Team

Eric Greenspan is a Managing Partner and a co-founder of Mish. Eric Greenspan is an acclaimed chef and popular TV personality. Following his graduation from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Eric attended the acclaimed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. He went on to train in New York with such celebrated chefs as Alain Ducasse, David Bouley, and Rocco DeSpirito, as well as apprenticing at three-star Michelin chef Ferran Adria's El Bulli in Rosas, Spain. As executive chef at Los Angeles' acclaimed Patina, Eric garnered critical acclaim for his imaginative and bold cuisine and was named one of Angeleno Magazine's “Eight Hot Chefs” in 2003. His kitchen was the top-ranked French restaurant in the 2004 Zagat Guide. In spring 2007, Eric opened The Foundry on Melrose to similarly rave reviews and resounding success. The Foundry was runner-up for Los Angeles Magazine's “Best New Restaurant.”

Eric was a pioneer in the emerging Ghost Kitchen/Virtual Restaurant space since its inception. In 2019, Eric was named to the 2020 National Restaurant News Power List for his work on the Alt/Grub/Faction, one of the first chef driven multi-concept delivery-only concept incubators that he started in 2017. He later disrupted the industry as Culinary Director for Virtual Dining Concepts, launching celebrity and IP driven virtual brands such as Pardon My Cheesesteak and Mr. Beast Burger, which became the fastest growing restaurant concept in history. Eric is the Co-Founder of New School American Cheese, a premium American Cheese brand launched in 2022.

Eric has hosted, judged, competed or appeared on countless TV shows, including on Food Network, A&E, National Geographic, NBC, Fox, Travel Channel, FYI, Tasted, Tastemade, Facebook Watch, and many others. He defeated Bobby Flay on “Iron Chef America,” is a regular judge on Food Network's “Guy's Grocery Games” and makes regular appearances on “Guy's Ranch Kitchen.” He has been profiled by such publications as The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Art Culinaire, Food and Wine Magazine, and Los Angeles Magazine. He is the author of two cookbooks: The Great Grilled Cheese Book: Grown-Up Recipes for a Childhood Classic (published by Ten Speed Press) and Cook Up Comfort with Eric Greenspan (published in partnership with WW). He also won the 2008 Grilled Cheese Invitational. He lives in LA with his wife and two sons.

Chait has been involved in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years, during which time he has developed and operated a number of highly successful restaurant concepts. Currently, Bill is the Managing Partner of S/III LA LLC, a restaurant holding company with interests in Tartine Bakery, Mian Noodle Shop, Kozo Restaurant on Sunset (soon to open) and Mish Delicatessen. He was previously the founder and President of Louise's Trattoria and LT Acquisition Corp., a multi-unit restaurant company, Principal of Spark Restaurants LLC and the founder and Managing Partner of Sprout LA. As the Managing Partner of Sprout LA, he has been referred to as the “west coast Danny Meyer”. He was responsible for the development and the opening of several of Los Angeles most exciting restaurants in collaboration with Chefs, including restaurants such as Bestia with chefs Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis, Petty Cash and Republique with chefs Walter Manzke and Margarita Manzke, Barrel and Ashes with chefs Rory Herrmann and Tim Hollingsworth, Otium with Chef Tim Hollingsworth, Redbird with chef Neal Fraser, Sotto with Chefs Steve Samson and Zack Pollack, Picca with Ricardo Zarate, Rivera and Playa restaurants with Chef John Sedlar and the Rose Cafe and Restaurant with Jason Neroni.

In 2010, he created the nationally acclaimed LA pop-up restaurant Test Kitchen, which pioneered an exciting new concept in dining featuring world renowned guest chefs and budding culinary talent. The Test Kitchen “Townhouse” on Pico was converted and operated with two restaurant concepts: Picca and Sotto restaurants. Chait and his restaurants have been featured in countless publications including, most recently, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Nation's Restaurant News, Sunset Magazine and Los Angeles Magazine. He is married to Clija Raissa de Olivera and lives in Los Angeles.

Kevin Klein is a Los Angeles–born entrepreneur and hospitality operator with more than 25 years of experience across business development, operations, and guest experience, spanning hotels, restaurants, sales, events, and nonprofit organizations. He has built and scaled companies from the ground up and guided established organizations through critical growth and turnaround phases with a disciplined, hands-on approach. Kevin has launched and led multiple ventures since 2004 including events and a hospitality consulting company. Since 2021, he has opened more than 9 restaurants, served as an operational task force leader for multiple hotel clients, and produced a wide range of small- and large-scale corporate and social events. His expertise includes restaurant and hotel operations and large-scale event production.

Julian Cox is a leading Food & Beverage entrepreneur and four time James Beard Award nominee.

As Partner and Executive Director of Beverage at Sprout LA, he helped lead one of Los Angeles' largest restaurant expansions and has collaborated with world-renowned chefs including Nancy Silverton, Mario Carbone, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Joël Robuchon, Ori Menache, Tim Hollingsworth, and Gordon Ramsay, launching more than 50 concepts across 11 U.S. cities and 4 countries.

In 2015 he relocated to Chicago to work directly under legendary Chicago restaurateur Rich Melman as a corporate executive, directly overseeing $144 million in annual revenue. His leadership led to several nominations at Tales of the Cocktail for legendary bar Three Dots and a Dash including best American Bar and Best High Volume cocktail bar.

In 2021, he joined MGM Resorts International as Executive Director of F&B Strategy, contributing to $4 billion in annual revenue and overseeing $250 million in wine and spirits purchasing during two of the company's most profitable years. In 2024 he served as VP of F&B Strategy at Miami behemoth Mila where he crossed $40M in sales making Mila one of the most successful restaurant groups in the country.

Stephanie Shannon is a spatial designer, creative director, and founder of Harper Shannon Design, based between Los Angeles and San Diego. Her path began through global travel, learning from culture, art, and people, and evolved through festival production, installations, set design, and weddings. This foundation informs an intuitive, artist-led approach—creating experimental, immersive environments that feel collected, intentional, and alive, rooted in sustainable sourcing and collaboration with artists. Shannon is known for her instinctive attention to detail, where each space is experienced as much as it is seen.

Aspen Scharff is the founder of Aspen Riley Designs, a San Diego–based boutique interior design studio known for creating elevated, highly intentional spaces across residential and commercial projects. Her work spans the U.S., with select projects extending internationally. With over eight years of hands-on experience, she studied Communication at the University of San Diego and received her formal interior design training from the Design Institute of San Diego.

Her work is defined by a balance of warmth, materiality, and timeless design, often drawing from Mediterranean influences and layered, textural palettes. Backed by a background in real estate and project execution, she brings a holistic approach to space, value, and execution.

Alyssa Morang-Pavlock is an interior designer and multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of form, feeling, and function. Her collaborative and distinctly intuitive approach highlights her ability to create immersive spaces that result in environments that are as experiential as they are aesthetic. Blending timeless style and material sensitivity, she crafts a carefully composed sense of place that aims to bring people together and inspire connection.

Michael Nattkemper is a master craft fabricator and artist whose work explores the evolution of raw materials, the methods used to refine them, and how they integrate into the environments in which we live. Working across disciplines that include woodworking, metal fabrication, stone masonry, and other traditional trades, his efforts bridge the gap between utility and art.

Drawn to the inherent qualities of wood, metal, and stone, he seeks not to conceal their origins but to reveal and celebrate them. His process often begins with materials in their raw form, sustainably sourced from their natural environment and thoughtfully refined through craftsmanship, honoring nature's elegant design while elevating its expression.

Influenced by traditional building practices and the patterns found throughout the natural world, his work examines how material authenticity affects our experience of space. Texture, patina, grain, weight, and imperfection are treated not as flaws to be removed, but as essential qualities that communicate history, place, and meaning.

Through a multidisciplinary approach, he constructs spaces that encourage contemplation while remaining grounded in function. His work reflects a belief that beauty emerges when materials are allowed to speak honestly, and when craftsmanship serves to elevate rather than overpower their natural character. Guided by a relentless pursuit of mastery, Michael continually expands his understanding of diverse trades and materials, believing that true craftsmanship is rooted in both knowledge and curiosity.