Localist Guide: Greg Ryan

May 26

Occupation: CEO, Co-Owner Bell’s

Locale: Los Alamos

For Greg Ryan, hospitality has never really been a career choice — it’s simply the life he and his wife Daisy built together. Raised in the small farming town of Donald in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Greg moved to New York after college, where he met Daisy while they were both working in restaurants. Years spent in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin shaped their approach to food and service, but by 2017, after the birth of their son Henry, the couple was craving something different: family, community, and a slower pace of life.

So they moved to the Santa Ynez Valley with a 10-month-old baby and, as Greg jokes, thought: “Let’s open a restaurant. That makes sense.”

What started without a grand master plan became one of California’s most celebrated restaurants. When the building that would become Bell’s became available in Los Alamos, Greg and Daisy saw potential in its existing bones and in the town itself — quiet, charming, and full of possibility. They also noticed something missing. Surrounded by wine country, Los Alamos didn’t yet have the kind of French-leaning neighborhood restaurant they personally would have wanted to visit. So they built it.

Behind Bell’s success is also a story of family support and deep local roots. Greg often credits Daisy’s family for helping them survive those early years — watching Henry, pitching in where needed, and allowing the couple to spend countless hours bringing the restaurant to life. That sense of warmth and genuine care still defines Bell’s today: thoughtful food, welcoming hospitality, and a restaurant built from the kind of place Greg and Daisy simply wanted to create for the community they now call home.

Q & A WITH GREG

A: Most Sundays one or both of us are working, so I’m going to shift this answer to a Tuesday, when most of our restaurants and spaces are closed.
We don’t do it as much as we used to, but getting an early lunch at Honor Bar in Montecito, is always a treat for us. We’ll drop Henry off at school, get a little work done, then drive down the coast. Now with Little King opening at The Post its great to grab a coffee on the way back up to the valley.
There’s something comforting and familiar about it, while still feeling a little indulgent and out of pocket from our normal routine.
A: In this business, you have to very much be a fan of ritual and repetition. My mornings are usually coffee, reading for a bit, and then some form of exercise.
Daisy got me into running when we were living in New York, and 20 years later there’s still nothing quite like it. I’m not particularly good at running, but I do enjoy showing off my aggressively short running shorts to whatever certain segment of the Santa Ynez Valley is driving Refugio Road before lunch most days.
A: The Hitching Post II.
It’s where we celebrate, where we bring friends from out of town, and where we return to again and again. There’s something amazing about a restaurant that is completely itself. It knows exactly what it is and leans into it in the best possible way. Frank Ostini is an amazing hospitality ambassador to this area.
The gin martinis are ice cold and shaken hard enough that they get just diluted enough i can somehow treat myself to having two sometimes. As for our order we typically start with the ribs, artichokes, and grilled shrimp cocktail, and then move on to the 7 ounce baseball sirloin with a baked potato. It’s perfect.
A: Shamefully, when we’re not at the restaurants we don’t actually drink a ton of wine. Mostly beer.
So first for me is always The Backroom. Sandy and Chris have built one of the best beer selections in Santa Barbara County, and spending time there is always a treat. We don’t get there as much as we used to, but I think about it often.
After that, I’d say Lo-Fi Wines and A Tribute to Grace — two tasting rooms that opened around the same time we did.
Mike and Craig at Lo-Fi create such a great experience just down the street from us, and Angela at A Tribute to Grace continues to do incredible work showcasing grenache in all its forms. Both places make you feel genuinely welcomed and taken care of.
A: Especially if you are heading from Los Olivos to Los Alamos, driving the back roads of Foxen Canyon and Alisos Canyon - beautiful hills and vineyards and its just winding enough to give you a cheap thrill.
A: Our son is 9 now, and we’re really trying to encourage him to read more. Which, these days, can be a challenge. But in a nice way it’s also pushed Daisy and me to read more ourselves, both in the mornings and before bed, so it feels a bit like a shared family activity.
Recently I finished In the Distance, which I loved. It’s a sort of revisionist western that feels lonely, strange, and beautiful all at once.
When I’m running, I usually listen to audiobooks or podcasts. I also recently finished London Falling, which is an incredibly gripping true story about a young man in England who gets caught up in the world of con men and underbelly of London.
Lately I’ve been listening to Kevin Morby, a Berkeley band called mildred, and pretty much anything by This Is Lorelei.
My laptop.
Unfortunately.
A: To my knowledge, none at the moment.
This business brings enough adventure on its own without needing to go looking for more. We mostly just keep our heads down and continue working. Adventure usually seems to find us when we do that.