SB PEOPLE ON E TO WATC H
Jamie Gluck fa s h i o n t o fa r m f r e s h
Strolling into Bell Street Farm—the popular wine country cafe/market situated in the sleepy town of Los Alamos up the 101—one immediately gets a sense of owner Jamie Gluck based on the hearty welcome and friendly hugs he doles out to his customers as he takes their orders behind the walk-up counter. The casual yet refined American restaurant not only offers fresh food and local wine of the same caliber but reflects the full circle Gluck, now 47, has made—starting with his upbringing in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and in the kitchens and on the floor of his family’s fine-dining French restaurant, then to a sophisticated career in fashion marketing and merchandising on the East and West coasts, to an authentic life split between the Santa Ynez Valley and Los Angeles. Having learned the ropes in his family’s restaurant—“my dad was a French-trained chef who taught me to cook ‘with feeling,’’’ he says—“French food has been a strong influence throughout my life.” The style and flavors are evident in his simple, distinctive menu that boasts salads, sandwiches, and charcuterie and cheese plates cocreated with his Santa Barbara-born chef, Jason Iroff. It even boils down to the French rotisserie used for roasting succulent chicken and pork. But it wasn’t always fine cuisine for Gluck. After graduating from the Art Institute of Southern California with a degree in graphic design in 1996, he immediately landed a job with apparel company Wet Seal and worked his way up to the position of creative director. During that tenure, he was introduced to Los Alamos in 2002 by some friends who had purchased a weekend home there. Inspired by their experience, Gluck and his husband, John Wentworth, “were looking for a remodeling project and a weekend getaway ourselves, so we bought an 1882 four-square house on a corner lot in town in 2007,” he says. Enter Bell Street Farm, which Gluck opened in August 2011. “After a couple of years of bringing friends up to see the beauty of the valley, I was determined that there was a need for more food,” he says. “I decided to return to my restaurant roots and bring the valley a fast, casual, farm-to-table, French-influenced cafe.” When Gluck and Wentworth are in Los Alamos on the weekends, you will find them at PHOTOGRAPHS BY MEGAN SOREL S A N TA B A R B A R A
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the restaurant, jovially interacting with diners, then likely to be entertaining friends at home or at one of their favorite restaurants—“the original pioneers in Los Alamos (Cafe Quackenbush and Full of Life Flatbread) as well as the newer valley spots like Mattei’s Tavern, SY Kitchen, and Sides,” he says. As for the future of Bell Street Farm, Gluck plans to eventually expand the hours as well as the catering side of the business and
host events such as grilled cheese night with the Cheese Shop of Beverly Hills. “I’m always doing research to bring new foods and ideas to my customers,” says Gluck. “We just got back from eating our way through Spain and France and it was so inspiring.” But he’s staying put for the time being, doing what he does best: “We are truly bringing the best from local farms to a hungry audience. My focus is to make everyone leave happy.” –GINA Z. TERLINDEN FA L L 2 0 1 4
8/10/14 12:16 PM