A Michelin-Starred Restaurant From Washington D.C. Is Opening in Los Angeles

One of Washington D.C.’s brightest culinary stars, Rose Previte, is opening a massive culinary compound in West Adams in the summer of 2024. The 10,000-square-foot Maydan Market on the corner of West Jefferson Boulevard and Hillcrest Drive, located directly across the street from Highly Likely Cafe, will house a Los Angeles branch of Previte’s Michelin-starred restaurant Maydan, a second location of her restaurant Compass Rose, and five yet-to-be-named Los Angeles food businesses.

Maydan Market will be open from breakfast through dinner and was inspired by markets worldwide. “I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to [places like] Fez in Morocco, the night markets in South Korea, and La Boqueria in Barcelona,” says Previte, whose mother is Lebanese American with roots in the Arabic communities in Detroit, Michigan. “If you think of those places, that’s what we’re going for — a really transformative space.” The word “maydan” (itself existing in several languages, including Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Hindi) signifies a square or gathering place, she says. The seven concepts will share a single live-fire hearth, a central feature of the original Maydan restaurant, and symbolic of the project’s communal spirit.

The first location of Maydan outside D.C. anchors the project; the original opened in 2017 and sits three miles north of Capitol Hill. In addition to its Michelin star, the restaurant earned best restaurant honors from Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and GQ, and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for best new restaurant in 2018 and outstanding wine program in 2022.

Spanning 3,000 square feet, Maydan in LA will serve a similar menu to its D.C. counterpart. Diners can anticipate Syrian-spiced lamb shoulder, honey-soaked dates sprinkled with coarse salt, and plenty of shareable spreads like hummus and muhammara paired with the restaurant’s signature hearth-fired flatbreads.

Compass Rose, however, will be quite different from the D.C. location, save for the Georgian specialty khachapuri on the menu. “We’re going to adapt some of the street food items to more of a breakfast feel,” says Previte. Compass Rose in D.C., which opened in 2014 and snagged a coveted Rammy award for best casual restaurant in the city, currently serves a winding menu that includes Japanese soba noodles, Ethiopian spiced yams, Moroccan steak kebabs, Indian chicken tikka masala, and more. The LA location will only serve breakfast and lunch and include a coffee bar, full-service bar, and a communal dining room that expands indoors and out.

Previte is working with a local consultant to finalize the Los Angeles-based food businesses that will occupy the market’s five central stalls with the intent of curating “a collection of places that represents LA well,” she says. She views this component of Maydan Market as an “entrepreneurship project” that lowers the barrier to entry for small businesses by splitting operation costs. “My idea was to bring people from all over the city together under one roof and share resources,” Previte says. “Sounds a little socialist, I realize, but maybe it is.”

Previte, who divides her time between Venice Beach and D.C., also co-owns the casual neighborhood hang Kirby Club and the cocktail bar Medina in D.C. She is venturing to the West Coast for the first time in partnership with Fundrise, a Washington, D.C.-based financial technology company best known for crowdfunding real estate investments. The company approached Previte to develop their properties on West Jefferson when they realized she was bicoastal, she says.

To introduce itself to the community, Maydan Market is holding a series of pop-ups throughout December and January in West Adams. “I’m very grassroots, like very mom-and-pop in my philosophy, and it’s really important for me to get to know the community and the neighborhood that we’re in,” Previte says. The event, scheduled on December 16 (which is two days before International Migrant Day), will feature food from Maydan and benefit the LA-based nonprofit Cielo.

Additionally, Previte and her team have canvassed the neighborhood to hear directly from neighbors about how to meet their needs. To that end, the market will sell fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers and include a small butcher shop as well. Affordability is also critical, says Previte. “The goal is from $6 up to $100 a person. You can eat any way you want, but the affordable options are a very, very important part of what we’re doing.”