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Chef Jason Witzl of Ellie’s has had one helluva past couple years.

He opened up his Jolie’s space on Coronado Island in San Diego, he was lauded as Chef of the Year. This was on top of bouncing between that very space and his two Long Beach restaurants, his flagship Ellie’s and the neighboring Ginger’s. Even more, this was all after the strenuous years of the pandemic, where Chef Jason hit a triple hardship: The inability to move Ellie’s to the Compound in Zaferia; that, in turn, prompted the loss of his Ellie’s Deli concept; and then the permanent closure of his Lupe’s space in DTLB to make way for Toma.

Truthfully, 2024 and 2025 is showcasing Chef Jason’s resilience far more than echoing the struggles he (and nearly every chef-owner) experienced over the past half-decade. And, well, another truth be told: it made us severely miss him here in Long Beach. Surely, his Ellie’s and Ginger’s spaces were running fine, especially under the watchful eye of culinary director Pedro Quintero. But Ellie’s still missed that, well, Jason-ness.

Written and photos by Brian Addison.

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