Not all of Gagosian’s expansions are supersized. In his latest move, the mega-dealer is taking a baby step (relatively speaking) to increase his footprint in Beverly Hills by partnering with celebrated pasta chef Evan Funke and Canada-based Gusto 54 Restaurant Group.

Funke, the man behind Italian hotspot Felix Trattoria on Venice’s boho-turned-bougie Abbot Kinney Boulevard, signed a lease on a 9,500-square-foot space at 430 North Camden Drive, roughly half a block from Gagosian’s Los Angeles headquarters. The gallery will take over the square footage not used by Funke, as well as provide artwork for the restaurant.

Gagosian has not yet finalized its plans for the expanded space, according to a gallery spokesperson, leaving open the possibility that it could be used for anything from offices to on-site storage to exhibitions. But the gallery has time to decide. Funke’s as-yet-unnamed restaurant (whose concept will stick to the chef’s Italian mastery) is not expected to debut until fall 2020. 

This is not Gagosian’s first gourmet partnership. In 2014, he teamed up with acclaimed sushi chef Masa Takayama to open the haute cuisine Japanese restaurant Kappo Masa on the Upper East Side. Although Gagosian also supplies works from his artists at that establishment, Kappo Masa was born out of the dealer’s specific intent to open a high-class house eatery beneath his Madison Avenue gallery. By contrast, the scant details and low-key roll-out of the agreement with Funke—it was announced in a three-sentence email statement by the Gusto 54 Restaurant Group rather than through any outlet affiliated with the gallery—suggest this may simply be a case of Gagosian capitalizing on a found opportunity for auxiliary space in close proximity to his Beverly Hills location. 

And just like that, the big get (slightly) bigger.