KEVIN KHALILI CEO, Alliance Hospitality Group Age 49 Residence West Hollywood Education SFSU (B.A.), UWLA (J.D.) Family Wife, daughter Wrist OMEGA Speedmaster Garage Audi A6 Business Over a Drink Baltaire Travel Paris Success Determining what you like to do, and then doing it for a living Mentors My parents Alliance Hospitality Group Founded 2002 Employees 380 Properties Coral Tree Café (3), Comoncy (5), Red Room Food & Wine Bar, Baltaire Up Next Comoncy Sherman Oaks (2018), Baltaire Phoenix (2018) Partners Robert Niksefat, Steven Yari, Shawn Yari Mission Provide excellent food and unforgettable service to our customers across all our brands, whether the customer is grabbing a healthy lunch at Coral Tree Café or indulging with their friends and family at Baltaire.
PROPRIETOR’S PROFILE A Los Angeles native, Kevin Khalili and his business partners are responsible for Los Angeles culinary staple Coral Tree Cafe as well as Comoncy and Baltaire – a brand they are preparing to take across the nation By Matthew Seukunian
The famous revolutionary, statesman, and – in honor of this edition of CSQ – innovator Benjamin Franklin famously said only two things in life were certain – death and taxes. For Kevin Khalili, Los Angeles-native, resident, and under-the-radar hospitality maven, he hopes that the customer experience at any of his properties is also a certainty, a fantastic certainty. Khalili and his business partners are the proprietor’s of all three locations of Coral Tree Café, all five locations of Comoncy (two of which are in Phoenix), The Red Room Food & Wine Bar, and bonafide Brentwood gem – Baltaire. Across their properties and state lines, Khalili’s Alliance Hospitality Group employs nearly 400, all of whom Khalili admits he still learns from day in and day out. Iranian-American, his story is one familiar to fellow Angelenos. He grew up in Beverly Hills where he attended middle school and high school before beginning his formal education at Santa Monica College. Khalili ultimately went north to San Francisco where he would complete his undergraduate degree, before returning to Los Angeles for law school and opening his own practice.
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CULTURE & TASTE
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In 2000, the self-professed breakfast connoisseur, along with his two best friends (and now business partners) felt the Los Angeles dining scene was missing something. “Together we felt the scene was just lacking … something simple … a breakfast and lunch place where people could not only find honest food and great service, but also hang out, sit, read, work, and be comfortable,” Khalili recalls. Khalili and his partner’s feelings manifested and turned into desire – though the real estate search was anything but quick, it was effective. In November 2002, Khalili and his partners opened the first Coral Tree Café – now a Los Angeles staple – on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood. Though a simple side gig at first, Khalili and his partners – one of whom owns and operates real estate and hotels, and the other investment banking – quickly realized they had struck gold and had an opportunity to further build, creating something special in the process. “Though we had a management staff at the first Coral Tree, we eventually realized the special opportunity we had … if we wanted to grow and expand … with each partner owning and operating
Photos: Tim Hans & Alliance Hospitality Group
Culture & Taste - Proprietor’s Profile