L.A. chef picked to run Tesla diner in Hollywood

The Tesla diner slated to open in Hollywood will be run by Eric Greenspan, a longtime Los Angeles chef, a Tesla investor announced this week.

Greenspan will be the chef de cuisine at the new diner set to open on Santa Monica Boulevard, which will feature a drive-in movie theater and 75 V4 Supercharger stalls, according to a post on X by Sawyer Merritt, a self-identified Tesla investor.

Greenspan declined to comment or confirm his involvement in the project, telling The Times, “I’m not sure there’s that much to talk about.”

But Tesla’s Elon Musk seemed to confirm the hiring, responding to Merritt on X: “It will be cool.”

Greenspan, a Le Cordon Bleu alum and Patina veteran, launched into L.A.’s culinary scene with his Californian-French restaurant the Foundry in 2007. He went on to open multiple restaurants and eventually founded Alt/Grub/Faction, a collection of ghost kitchens, or restaurants-in-name-only that deliver food to an online clientele. He also developed New School American Cheese, a product that’s currently served on burgers and sandwiches across Los Angeles.

“Greenspan is a charismatic man, with a big, low-slung presence and a loud personality that can distract you (is it a diversionary tactic?) from his considerable intelligence,” wrote Amy Scattergood, former editor of the L.A. Times Food section.

Greenspan frequently serves as a restaurant consultant, lending culinary acumen to projects such as the Weight Watchers cafe and Mr. Beast Burger. Whether Greenspan will serve as the Tesla Diner’s head chef or a consultant — simply advising aspects of the menu — is yet to be seen.

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Another possible connection to the restaurant, reported by the New York Times, is influential restaurateur Bill Chait, with a William Chait listed as the manager for Zero2One LLC, a company cited on recent job postings for the Tesla Diner.

Chait helped mold the city’s dinescape through his operations of Bestia, République, the Rose and others via Sprout Restaurant Group, which he left in 2015.

More recently Chait has had a hand in Fanny’s at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Tartine, the since-shuttered Zozo La Brea, and new Chinatown restaurant First Born.

Chait and Greenspan aren’t alone in making news this week related to the Tesla Diner.

In a separate article by the New York Times, which interviewed L.A. chefs about the project, République chef-owner Walter Manzke said it “sounds exciting” and noted that his wife — République co-owner and James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Margarita Manzke — agrees.

“She told me the other day that she wants to buy a Tesla, so I can tell you what side she’s on,” Manzke said.

The Manzkes faced immediate backlash, and in a since-deleted Instagram post, wrote that the statement was never meant to be political.