Matt Leum has more friends from his school days now than he did back then.

Matt grew up in Glendale, a suburb north of LA. His family's swimming pool was the only one on that block.

His dad owned a chain of supermarkets in the greater Los Angeles area. His parents met at the flagship store of that chain back when it was just a corner market. Matt grew up the youngest of six; his younger brother died at 4.

In the podcast, he shares stories of his mom's bad-assery as we dive into her history quite a bit, including her French and Inuit parents.

After college in Santa Barbara, Matt sent an unsolicited letter to a law firm in San Francisco asking about jobs, and got offered work as a response.

Please check back Thursday for Part 2, when Matt will tell us all about opening his restaurant in The City during the pandemic.

We recorded this podcast at Roma's Ristorante Italiano in South of Market in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather