Meet Johnny Jeltema Dave Abrams | Hospitality Owners & Operators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Johnny Jeltema Dave Abrams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Johnny Jeltema, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
To be brutally honest, Dave and I both do best when we work for ourselves. Oddly enough (and, yes, ironic!), in this industry, that means we work the most when the general population is working the least (holidays, weekends, nights). With knowing we wanted to work for ourselves, we both know that we thrive when taking care of others. We find that we are most fulfilled personally, when we know that those around us have what they need to be comfortable and happy. From that, we then wanted to create spaces where folks felt comfortable and could relax and be fed. We never want to, or even try to, reinvent the wheel with our bar/restaurant concepts; we simply want to infuse genuine hospitality in all we do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Currently, we are most proud about The Douglas. We closed escrow on March 13, 2020 and got the keys on March 20, 2020. We had no other choice but to continue down the path of opening. We opened on July 31, 2020 and have been lucky enough to still be open and thriving today. We like to say that we are still blacked out from the entire first year of bringing the bar to it’s feet. Dave and I work very well together and that was how we were able to make this place a success (so far!).

We feel incredibly lucky to have been able to navigate those times. It wasn’t easy, but at the same time, we were not an existing restaurant that had to fully change operations on a dime, nor were we nurses and doctors having to be on the front lines. We just opened up a bar – pretty small stuff in the grand scheme of it all.

Those challenges were tough, but the world had bigger problems and we are grateful we were able to provide a place for folks in 2020 to be able to feel a little bit more normal.

We look forward to continuing to build places were people can come an enjoy themselves and be comfortable, whether it’s with a group of friends or solo. Making people happy makes us happy. Simple as that.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ahh – being in the hospitality industry, we do get a lot of folks who ask us this!

We both like easy, comfortable, no-frills spots to eat and drink. When we have friends in town, we primarily like to bring them to places we love, rather than showing them new things.

F&B:
– The Douglas for breakfast, lunch and dinner (obviously give them the full experience)
– Little Dom’s for dinner in Los Feliz
– Sunday morning taco run to Tacos El Leoncito in East LA
– Apps and drinks at Capri Club in Eagle Rock
– Round of golf at Rustic Canyon in Thousand Oaks or Brookside in Pasadena (or a quick 9 at Roosevelt in Griffith Park)
– Breakfast burritos at Tacos Via Corona in Atwater Village
– A quick sandwich at Roma Market in Pasadena

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think we both fully understand that regardless of where we are in life, success is based on: when preparation meets opportunity you get luck. Without preparation, there’s rarely any opportunity. Without opportunity, there is rarely any luck. Without luck, theres rarely any success.

We give luck the majority of any sliver of success we’ve ever had. I think we both seek mentorship in our families. My Mom and Dad have owned and operated restaurants, bars, and hotels for close to fifty years teaching me the ins and outs of the business and how to communicate with folks. Dave’s sister and brother-in-law have owned and operated their own restaurant for over twenty five years and have taught him the same things while he grew up engulfed in all sides of the businesses.

Additionally, we both have copies of ‘Setting The Table’ by Danny Meyer marked up like crazy people with notes from the last 10+ years.

Website: www.TheDouglasLA.com

Instagram: @thedouglas.la

Image Credits
Amir Shafii