Mexican Roots, LA Dreams: Misael Villa’s ‘Neighbors’

By Néya Sridhar

Neighbors Playa Vista, CA

Photo by Neya Sridhar

Playa Vista in Los Angeles is home to the new and eccentric restaurant, Neighbors. The restaurant is owned by 37-year-old Misael Villa. In November of 2022, the restaurant held its grand opening.

Villa, originally from Puebla, Mexico, moved to Los Angeles at a young age. “Los Angeles is beautiful. It is a melting pot, as cliché as it sounds,” he said. Villa received his degree in business management at Cal State L.A. in 2009 and has been in the restaurant industry since he was a teenager. Villa remarked, “I worked in the restaurant industry to pay for bills and tuition. Being in the industry for so long, I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do with this’” That gave me the idea to open my own businesses.”

Villa opened a business before this one in 2016, namely Pattern Bar in downtown L.A. When asked about his strategy for opening the bar, he explained, “It was a risk. Failure is not an option. At the same time, I come from Mexico and I know how to rebuild. Having to start from scratch is not something I was scared of.”

COVID had an effect on how Pattern Bar ran. “COVID slowed things down. I had to pivot and learn what works and what doesn't. You make ends meet however you can. The government helped people, but not really businesses at that time. So, you’re just trying to figure out how to keep the lights on,” he said. The bar made it through COVID-19 and is now operating at full capacity.

Opening a business is a gamble. However, successful businesses blossom during dire times. The success that his bar had inspired Villa to take a chance and open Neighbors. “To come up with the concept, I walked around Playa Vista and took note of what was here and what wasn’t here. I just wanted to fill in the gaps,” he commented.

Misael Villa, Owner of Neighbors Playa Vista

Photo by Neya Sridhar

The current economy has had an impact on the business environment worldwide. Neighbors is one establishment that had to be adjusted. Villa articulated, “There has definitely been a change after COVID. There is less supply on certain things and prices have increased and stayed high.”

Villa elaborated, “It wasn’t so difficult looking for suppliers. There was and continues to be a shortage of certain products. I think a lot of companies either chose to do without these things or are still playing catch up.”

Not only did suppliers have shortages, but so did the workforce. “Employees are not as easy to find anymore. The workforce has changed a lot. If this industry wasn’t difficult before COVID, it is definitely difficult now,” he stated.

Being innovative, Villa acknowledged these obstacles and overcame them. He worked around the issues he faced by being flexible. “You have to change things. If the recipe calls for something and it isn't available, you must make compromises. You have to pivot and change your way of operating in order to accommodate your needs,” he remarked.

Despite all of these difficulties, Neighbors is about to celebrate its second anniversary. “I carry my Mexican heritage very proudly. The restaurant is a mosaic of everything I am,” he proudly stated.

CONTACT: 

General Inquiries

misael@neighborsrestaurants.com

(833) 642-7778

https://www.neighborsrestaurants.com/

Address:

12751 Millennium Dr #140 Los Angeles, CA 90094