Humberto Leone opens second restaurant in California

By

Chenu Alexis

Published
Jan 17, 2023

In 2020, Humberto Leon, the founder of Opening Ceremony and former creative director of Kenzo, opened Chifa, his first restaurant in Los Angeles, in the Highland Park neighborhood. Two years later, here is his new address called 'Monarch', a name in reference to the famous American butterfly.

 
Inaugurated this Thursday evening, in a festive atmosphere with a parade and dragon dance, the restaurant opened in Arcadia, on South Baldwin Avenue, in the San Gabriel Valley, not far from the neighborhood where Leon grew up as a teenager. 
 
Associated with his family, the creator honors the cuisine of Hong Kong, where Wendy Leon, Leon's mother, lived for part of her life, in an original décor designed in collaboration with architect Michael Loverich. Blue velvet benches, blue draped walls and marble tables with original cutouts feature throughout, under a ceiling with Art Deco motifs.

 
In conjunction with the opening of the restaurant, Leon has also designed a first merchandising collection based on a capsule collection created with Vistaprint, which features the butterfly, the restaurant's logo, on T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, lunch boxes, packaging tape and paper bags.