Husband and wife restaurateurs Marlo Vinzoni and chef Gianbattista “Gianba” Vinzoni did not just survive the pandemic — their Pacific Palisades eatery, Cinque Terre West, actually thrived.
“Many people in the Palisades worked from home,” said Marlo. “So, we were there. We even did burgers, tacos. We made sure there was something for everyone.”
In January 2025, they were not so lucky. After residing in the Palisades for 23 years, the wildfires that devastated their community would also force their business to find a new home.
The first stop, which proved not to be a good fit, was the Venice ghost kitchen the Colony on Lincoln Boulevard. Then, Gianba found their forever-for-now spot, and on June 23, 2025, they reopened on Rose Avenue in the former Bluestone Lane location.
“We turned it around pretty quickly,” Marlo shared. “We made it a happy place, and as we were doing that, people from Venice would come welcome us to the neighborhood, and then our Palisades community came to find us. Because when they would be with us, they would always tell us, eating your husband’s food and seeing you is comforting. It’s like being home.”
“Honestly, it was like therapy for everyone,” she continued. “Being here is the closest to home because one person from the Palisades will come every single day.”
Gianba had an accomplished career before opening his own restaurant. He had worked at the Soho House in West Hollywood, the Beverly Hilton Hotel — where he served as executive sous chef for the Golden Globes for three years in a row — and Fig & Olive.
But Gianba always had dreams of running a place of his own. He credits his love of cooking to his grandmother, who made fresh pasta, stomped grapes for homemade wine, picked olives for pressing olive oil and raised her own chickens, rabbits and pigs in Bonassola, in the Cinque Terre region, where his family had been living for centuries.
The Cinque Terre Salad and Spaghetti Di Mare.
(Chris Mortenson/Staff)
After the owner of a pizzeria called Pinocchio in the Palisades repeatedly asked the couple if they wanted to buy the place — “He was asking for years,” Marlo relayed — and their kids were older, in 2019, they decided to go all in.
“I love everything about food and cooking,” said Gianba. “When you put something on the plate, there is a message, there is something that you want to say. Simplicity for me is key: if you’re able to make a great dish with two or three ingredients. When people start putting together too many things, you get lost in what you’re eating, what you’re experiencing. You have fish that tastes like sweet cream or orange. My crudo is literally olive oil, lemon and mango/habanero sorbet that I put on top to marinate.”
Few things have changed with the location, except their wine list is smaller without a wine bar. They still feature two menus a year and coastal Italian cuisine that would make Gianba’s grandmother proud.
“When we opened the place in 2019, every day was social hour because we were friends with the entire community,” Marlo said. “When the kids were growing up, I was a stay-at-home mom. I did Girl Scouts, volunteered everywhere, so we already had the connection to the community.”
“For me, the restaurant is like the warmth of the family,” added Gianba. “In Italy, normally a restaurant is owned by a family. For me having a restaurant is like family.”
Fortunately for the Vinzonis, their Palisades home is damaged but still standing.
“There are still challenges,” Marlo said.
For now, Cinque Terre West stands as a symbol of resilience, community and connection.
“People from Venice who come in, they would overhear our story, and everyone would embrace us and say, ‘Sorry that you guys went through that, but we’re very happy to have you here,’” said Marlo. “So now we have two communities.”
Cinque Terre West is open for breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner daily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday).
Cinque Terre West is located at 523 Rose Avenue, Venice, 310-394-1315; cinqueterrewest.com.
Dining and Cooking