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Nicole Rucker Lands With Golden State Crew After Surprise Gjusta Departure

The rumors were true.

Prime Pizza on Fairfax
Prime Pizza on Fairfax
Elizabeth Daniels
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Well, consider the question of where Nicole Rucker has gone to be officially answered. Despite a terse "no comment" from Gjelina staffers about the surprise departure of one of Los Angeles’ best pastry chefs, it’s now official that the Gjusta mastermind is headed for a Fairfax takeover.

Well, what restaurant she actually lands in is still up for discussion, but Rucker is joining forces with the J. Howard Group crew — that’s Golden State, Bludso’s Bar & Cue, Cofax, Prime Pizza — to continue the Mid-City West domination.

A word from the team:

Nicole Rucker is not just a blue ribbon winning pie maker and highly acclaimed pastry chef -- she is a great chef straight across the board. We could not be more pleased to bring such a great talent and tremendous person into our company.

It looks like Gjusta’s big loss is Jason Bernstein, James Starr, and Noah Galuten’s even bigger gain. But it all begs the question: Who’s on tap for Gjusta now that the rumors are confirmed? And why can’t Venice seem to hold down their pastry chefs?

The Golden State

426 North Fairfax Avenue, , CA 90036 (323) 782-8331 Visit Website

Bludso's Bar & Que

609 North La Brea Avenue, , CA 90036 (323) 931-2583 Visit Website

Prime Pizza

1900 Allen Avenue, , CA 91001 (626) 714-1774 Visit Website