The Music Center, L.A.’s performing arts center, today announced a multi-year agreement with Sodexo Live!, the hospitality partner to the world’s most iconic venues. Sodexo Live! will manage food and beverage programming across The Music Center’s four venues in Downtown L.A. (Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum); the onsite restaurants Kendall’s Brasserie and Abernethy’s; the wine and cocktail bar known as The Mullin Wine Bar; and other food service offerings on the campus, including the Concert Hall Café at Walt Disney Concert Hall and on Jerry Moss Plaza. The Music Center’s fourth restaurant, located in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall, will reopen as a new concept sometime in 2026.
As part of the partnership, James Beard award-winning Chef Suzanne Goin and Restaurateur Caroline Styne will introduce their inventive signature programming to all catering services and Founders’ Rooms at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the Ahmanson Theatre under the reimagined Hope & Grand Events by Lucques.
“Bringing together world-class performances with top talent in the culinary world is central to The Music Center’s vision as a premier cultural destination in Los Angeles,” said Rachel S. Moore, President and CEO of The Music Center. “Our alliance with Sodexo Live! means Music Center guests can expect new dining experiences in our restaurants and bars. Additionally, our partnership with two of L.A.’s most celebrated culinary leaders, Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, is the perfect recipe for reimagining special events at The Music Center. Their innovative approach to seasonal, locally inspired menus will add new layers of richness to catered events held on our campus. We look forward to this extraordinary marriage of the culinary arts with the performing arts!”
With a global presence, Sodexo Live! is a leader in bespoke catering, serving prestigious events and venues including the Eiffel Tower restaurants, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Tour de France, and last summer’s Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sodexo Live! also brings deep local expertise as the longtime partner to the Hollywood Bowl, where it collaborates with the Lucques Group on the acclaimed Hollywood Bowl Food + Wine program, as well as The Ford, The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, and in San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center and San Diego Theatres.
“It’s an honor to join forces with The Music Center, a true cultural cornerstone of Los Angeles, to bring a new level of excellence to guests,” said Belinda Oakley, CEO, Sodexo Live!. “With the support of our wonderful partners and culinary legends Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, we look forward to creating experiences that will enhance and complement the world-class performances across this iconic campus.”
The Lucques Group, founded by Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, has long been at the forefront of Los Angeles’ dining scene. Since opening their first restaurant, Lucques, in 1998 in West Hollywood, the duo has combined Suzanne’s culinary creativity with Caroline’s wine and service expertise to create incredible dining moments. Their focus on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients and a hospitality-first ethos that shaped Los Angeles dining will now refresh The Music Center’s catering offerings.
“We are so excited to continue working with Sodexo Live! to bring our food and wine program to the event catering and Founders' Rooms at The Music Center. We love being so intimately involved with this beautiful campus and the many different types of performance and events that The Music Center offers," said Caroline Styne, President and Wine Director of The Lucques Group.
For more information, please visit MusicCenter.org or follow @MusicCenterLA on social media. Additional details about new guest experiences will be shared in the months ahead.
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About Sodexo Live!
Sodexo Live! manages prestigious convention, cultural, and sporting venues and major events all over the world. With 40,000 employees and 500 sites, Sodexo Live! offers clients a range of bespoke catering, sales, and event management services, helping to transform the consumer experience into unforgettable memories. Sodexo Live! commits to unlocking customers’ full potential while favoring local communities. Sodexo Live! contributes to the success of prestigious events such as Royal Ascot, the Tour de France, the Rugby World Cup and soon the Paris 2024 Games, and showcases exceptional venues such as the Eiffel Tower Restaurants, Bateaux Parisiens, Yachts de Paris, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Hard Rock Stadium, the Scottish National Gallery, and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
About The Music Center
As L.A.’s performing arts center, The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $80 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $3 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Amy Procaccini, Senior Manager, Brand & Communications, Sodexo Live!
Amy.Procaccini@sodexo.com
Gil Diaz, Media Relations Manager, The Music Center
gdiaz@musiccenter.org