Pearl Unfurled

By Richard Mineards | September 3, 2024

Sherry Villanueva, designer Nathan Turner, Kathy Janega-Dykes, Stephanie Greene Fuller, and Jens Baake, president of Acme (photo by Priscilla)

Mega restaurateur Sherry Villanueva, founder of Acme Hospitality which owns The Lark and Loquita in the Funk Zone, has added another spot, The Pearl Social Cocktail Club – just a tiara’s toss away – and 100 guests turned out to celebrate the lustrous occasion.

Interior designer Nathan Turner, who resides in Ojai and Los Angeles, overhauled the bijou space with professional Liam Baer concocting the intoxicating drinks menu, including In It To Nguyen It with dark rum, coconut, cafe aymara, cold-brewed coffee, and market lime, and One Night in Bangkok, a loose spin on a Gimlet with gin and banana liqueur and plum sake.

Among the imbibers were Mercedes Smith, Gina Tolleson, William Tomicki, Karna Hughes, Charlotte Ronson, and Kathy Janega-Dykes.