Paul Luna is a
restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, and
political activist who has opened a training kitchen for
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. women, ''Lunacy Black Market'', in
downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...
.
Background
Called "mad genius" and "rebel chef," Luna has been a controversial ground-breaker on the Atlanta restaurant scene since the early 1990s, often critical of local trendiness and faddish tastes. He introduced European, Mediterranean, and South American cuisine through his restaurants Luna Si, Eclipse di Luna and Loca Luna, and was widely known as a "bad boy" who ruled his dining room impetuously, sometimes staging impromptu striptease dances to amuse and shock patrons.
He advocates small businesses run by mixed-income, multi-national owners as the way to rejuvenate the historic downtown area. "We're still segregated," he says. "All my white customers think, downtown: black. Period."
He worked with BryAnn Chen, executive director of Refugee Women's Network, to identify appropriate candidates for employment in this restaurant. In recent interviews regarding his new restaurant and business disputes with the city, Luna has declared his intention to run for mayor of Atlanta.
Career
Luna's far-flung career includes work with some of the world's finest chefs in some of the world's most reputed establishments, including Michele Attali at Petrossian in Paris,
Terrance Brennan
Terrance Brennan is the Chef-Proprietor of the restaurants of The Artisanal Group, including Picholine and Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro & Wine Bar and Bar Artisanal.
Early life and career
The son of Annandale, Virginia restaurateurs, Brennan b ...
at New York City's Picholine, and Gianni Scappin of
BiCE Ristorante
BiCE Ristorante (or known simply as BiCE) was an Italian restaurant located in New York City. Opening in 1987, the restaurant was popular with an upscale New York City clientele. It was described, soon after opening, by ''The New York Times'' as ...
, Milan. He also opened and ran successful establishments in Washington, Italy, and Canada. Luna's tenure with
Four Seasons Resort Maui
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea is a resort in Wailea, on the island of Maui in Hawaii. It is part of the Four Seasons luxury hotels chain. It is the only resort on Maui to receive both the AAA Five Diamond Award and the Forbes (formerly Mobil ...
at Wailea,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, gave him the opportunity to lead cooking classes for children through the
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui program.
Maui News, 10/14/07
/ref>
References
External linksLunacy Black Market
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna, Paul
Year of birth missing (living people)
Writers from Atlanta
Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States
American restaurateurs
Living people
American chefs
American male chefs