Ashleigh Parsons remembers where it all started and where Ari and Alma are going next.
I think we were both 23 and we thought "we’ll open a place called Alma someday."
In our minds we envisioned it to be a spot for the community: artists, musicians, creatives. A place to come meet new people and eat good food. That was in 2009. I met Ari the year before at a yoga studio on Folsom Street in San Francisco. When I asked him what he did, he replied "I cook." I didn’t know exactly what that meant until we started talking. He knew everything from Alice Waters’ life story to the details of stone barn at Blue Hill to Michel Bras and what inspired his cooking. Ari seemed to read cookbooks overnight and memorize their contents. Rene Redzepi, David Kinch, Jeremy Fox, Daniel Patterson, Inaki—these were all chefs that he followed obsessively. His obsession was toxic, too.
Born and raised in New Jersey with no knowledge of the food world, I found myself falling in love with the farmers markets in the Bay Area and paying close attention to the influential food mecca that I was surrounded by in San Francisco. During this time I began to explore how my passion for education could somehow merge with food. It made sense in my head but I couldn’t yet get it down on paper.
We both traveled to Arles, France in 2010 to work alongside chef Armand Arnal at La Chassagnette. Located on 500 acres of fertile land in the middle of the Carmargue, the restaurant is idyllic. Ari worked the line and I learned Michelin starred service, essentially serving as a bus boy, carefully folding hundreds of napkins each day and polishing beautiful wine glasses. Ari learned how to cook Michelin starred food with a dedication to garden to table cuisine.
During the stage in France I think we both felt inspired to bring what we had learned in the south of France to California, but when we returned to San Francisco the challenge seemed too great.
So in 2011, I went to Cambridge to pursue a Masters Degree in Education while Ari focused his energy on building his resume, working in highly acclaimed restaurants throughout California. He told me he would open a restaurant before he was 30. He was 25 at the time and not for a moment did I doubt his words. In 2012, he moved to L.A. to run a kitchen, but it didn’t work out the way he wanted. I think he realized at that he had to be his own boss moving forward. He was a visionary and that didn’t fit well within the "answer to a boss" model.
Without taking a moment to pause, Ari began Alma pop-ups with a small crew and 20 hour days. What little profit they made off the dinners went to investing in the next pop-up. You could find them at Flake in Venice or Millies on the east side. While he had no previous street cred, his food and vibe received a lot a buzz, which I think gave Ari the confidence to pursue opening his own restaurant.
I watched the story of Alma unfold from Cambridge. I tried to focus my energy on research, but I couldn’t subdue my draw toward Los Angeles and to Alma. I graduated in May, and in June, Ari called me up and said, “I have a lease available. The Ace is opening up across the street in a year or two. It’s downtown where everything is happening. I have 24 hours to decide. Thoughts?” I responded with a simple “yes.”