Michael Francesconi and Matthew Glaser
Park Hospitality | Los Angeles
April 2024
In his freshman year at the University of Southern California, Matthew Glaser met his roommate and future business partner, Michael Francesconi. For the two of them, hospitality came naturally. Glaser and Francesconi both barbacked and bussed tables throughout high school and college. Eventually, the duo went their separate ways; Francesconi went off to pursue a career in tech while Glaser became an entrepreneur. The two remained friends, and occasional roommates, and eventually ended up starting a business together, operating a truck that collected and recycled grease from restaurants in Los Angeles. And, along the way, they found time to start hosting parties in Downtown L.A. In 2011, Glaser and Francesconi decided they wanted to be in the hospitality industry and started to develop concepts of their own, with a focus on community-centered spaces.
In 2013, they opened their first venture, Wolf & Crane, in Little Tokyo. The Japanese whisky and cocktail bar was a massive learning experience, with Glaser and Francesconi navigating how to manage a team and find ways to cohesively fit within the historic neighborhood. In 2019, the duo opened their second bar, Lowboy, a more intimate space in Echo Park, where they started building their first food program. That same year, they opened the cozy, Mexican-inspired Bar Flores next door and an Italian-American restaurant, Donna’s, in the same strip in 2023. Their concepts are affectionately designed and considerately crafted to be comforting and inviting spaces that fit within the context of the surrounding neighborhood. Through their ‘sister’ restaurant and bar model, three of Glaser and Francesconi’s concepts share the same kitchen and infrastructure, bringing down costs and streamlining service. Without any outside investors, Glaser and Francesconi are intent on using their restaurant group, Park Hospitality, to promote the growth of their employees and create spaces where everyone feels at home.
