Who is Cafe MUSE???

Cafe MUSE is owned and operated by long-time friends, Jennifer Ritchkoff & Crystal Jackson.  Jennifer & Crystal are theatre artists who met around the year 2000, as company members of West Coast Ensemble theatre company in Los Angeles, and become fast friends while working on the play, Electra.  Many years later, after Jennifer left the company to pursue her non-profit work with The Art & Soul Center, Jennifer & Crystal became theatre buddies, seeing local theatre all over Los Angeles.  In the late Spring of 2007, while seeing shows in the Hollywood area, they discovered that there wasn't a restaurant in the Theater Row area of Hollywood (especially one that would accommodate Jennifer's vegan diet!).   When the space at the Hudson Theaters was discovered empty, Jennifer & Crystal started talking about the possibilities... and that is when Cafe MUSE was born.

A vegetarian for over a decade, Jennifer developed a passion for cooking and nutrition.  She also has a great deal of experience, having worked in a variety of eateries over the years (she is an actress, after all!).  Crystal also had food industry experience, and once ran a supper club in Washington DC.   Together they came up with the Cafe MUSE concept:  a healthy eatery that would also be an entertainment venue to showcase the vast talent in the Hollywood area.  They also decided this area needed a really great, cozy and quiet, coffeehouse that opened early and stayed open late... to meet the needs of the creative folks that live and work in the neighborhood.   They wanted to create a real neighborhood-type place where friends can meet and network, or come to work, while enjoying some good coffee, some really good food, and some really really good entertainment! 

Jennifer & Crystal are thrilled to be a part of this community.  Not only are they involved in the Hollywood theatre community, but Jennifer sits on the Board of the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council, as Chair of the Arts & Culture Committee, with which she produced a big Community Event in DeLongpre Park.  Crystal is a working actress and a longtime member of West Coast Ensemble theatre company, which has been a part of the Hollywood community for over two decades.  They are so happy to be a part of Theater Row, which is home to some of the most provocative and engaging theatre in Los Angeles (and Jennifer's nonprofit, Art & Soul!). 

 Although Crystal is not a vegetarian, she agreed to the mostly-vegetarian and vegan menu (thanks, Crystal!), and its proven to be a worthy decision.  Vegetarians & non-vegetarians alike love the food!   Serving dishes we call healthy, comfort foods, we offer the kind of food you would make for yourself if you had all the ingredients at home.   We are so impressed by how adventurous people have been to eat new foods like soy chicken and soy steak!  Even non-vegetarians love our vegetarian food, and the homemade southwest vegetarian chili is a favorite.  The other hit item is "not your mama's grilled cheese," with three cheeses and sundried tomatoes, served on fresh-baked whole-wheat or pumpernickel bread.  We serve food until closing and often get people coming in after a rehearsal for our sweet potato fries.  We are so thrilled that plates are licked clean, and people keep coming back for more!  We would like to thank our friends and families, and our wonderful new neighbors, for their support of Cafe MUSE. 

We believe in using fresh, natural ingredients...
and that simple and healthy food can also be delicious and nutritious!    
We believe in eating to live, not living to eat. 
We believe that eating good food can be a spiritual experience.
We also believe that art is as important as food.
We believe it is just as important to feed your art, as it is to feed your body.

We believe in feeding the body... and feeding the spirit.