A longtime and beloved Los Alamos restaurant is threatened. Plenty on Bell, a mainstay Los Alamos restaurant, is prized for delicious and reasonably priced meals. Plenty is fighting an eviction lawsuit filed by their new landlord. A crowd of hugely loyal locals recently packed the restaurant to show their support.
A current owner and executive chef of Plenty is Jesper Johansson, born and raised in Sweden. He was the first chef to put Los Alamos on the foodie map, as head chef and partner at the storied Café Quackenbush for 16 years. Jesper has also cooked for clients throughout the region, including Julia Child. He developed the restaurant into the popular dining spot it is today. Plenty is also part of “Feed the Valley,” providing food to seniors and others in need.
The new property owner is Noah Rowles, a wealthy Los Angeles high-tech entrepreneur-turned-winemaker and owner of Dovecote Estate Winery in Los Alamos. It has been alleged that Mr. Rowles has been “combing through” the lease to find “technicalities.”
Mr. Rowles’ winery doesn’t have a tasting room. If his plan is to convert Plenty’s site for that purpose, there are several other locations in town he could choose instead. Let’s give Mr. Rowles the benefit of the doubt about his intentions and consider that he says his “goal remains to be a good neighbor… and a constructive member of the town…”
Los Alamos always welcomes good neighbors… and good food.
