We Know Weho

This week's featured guest on We Know WeHo is the incredible Marianne Williamson who is a bestselling author, non-profit and political activist, and spiritual thought leader.  Marianne has deep roots to West Hollywood with the incredible work she was was doing with the community during the AIDS crisis.  This work organically lead to Project Angel Food, a non-profit that Williamson founded that has delivered more than 13 million meals to ill and dying homebound patients since 1989.

Marianne Williamson is the author of 14 books, four of which have been #1 New York Times best sellers. A quote from the mega best seller A Return to Love, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers.

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West Hollywood has a new hotel on The Sunset Strip!  Located at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Olive Drive, Pendry West Hollywood features multiple food and beverage concepts helmed by acclaimed Chef Wolfgang Puck, a rooftop pool and bar, a multi-purpose live entertainment venue, a screening room, bowling alley, spa and state-of-the-art fitness center, as well as a curated art collection.

The Britely, LA's newest members social club is located within the walls of the new Pendry with its own elevator entrance to a private rooftop bar and lounge and cavernous member space located below.  The  first  Pendry Residences West Hollywood by Montage Hotels  &  Resorts is located just across the courtyard driveway and features spacious floorplans and terraces with exclusive residential amenities such as a private rooftop pool, fitness center, private lounge and wine room, and dedicated staff delivering exceptional hospitality, including catering and in-residence dining by Chef Wolfgang Puck.

David Hoffman is the General  Manager of Pendry West Hollywood and Pendry Residences West Hollywood by Montage Hotels & Resorts, which opened April 2021.  Mr. Hoffman has been a part of the Montage International team for over 17 years and has served in leadership roles opening several Montage International properties  including Montage  Kapalua Bay, Montage Beverly Hills and Montage Laguna Beach.  Most recently, he served as the general manager of Sagamore Pendry Baltimore, which he opened in 2017.  

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This week We Know WeHo is joined by husband and wife team Esther and Blaine Vess who very recently launched a premium nonalcoholic sparkling wine called Semblance.  It is made from Chardonnay grapes from Monterey County and goes through the standard winemaking process, but the alcohol is removed before bottling it.  Esther and Blaine created to give people a great-tasting alternative to alcohol and help people fit in when other people are drinking alcohol.  Next in the line up is a nonalcoholic sparkling rosé that may arrive in time for summer sipping!  You can order Semblance online and be sure to reach out if you want to pour it at your bar or restaurant.

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This week's guest is Australian-born artist James Peter Henry whose art studio is now based out of the La Peer Hotel in the West Hollywood Design District.  James' art work is influenced by Cubism, African Art and Australian Aboriginal Art he discovered in the caves above his childhood home in County Victoria, Australia.  He shares with the We Know WeHo team the latest rage of NFT's and how it is impacting the art world overall and him personally with some exciting upcoming future releases. 

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The celebration of Women's History Month continues as Chef Dakota Weiss joins the We Know WeHo team as our featured guest.   Chef Dakota has literally cooked her away across America after having graduated from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute.  She got her start at Santa Fe's legendary Coyote Café, did a brief stint at Dallas' Mansion on Turtle Creek and then headed to Atlanta to study with world-class French Chef Bruno at Menard Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead where she became Chef de Cuisine for the Sarasota private Ritz-Carlton Beach Club.   

Los Angeles foodies went wild when Dakota transferred out to Jer-ne at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey, and Angeleno magazine named her "Best New Chef" in 2006.  She then found herself in the heart of West Hollywood at the Executive Chef at the Sunset Tower's Hollywood A-list dining room on.  Chef Dakota helped open Parc in Philadelphia and returned to her California roots reopen Santa Monica's Shangri-LA as their executive chef.  She served as the executive chef for Nine-Thirty restaurant and The Backyard at the W Westwood and was the executive chef and owner of Estrella, a rock and roll bohemian restaurant on The Sunset Strip.   

Sweetfin, an all-raw fish casual dining restaurant is her newest venture.  Sweetfin is a healthful, chef-driven, California inspired poké and plant based bowl concept that uses local produce, sustainable fish, and innovative ingredients.  Their entire menu is gluten free and all of their menu items are made in-house, from scratch, daily.  Sweetfin was founded in Santa Monica, CA in 2015 and has eleven locations servicing Southern California.  Check out the latest collaboration with Los Angeles celebrity fitness trainer, Lacey Stone, and order a Protein Power Bowl, a Brain Booster or Immunity Bowl.

Chef Dakota competed as a chef-testant on Top Chef Texas and at one time served her own brand of innovative gourmet popcorn at Dakota's POP Parlor.  (Insider tip - try the white chocolate, matcha, coconut and sesame seed gourmet MATCHA POPCORN at Sweetfin!)

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Following the March theme of Women's History Month, We Know WeHo welcomes Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath to the show.  Mayor Horvath has a long history of civic and social justice advocacy and was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on March 3, 2015.  She is widely known for her leadership on women’s issues and serves as a Global Coordinator for One Billion Rising, a global campaign of the V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls.  She is also an Advocate for A Window Between Worlds, UN Foundation, and CARE. She was first appointed to the West Hollywood Women's Advisory Board in 2007, focusing on the issues facing women and families in West Hollywood, and has collaborated with community leaders and organizations in successfully advocating for the full funding of the backlog of untested rape kit evidence in the City and County of Los Angeles.  Lindsey is also a champion of LGBTQ rights, has served as a Board member of the Victory Fund, and is a founding Board member of the NOH8 Campaign.

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This week’s episode is all about Women’s History Month and is an ode to the women, past and present, who have made an impact on West Hollywood.  This is a We Know WeHO SOLO episode if it were, with no special guest this week - but Maxine turns the tables on Tracy and swaps seats to interview the creator of the We Know WeHo podcast.

Although West Hollywood is most famous for being the center of “Boys Town” and freedom of expression in the Rainbow District, women have played an integral part in the fabric of the Creative City’s history.  Tracy and Maxine are very proud of this as they recount the story of Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald at the Mocambo Room on The Sunset Strip in 1955 and Alla Nazimova’s infamous Garden of Allah Hotel where the Hollywood elite stayed and played that opened in January of 1927.  One cannot recount the history of WeHo without mentioning the AIDS crisis and the jam-packed weekly support meetings called “Hay Rides” lead by metaphysical and spiritual pioneer Louise Hay in the West Hollywood Park auditorium and Project Angel Food founded by Marianne Williamson in 1989 to provide meals for home-bound HIV patients.

Listen to hear all the amazing women that have been featured on We Know WeHo and be sure to go back into the archives and give a listen to any episodes you may have missed!

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This week's guest are the charming father and son team, Harvey and Louis Jason, who opened Mystery Pier Books in a charming English green bungalow located down a narrow alley on the Sunset Strip in August of 1998.  They carry exclusively First Edition literature:  including collectible books both fine and rare, that are mostly signed; rare cinema material, scripts signed by the shop's many celebrity clients and general Hollywoodiana.  One can find books signed by the likes of Dickens, Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence and even the great Harry Houdini.  Mystery Pier Books is internationally renowned and is called "One of the Most Important First Edition Bookshops in the U.S.". and is listed #1 in the Ten Best Hidden Gems of L.A.

Listen as Tracy sits down with these two lovely English Gentlemen and hears all about the treasures tucked away on the bookshelves including works by Anne Frank, Agatha Christie, and a true first edition of "Gone With the Wind" signed by Margaret Mitchell - a great lineup honoring Women's History Month.  You might be surprised by the celebrity clientele who are fan favorites of this charming little tucked away literature nook off Sunset, and even more surprised that Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is a regular who has been coming for over 20 years.

Tracy wants to know if Prince Harry, Oprah or Lady Gaga have walked through the doors...give the episode a listen and find out for yourself!  Mystery Pier Books is open seven days a week from noon until 5pm. (Insider Tip:  grab a tasty Mediterranean bite at Pi on Sunset next door on your way out of this magical literary spot)

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This week's episode is a follow up to last week's conversation with Shannon Morton from Black Women Lead as the team talks to Nick Meyer.  Nick Meyer is the Director of Operations at the Umbrella Hospitality Company that has a portfolio of several unique and trendy cocktail establishments in Los Angeles:  Melrose Umbrella Company, LONO Hollywood and The Corner Door.  Hear how quickly the team pivoted to offer to-go cocktails to their customers to adapt and how quickly a new endeavor, Umbrella Taco Co., came to life early on in the March 2020 shutdown.

The Melrose Umbrella Company knows it is all about community, and supporting each other and those in need.  Their Cocktails for Cause program, supported by EJ Gallo, features two to-go cocktails offered the month of February to help support the community programs at Black Women Lead.  The art on Blacker the Berry, from a local young queer Black artist can be purchased separately and tiki lovers will definitely want to put an order in for the second offering - the Chief Lapu Lapu tiki cocktail kit.

This week's episode is all about cocktails, community and magical COVID pivots. Enjoy and make sure to purchase art or order up some cocktails if you are near to West Hollywood! 

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This week local activist Shannon Morton, founder of Black Women Lead, joins the We Know WeHo team to share all the incredible service projects she is heading up through her non-profit organization that was founded last year in the month of June.  Shannon's efforts are deeply rooted and all about helping the community and those in need.  Black Women Lead give away 600 hot meals a week and 800 bags of groceries through the Black Women Lead Brown Bag program.  After a trip to skid row downtown LA, Shannon saw a need for hygiene supplies and has recently started a Black Women Lead hygiene kit that is handed out in a backpack to those in need.  

For the month of February, she has teamed up local bar owners at Melrose Umbrella Company to create a cocktail, Blacker the Berry, with a label created by a young Black queer artist.  EJ Gallo is donating $1 for every cocktail to go sold and Melrose Umbrella Company is matching the donation.  

Listen to hear Shannon's list of local Black owned businesses near West Hollywood and of course, a few favorite places to eat, shop and play in WeHo.

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