BELL’S
LOS ALAMOS, CA

Based in Los Alamos, CA, Bell’s is a family-run, French-inspired bistro from Per Se alums Daisy and Greg Ryan. Since opening in March 2018, we’ve been honored to receive such accolades as a Michelin star 4 years running, Food & Wine Best New Chef, Esquire’s Best New Restaurants, and to see our work featured in such publications as Eater LA, Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure. In 2021, we had the pleasure of growing the Bell’s family with the opening of our sister restaurant, Bar Le Cote, in Los Olivos.

HOW WE
GOT HERE

Daisy Ryan | Executive Chef, Co-Owner

A native of the Santa Ynez Valley, Daisy spent her formative cooking years in New York City. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, she worked for such institutions as Gramercy Tavern, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare and Per Se, before returning to the west coast with Greg. In Los Angeles, she helped open The Line Hotel in Koreatown, before heading to Austin to oversee the beverage program for McGuire Moorman Hospitality. Three years later, Daisy and Greg permanently relocated to California’s Central Coast, opening Bell’s as their first independent restaurant project.

Greg Ryan | CEO, Co-Owner 

Greg grew up in the Willamette Valley near Portland, Oregon, where he attended both college and culinary school. He began his career at Tribeca Grill and Per Se in New York City, before heading to the west coast with Daisy. After working as Restaurant Director at LA’s Beverly Hills Hotel, he and Daisy spent a few years in Austin, where he led front-of-house service as the General Manager for Jeffrey’s and Josephine House. Shortly after the birth of their son, Henry, Greg and Daisy returned to California to open Bell’s in Los Alamos.

Mike Mergo | General Manager

Mike Mergo is a Northeast Pennsylvania native with over twenty years of hospitality experience. He grew up around his family's restaurant and deli, where he discovered a love of food and hospitality from his Sicilian grandmother and extended Italian family. Mike spent just over ten years in Brooklyn, NY where he started out working for Drew Nieporent and Keith McNally. He then spent five years at Danny Meyer's, Gramercy Tavern. 

In 2014, Mike moved to Los Angeles where he worked at Craft and Osteria Mozza, and later stepped away from restaurants for a time to take on a Director of Operations position for the Prevail Boxing Club. Now back in hospitality, Mike is thrilled to be working as part of the Bell's team. On the side, Mike is the official “memesmith” for Companion Hospitality and a Buffalo Wing enthusiast.

Ryan Pelton | Assistant General Manager

Ryan grew up in Fort Wayne, IN where he learned hospitality through the personable culture of the midwest. He began working in restaurants as early as 18 years old. After college, he moved to Portland, OR where he pursued his passion for coffee and hospitality. He spent the majority of his 7 years in Portland working at Heart Roasters as a cafe trainer.

In 2021, Ryan and his wife Taylor moved to Santa Barbara to be closer to family and friends as they were expecting the birth of their son Jude. Ryan was a part of the Bell's team for 2 years and then worked as the General Manager at Bettina pizzeria in Santa Barbara. He has now moved to the Valley with his family where he rejoined the Bell's team, this time as our Service & Hospitality Manager.

Diego Tejeda | Executive Sous Chef

Originally from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Diego calls the Central Coast home. He has spent the last 10 years working in restaurants in one capacity or another, but predominantly his time has been spent in the kitchen. Notably he's passed through the kitchens of Industrial Eats, a staple to the Santa Ynez Valley, Camden Spit & Larder and The Kitchen in Sacramento.

After graduating from CSU Sacramento with a degree in communications and journalism, Diego returned to the Central Coast to begin his career at Bell’s now over 2 years where he helps lead a team of young professionals and helps run kitchen operations with Chef Daisy

Rachelle Wilson | Pastry Chef

Born in Santa Maria, CA in the heart of barbecue and agriculture, Rachelle grew up next to the Elks Lodge, where she would accompany her dad selling top block sandwiches sitting on top of a beer cooler. Growing up in a family that had always been food-oriented, it only seemed right to begin her career in restaurants as a teenager, where at that time, she lived in Wyoming. 

Rachelle adopted her core values from the Historic Hotel Wolf & Restaurant in Saratoga, WY, a family-owned building that has operated for over 100 years. Rachelle worked both front and back of house gaining knowledge over the next four years. Rachelle moved back to California at the age of 20 when she began working at small, family-owned restaurants before landing in Los Alamos. 

Working at almost every restaurant on Bell Street, Rachelle finally struck gold at Bell's with Greg and Daisy. Since joining the Bell’s team, Rachelle has focused and honed her skills on the duties in the kitchen. 

Zach Hobbie | Events Manager

Zach grew up overseas in The Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. Spending his formative years in such a multicultural environment instilled a deep appreciation for dining together as a cornerstone of community. Experiencing diverse regional food traditions also helped to foster Zach’s fascination with the art of hospitality, eventually inspiring a move to the bustling culinary capital of Austin, Texas. There, he participated in the opening of a wide range of restaurants—from Launderette to L’Oca D’Oro and Eberly—before taking on the role of General Manager at Central Machine Works, a large brewery and music venue built on the site of a 1940s metal machine shop. Zach joined the Bell’s team in 2022, bringing his own brand of hospitality to the Central Coast.