Story

FactoryPlaceHospitalityGroup has created some of Los Angeles and Las Vegas most acclaimed restaurants which offer outstanding culinary and warm hospitality.

Founded by CEO Matteo Ferdinandi and his Business Partners Chef Angelo Auriana and Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi with the opening of The Factory Kitchen in 2013, a landmark Italian restaurant in the heart of Los Angeles’ Arts District.

Matteo Ferdinandi’s experience has spanned from New York City to Las Vegas and to Los Angeles where he ran the operations of some of the most prominent restaurants in the nation.

Flor y Solera, a lively Spanish tapas bar in the heart of the Los Angeles Arts District, opened March 2023. From Factory Place Hospitality Group, the regionally-inspired concept is helmed by Catalan-born Chef Mònica Angelats and Beverage Director Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi, who created Flor y Solera as a celebration of the vast culinary splendors and distinct nuances of Spain’s 17 regions.

The menu features tapas that take diners on a sumptuous journey throughout the country’s bountiful seas, verdant mountain countryside and sun-kissed coasts with vibrant flavors and dishes rarely seen outside of Spain. Signature dishes include Fideus Rossejats and Cluïsses, a South Catalan toasted noodle dish similar to paella; Migas Camperas, a traditional dish of fried bread and meats from the Iberian Peninsula; Arròs amb Crosta from Valencia; and Suquet of Scorpora, a Catalan seafood medley of Specials that will rotate.

“It’s a dream come true to open a restaurant that represents the dynamic flavors from my home country of Spain,” said Executive Chef Mònica Angelats. “I am proud to welcome Los Angeles to my table.”

Complementing Chef Angelats’ refined, yet approachable cuisine is an exceptional beverage program anchored by the restaurant’s Sherry Bar – a nod to the restaurant’s namesake – where a selection of the Andalusian fortified wine is offered by the glass, flight or with a special tapas pairings.

Chef Monica Angelats

Flor y Solera Executive Chef Mònica Angelats grew up in Barcelona helping her mother and grandmother create the big Sunday lunches that connected their extended family. Though she later earned a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, the kitchen called her back and she soon landed in Los Angeles where she worked at All´Angelo on Melrose Avenue and the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. After eight years at Avalon Hotel, she joined Officine BRERA downtown Los Angeles where, under the tutelage of Chef Angelo Auriana, she became Chef de Cuisine in 2019.

At Flor y Solera, Chef Angelats brings her Catalan heritage and extensive travels throughout Spain to her unique regional menus with dishes such as Migas Camperas and Arròs amb Crosta. When she is not in the kitchen, Angelats finds inspiration through coastal biking, hiking, salsa dancing, as well as spending time with her two cats.

Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi

Co-founder of Factory Place Hospitality Group with husband Matteo Ferdinandi and Chef Angelo Auriana, Beverage Director Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi offers an extensive background in wine. A sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, she also holds a diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (W.S.E.T.) program, which leads to the Master of Wine program. Her extensive knowledge of wine has led her to work at some of the most prestigious restaurants in the country, including Gramercy Tavern in New York City, Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio in Las Vegas and Spago in Beverly Hills before becoming The Beverage Director of Factory Place Hospitality Group.

Diamond-Ferdinandi lives with her husband Matteo Ferdinandi in Los Angeles with their German Shepherd, Ike.