One of LA’s Best Chefs Embarks on a Big New Orange County Journey
Vartan Abgaryan joins one of Newport Beach’s most storied restaurant groups, with plans for expansion to come
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Chef Vartan Abgaryan has found himself a new gig or, rather, an old gig. The longtime Angeleno, known for rising through the ranks at restaurants like the now-closed Cliff’s Edge and Downtown sky-high dinner spot 71Above, is now heading to Orange County to run one of Newport Beach’s most well-regarded restaurant empires as a corporate executive chef.
The move to join River Jetty Restaurant Group is actually something of a homecoming for Abgaryan, who previously worked with ownership there between 2009 and 2012, much of that spent as executive chef of historic A Restaurant on Coast Highway. The group, run by movie producer Joseph ‘McG’ Nichol and Jordan Otterbein, also runs A Market in Newport Beach and CDM Restaurant and Bar in Corona Del Mar.