THE AN FAMILY COLLECTION
The An Family Collection is the umbrella name for the many restaurants under it. Those restaurants consist of Crustacean and Thahn Long, the original restaurant opened by the family. Elizabeth An (323-460-4387) is the CEO and “visionary” of the company. The An family comes from Viet Nam royalty, but was forced out of the country after the war in 1975. After much turmoil, the family managed to start their first restaurant by pure luck. Elizabeth’s grandmother happened into a small restaurant in San Francisco. After talking to the owner, he pushed her to buy the small place, which consisted of only a few tables and a kitchen. Eventually, the restaurant became very successful and they were forced to buy the two businesses next to them and expand their operations. After making enough money the entire family got involved and decided to open the first Crustacean in San Francisco. After that success, they made their move south to Beverly Hills and then to Las Vegas. Along with the restaurants, the An family has a product line of sauces in high-end grocery stores and are currently working on frozen food items.

ALITASH KEBEDE GALLERY
Alitash Kebede (323-549-0003) owns Alitash Kebede Gallery which specializes in African and African-American art. Alitash’s business was first profiled on Making It! in 1989 when she sold art out of a home gallery. Today she has her own art gallery in Los Angeles. Alistash was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and came to the U.S. in her junior year of high school to attend a private boarding school in Tennessee. She moved to L.A. and managed her own exhibits in a small gallery in her home. When it became a conflict of interest with the gallery at her job, she decided to pursue private art dealing full time. Paintings in her current exhibit rum from $10,000 for prints and $45,000-$80,000 for paintings. The most expensive piece she has sold was a Romare Beardon (a close friend) for $260,000. She’s also seen art she’s sold for $3,000 appreciate to $95,000.