L'Opera rebuilt from scratch after 2020 — and its staff barely left
The downtown Long Beach Italian restaurant's staff has an average tenure of 24 years, even after the building itself had to be rebuilt.
L'Opera Ristorante has been a fixture of downtown Long Beach's dining scene for decades, built on scratch-made pasta, bread, and desserts and a service culture owner Terry Antonelli credits for the restaurant's staying power: a staff of 40 with an average tenure of 24 years.
That continuity was tested in 2020, when the restaurant was already navigating pandemic restrictions and then was destroyed during the civil unrest that swept through Downtown Long Beach on May 31 of that year. The restaurant rebuilt and reopened rather than closing for good.
Executive chef Walter Cotta has described the approach since as deliberately old-school — treating guests and staff like family, updating the menu just enough to stay interesting without chasing trends. Long Beach's downtown business alliance has since held L'Opera up as one of the district's longest-running local legends.