Restaurateur Francesco Zimone is the CEO of L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, a famous Naples restaurant that Zimone brought to Hollywood. “I designed and built Antica Hollywood with the idea of providing guests with an experience that is transcendent and real at the same time. It’s not about food; it’s about providing some unexpected magic.” Learn about Francesco Zimone…
Hometown: Napoli, Italy.
First job: Junior hedge funds administrator.
Favorite ways to spend your free time in CA: I love discovering new hiking trails and driving my motorcycle through canyons. Because of my passion for architecture and design, I enjoy finding homes in different neighborhoods around LA that I can potentially fix up and remodel.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: My biggest accomplishment would be understanding that happiness does not come from anything or anyone but me. One of the reasons I am the person I am today is because I love life.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: One of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome was accepting who I am as a person rather than building a house of cards to sustain my bluff.
Someone who inspires you and why: The person I will be five years from now inspires me. I’m not looking to find fame or wealth; I want to continue to thrive and stay happy and surround myself with people I love.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in architecture: My biggest piece of advice would be to fall in love with all different kinds of spaces, gardens and materials – obsess over the details.
Favorite quote: A quote that resonates with me is from Albert Einstein, who says, “I believe in intuitions and inspirations…I sometimes feel that I am right. I do know that I am.”
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: People would be surprised to know that I was very shy as a teenager. I would make excuses to stay home and not leave the house, which is very different from who I am now.
What makes someone fabulous: Everyone is fabulous! Often, people tend to get in their own way and modify their truth.