Briana Valdez was born in a small town outside Houston, the middle of triplet girls and two older sisters, and spent most of her childhood moving around the state. Despite her frequent moves, her close-knit family rooted her in a foundation of hospitality, community, and great food.
After graduating from Austin’s St. Edward’s University with a degree in business, she left for Los Angeles and spent several years managing high-end businesses in interior design and spas. She always had a love of food and hospitality and in 2008, when she heard Thomas Keller was opening Bouchon in Beverly Hills, she leapt at the opportunity to be a part of the inspired opening team. During her time with Chef Keller, Briana completed what became a postgraduate education in hospitality, learning from and working alongside an incredibly accomplished team of professionals. Even more importantly, along the way, she discovered her true passion, caring for guests.
It wasn’t long before Briana began to conceptualize ideas for her own restaurant. She ended up bouncing them off several prominent industry figures, including Chef Keller himself. The kernel of her idea arose from the realization that, while LA was full of Texans—the so-called - Tex-Pats - as well as those who loved and were familiar with the culture of the state, there weren’t any truly Texan restaurants. The story of Texas, her story, was not being shared in Los Angeles. Aside from family, Texas food was the missing element from her adopted city.
In late 2013, after years of planning and refining, HomeState was born in East Hollywood. The mission remains the same as it did back then: to create a home for everyone, regardless of where they are from, and to serve them food and drink made with quality ingredients and lots of love. It was (and is) the holistic expression of Briana’s roots, transposed with all their integrity, history and culture to her adopted home of Los Angeles.
In March of 2018, Briana opened HomeState’s second location in LA’s Highland Park neighborhood and a third location is planned for the Fall of 2018 in Playa Vista, the Westside of LA.
