It’s time to gather around the fire Rose Previte has dreamt about for 10 years. It has manifested itself through her wildly popular restaurants in Washington, D.C–like Maydan and Compass Rose–but the bi-coastal restaurateur has wanted to bring even more people together–namely small businesses–under one roof, around one fire, and collectively share in the burden of business ownership, something that all too often precludes establishments who would otherwise not be able to stand on their own. Maydan Market, a gathering space in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, opens today, October 1, and ticks many boxes, including the one that’s labeled: “smart business model.”
Previte is a global traveler who collects experiences that she and her team recreates. She is all bringing the world to people and about the feeling that a space or dish evokes. She has been able to successfully pull that mission off in D.C., so it is now time for the other coast she inhabits, to follow suit. Maydan Market in Los Angeles represents that sense of international immersion, yes, but she is also making a statement about business.
While her namesake Maydan is the heavyweight in the space as the one sit-down restaurant, six other businesses will share the fire, the seating, and the energy that a communal experience emits. Beyond the feeling that is conjured through the Market’s massive fire, however, Previte is giving other businesses, a gift of access and piece of mind.
The Business of Business
From utilities, security, and janitorial services to other operational costs and resources, businesses selling their wares under the Maydan Market roof have a chance to share their goods and entrepreneurial spirit. “The idea was to lower the barrier to entry for small businesses,” Previte said, while walking around the space last spring. “If you are a first time business owner, it is incredibly challenging.”
When discussing how her extensive travels have affected her theory on conducting business, she admitted the fact that such global markets have always existed because conducting, creating, and building a business has always been expensive. Therefore, “when you don’t have money for brick and mortars, owners end up with a stall in a market.”
So when thinking about diversifying the businesses under the roof of Maydan Market, Previte wanted to amplify the collective spirit, yet ease much of the burden that comes with running a business.
It is no surprise that effects of Covid have continued to gut businesses with insurmountable costs and supply chain delays. As a matter of fact, Maydan Market in L.A. has been in the works since 2019 but halted due to Covid and continued rising costs and supply chain issues creating a domino effect for many businesses. Even once the plans for the Market were in full swing last year, operationally, there has been one thing after another to delay the project.
“During Covid, everyone realized the tiny margins small restaurants function on, but the world got so expensive. The cost of beef, the tariffs. How can small businesses in exist if we don’t help each other?” she asked. “If we do not share resources, small restaurants will cease to exist.”
So, Maydan Market is Previte’s answer to this problem. Give a neighborhood without many gathering spaces a place to gather; give them extraordinary food that is fresh and representative of the vibrant international populations in their community; give global travelers and want-to-be global travelers a place to get away, if for awhile; and, give businesses a fair chance to create products and experiences worthy of a thriving marketplace.
Lit From Within
If you look up “Maydan D.C. fire,” you’ll see hundreds of videos capturing the hearth and fire alone, not even focusing on the food. Food that has earned the restaurant numerous esteemed awards. The Maydan Market hearth and fire in L.A. is sure to surpass the video coverage of the one in D.C. , for one, given its size, and due to the fact that, unlike the D.C. location, there are seats all around it, making the proximity of people to fire all the more awesome and mesmerizing.
Vendors and Restaurants Within the Maydan Market
Maydan L.A.
Previte’s namesake explores the foodways that stretch from Tangier to Tehran and Batumi to Beirut, inspired by the vibrant flavors of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus. The live fire and heart separates the restaurant from the rest of the marketplace, and serves as a catalyst for showcasing seasonal California vegetables, roasted and and grilled over the flame. Designed for sharing, the menu features spreads, charred vegetables, whole fish, and tender meats—meant to be torn, dipped, and passed around. House- baked bread, fresh from the clay oven, anchors the table and sets the tone for the meal.
Compass Rose
A roaming feast of international street foods, Compass Rose brings its beloved D.C. roots to Los Angeles with an indoor-outdoor patio setting, breakfast cafe vibes by day, and a bar built on craft cocktails and natural wines into the afternoon and evening hours. The menu features dishes like a danish of the day, steamed egg breakfast sandwich, Previte’s famous khachapuri, and a Lebanese-inspired spread of tomato, cucumber, cheese, olives, and a boiled egg. From day to night, the craft cocktails and natural wines are curated by Previte’s Go There Wines, which sources from small business owners outside of traditional winemaking regions.
Lugya’h by Poncho’s Tlayudas
What began as a backyard pop-up in South Los Angeles with a devoted following now
finds a permanent home at Maydan Market for Chef Alfonso Martínez and Odilia
Romero. At Lugya’h—named after the Zapotec word for “the face and the hearth of the
plaza”—the menu centers around Oaxacan Tlayudas topped with house-made morcilla,
tasajo, or chorizo, plus tamales on weekends. The name pays tribute to the communal
spirit of Indigenous markets in Oaxaca, where food, culture, and community come
together. Lugya’h shares the bold, rustic flavors of the Oaxacan highlands while
celebrating the culture, language, and traditions of California’s Indigenous migrant
communities.
Yhing Yhang BBQ
From 2024 Food & Wine Best New Chef, Chef Deau Arpapornnopparat of Holy Basil, this new concept celebrates Thailand’s gai yhang—grilled chicken marinated and slow-cooked over charcoal. The menu expands into seafood, whole duck, and house-fermented condiments, staying rooted in traditional Thai technique while exploring contemporary methods.
Maléna
Tamales by Elena Maléna is a deeply personal project built on nearly three decades of family tradition. The family’s first major step came when they bought a lunch truck and parked it in Watts, where it’s remained ever since. Known as Tamales Elena, the truck became a neighborhood staple for generations. Maléna is an exciting new chapter from the sisters behind Tamales Elena. A true full-circle moment: a celebration of their roots in Guerrero, especially Acapulco, and a tribute to the power of food to bring people home. Maléna is dedicated to showcasing the rich tradition of Afro-Mexican Guerrerense cuisine—guided by time-honored methods passed down through generations.
Sook
Sook is the next-generation Middle Eastern market—part grocery, part modern culinary
retail, and part gathering place. Guests will find a mix of packaged goods, grab-and-go
options, set lunch platters, and delivery-friendly boxes like chicken shish with charred
vegetables and sumac onions. Think dips to-go, a mini tawle with pit beef and all the
accoutrements, or a bright labneh ranch salad. The menu centers on bold, seasonal
flavors with a strong emphasis on salads, dips, and grilled meats. There’s a 22-seat counter to stay and eat or bites can be sold to-go. Beyond food, Sook curates seasonal
retail items tied to cultural celebrations and local traditions, while also serving as a
showroom for products that anchor the commissary kitchen. Things like olive oil, tahini, and spices, to pomegranate molasses and more goods sourced from lesser-known parts of the world.
Club 104 (Rotating residency)
Club 104 is a dedicated stall within Maydan Market that hosts short-term, rotating
residencies by emerging chefs and culinary creatives. Showcasing the diversity of Los Angeles and beyond, Club 104 highlights the communal and global spirit at the heart of the market. With regularly changing concepts, the space offers chefs a flexible, low-barrier way to share their food with a wider audience. For the opening month, Melissa Cottingham of Melneficent Wingz elevates chicken to new heights.
The structure of Maydan Market itself is a sight to behold all its own. Los Angeles artist Ernesto Yerena created the backdrop to Lugya’h with suspended green foliage hanging from the vaulted ceiling and draping down to Maydan’s bar. There are thousands of colorful tiles throughout the space, as well as numerous, dangling light fixtures, throws and rugs and poofs, all meant to transport guests at any moment to somewhere new.
Despite the physical overall haul, Previte wanted to keep much of the bones of the vaulted ceilings, the very ones that hung over the building’s past business. The West Adams warehouse was once the home to a 70 year old factory that made coin-collector pages. Previte and her team worked with a bunch of Disney stage designers to rehaul some of the beams to be strong and sturdy yet keep the look of the former frame.
Additional bespoke elements include two grand Moroccan-style entrance doors,
Maydan DC’s original iconic Blue Doors, framed on one of the Market’s walls; three
murals, one of which is located by Maydan and is directly inspired by the interiors of
Georgian Winery Chateau Mukhrani, and another Oaxacan-inspired mural made by local artists.
Rose Previte has traveled to over 30 countries; she opened Maydan in D.C. to popular and critical acclaim, which was named one of the “Best New Restaurants in America” in Bon Appetit, Eater, Food & Wine, and GQ, nominated by the James Beard Foundation for both Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Wine Program, and the first Middle Eastern restaurant in the U.S. to receive a Michelin Star in 2020. In 2023, Previte was named “Restaurateur of the Year” by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and she is author of the cookbook Maydan: Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond.