won’t be any soy sauce within 50 yards of the house.

-- Jessica.Gelt@latimes.com