Americans May Finally Be Able to Dine at One of Marissa and Matt Hermer's Restaurants

Marissa Hermer and her family are basically living in paradise now that they've moved from London to Los Angeles. But when you're a successful restaurateur like Marissa and her husband, Matt Hermer, you're always looking for your next opportunity. "When Matt wanted to move to L.A., he wanted to take some time off and really enjoy our family life. And I sort of thought, he's gonna have a great time — which he deserves — spending days at the beach and SoulCycle and having avocado smoothies and whatever else you do in Southern California," Marissa told The Daily Dish. "But that lasted for three weeks, and he's already inspired about potential opportunities and new openings and looking at sites and sort of getting the lay of the land in the hospitality side in L.A."

The Ladies of London mom of three recently revealed on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she and Matt are currently looking at sites in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills and would love to seek advice from a well-known restaurateur in the area: Lisa Vanderpump. But for now, Marissa is keeping mum on the details of her and Matt's business plans. "He's got offers pouring in for different opportunities, so it's exciting. I can't announce anything yet, because there are a few things bubbling and waiting to be signed, but it should happen soon," she told The Daily Dish. "But it's exciting. Before we know it, we're gonna be working again, which is like, what happened to our vacation?"

As Marissa and Matt prepared to move their family to California this winter, they sold their London hot spots Boujis and Top Dog last summer. "So our plate has cleared up a bit," Marissa said. "We still own Bumpkin and we still own Eclipse, so we still have No.1 reasons to go back to London, but also those brands are so much a part of our family as well. So it's nice to hang onto them."

Of course, it wasn't easy for Marissa to let go of her Top Dog eatery, which was the first business she really founded and built up on her own. "Actually, initially getting the offer for Top Dog, I was jumping up and down with excitement, but I was also feeling like, 'Oh my God, it's too early. Like, there's so much opportunity to grow this.' I wasn't ready to give it up yet," Marissa explained. "On the flip side, if we were gonna be in L.A., I couldn't manage running a restaurant that was in London. And also with everything I had been through with [daughter] Sadie, I didn't actually have the headspace to dedicate time to another baby. I already had a new baby that she really needed my attention. So it all happened in the right way." 

Though it was difficult for Matt to bid farewell to Boujis since the nightclub had been a part of his life for 16 years, it was also an emotional time for Marissa. "We did a closing party at Boujis, sort of our last big party, and I was really excited about that, and we had all of our original Boujis friends on the dance floor. Sophie [Stanbury] was there, who is an original Boujis girl. Julie Montagu joined. It was really nice," Marissa said. "But Matt did have to drag me off the dance floor. At about 4 a.m., he's like, 'It's time to go home. It's over.' I was like, 'Noooo.' I was sad about the selling of Boujis because it was like my young life that was on that dance floor, like before I had kids when I was young and in love. And now, I'm old and in love and I don't stay out until four in the morning anymore. Hangovers are worse. So it was like saying goodbye to more of that party time in my life."

As Marissa and Matt look for new opportunities in the U.S., there's always the possibility that we could see some of their beloved businesses make their debut stateside. "There's a lot of interest to open a Top Dog in America, and we're looking at that, which is fun. And also, Eclipse Bars. A lot of people in New York are like, 'We want your watermelon martinis here,'" Marissa shared. "It's like, I want a watermelon martini in America, too. What else am I gonna drink when I really want to let my hair down? So we'll see."

We mean, when Marissa and Sophie have this much fun with some watermelon martinis, what American wouldn't want to be able to enjoy this cocktail all the time?

Sophie Stanbury Dances on the Bar