Warren is a veteren restaurateur with a passion for good food. With more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Warren has a particular eye for fixing up restaurants and turning them into successful, high-volume establishments.
Warren began his bar career working for Rand Gerber at the Whiskey Bar in 1993. From there he worked at the Baja Cantina. In 2002 he became the bar manager at Shane restaurant (a high volume bar in Santa Monica).
Ready for a place of his own, he opened Ma’kai Lounge in 2004 with four partners, a tapas lounge in Santa Monica right off of Ocean Blvd. After two successful years of ownership and direct operational oversight, Christian sold Ma’kai for a subsantial profit.
Shortly after in 2008 her puchased Melody Bar & Grill located in Westchester California. At the time Melody was a seedy and rundown dive bar that he turned around into a thriving business. Today it is one of the most popular bars and restaurtants in West LA.
Warren’s greatest asset is eye for ambiance, palete for food and drinks, and his understanding of the market
Binder has been in the bar busines for 30 years. He stared bartending at LA’s popular Hamburger Hamlet in 1993. From there he was hired by famed restaurateur Brian Vidor to work the bar at Casablanca-esque Typhoon.
At Typhoon he honed his ability to make speciality cocktails and learned the ins and outs of the entire restaurant operation. After Typhoon he was hired at the newly opened Jame’s Beach in Venice Beach as a bartender. Within two years he was promoted to bar manager.
Binder is one of the most recognizable bartneders on the Westside. Over the years the James Beach has become a world renowned phenomenon featured in the movie “I Love You Ma” an dthe opular hit TV series, “Curb Your Enhutusiasm”
A seasoned management consultant and entrepreneur of over 16 years, Markus has provided his expertise to hundreds of CEOs and business owners across the United States, Europe, South America and Asia, in a diverse range of industries spanning from technology, fashion, entertainment, to construction. He works closely with CEOs and startup teams to identify market opportunities, implementing growth initiatives and targeting areas of operational improvements. Mr. Biegel holds two bachelor’s degrees in international business and marketing from CSUDH and two master’s degrees in Finance and Human Resource Management from CSULB. As of Fall 2016, Mr. Biegel is a part-time faculty member at both CSULB and CSUDH teaching marketing and management courses at the upper division and graduate level.
