A former top executive of the San Francisco-founded bakery chain Tartine has been tapped to help lead a “retro-futuristic” Tesla restaurant being built in Los Angeles.
Bill Chait, a long-time restaurateur who lists himself as a president at Tartine on LinkedIn, is also listed as a managing partner at Zero2One LLC, the entity behind the Tesla Diner, according to job postings and business registration documents. After this story was published, Tartine issued a statement saying that Chait is no longer involved with the bakery.
“Bill Chait is not part of the Tartine management team and has not held the title of company president for the past 5+ years,” CEO Dar Vasseghi said in the statement. “He is one of the company’s many investors. Tartine has nothing to do with Tesla, except both words start with the letter ‘T.'”
The diner will reportedly be equipped with two outdoor movie screens as well as Tesla charging stations for customers. Elon Musk himself has promised that “it will be cool.”
Maybe not to everyone. Anything related to Musk or Tesla has become increasingly politically polarizing since the CEO seemed to flash a Nazi salute and then began running President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Protests are taking place at Tesla showrooms, defacement and graffiti are a new worry for electric car owners stamped with his brand, and people are even changing their license plates to broadcast their loathing of him.
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In a Reddit thread about Chait’s involvement with Tartine and the forthcoming Tesla restaurant, some locals responded with ambivalence, others disgust. Several vowed to boycott the bakery’s pastries and tarts due to the taint of Musk. “Didn’t know, and done with them now,” one user wrote, while another chimed in, “Bye Tartine!”
This wouldn’t be the first time that politics has weaseled its way into SF’s dining scene. Earlier this year, George’s Donuts and Merriment in West Portal faced a backlash after news broke that one of its co-owners was linked to a donation to Trump’s inauguration fund. More recently, some small businesses faced rebuke for joining an “anti-woke” marketplace that raised money from one of Trump’s sons.
Even before this revelation, Tartine has had a whirlwind few years, as it has expanded to more than a dozen locations across the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and South Korea, and quickly closed others. Its owners divorced, its employees unionized, and its partnership with a big developer came under scrutiny.
Chait did not respond to a request for comment.
The Tesla Diner will also reportedly be helmed by chef Eric Greenspan, who has previously launched several other LA restaurants and ran a ghost kitchen company. He’s also the co-founder of an American cheese brand.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Bill Chait as a current executive of Tartine. According to the bakery, he is no longer part of the management team.