Elisabet Spaulding of Uplifters Kitchen

TEXT LAWRENCE LANOFF

VISUAL JEFF LEAVITT

Morning light streams through large bright windows as people ponder pastries. I’ve been enjoying my coffee at Uplifters Kitchen since the day it opened. In the beginning, it was a single countertop, standing room only, an overwhelmed barista. Now, it’s bigger. Comfier, with places to sit and space to connect.

Business owners, dog lovers, expressive executives, agents, actors, and artists alike meet here for things like polenta porridge with feta, herbs and an egg (sunny side up). Freshly baked maple-bacon scones. Cake.   

The phone rings with urgent orders. An ageless woman, sharply dressed, high heels and dripping confidence, steps to the register, phone to her ear. She’s helping get the line down while taking an order. She darts into the kitchen answering questions, then shoots over to the espresso machine. Watching owner Elizabet Spaulding work is like seeing a delighted octopus in her lair, a flurry of tentacles touching everything but disturbing nothing. She catches my eye. “I love it all.” And I know she does. She is the grounding force that keeps it all together. 

“I’m not a physical risk taker, but I am an intellectual risk taker. At work, I’m always pushing my edges,” she says energetically. “I don’t believe in overnight success. I’ve had a huge learning curve with this business.”

Elizabet comes from a family of small business owners, including her mother. “My mom inspires me to the greatest extent. She’s the happiest person I know because she realized how not to be a victim in life and really pursue her passions and dreams.” 

Here’s what she means. When Elizabet was nine years old, her dad abandoned the family for his own adventure. Her mom went from being a supported, stay-at-home mother to being entirely on her own. Elizabet’s grandfather gave his savings to his daughter and said, “I believe in you. Go out and create something for yourself.” And she did. The ability to go out and do it, create it, to believe in yourself are messages that Elizabet’s mom transferred to her own daughter—an inner confidence that Elizabet has carried since and enjoys passing to others.

“I’m very interested in what people want to do and experience in their lives. It inspires me to watch my employees focus on their dream. And then go for it.” I see the authenticity in her eyes. “The first time an employee quit, I took it personally. But then I realized everybody has desires, and part of my job as a business owner is to inspire the dreams of my employees and let them go when they need to go. Being flexible is part of the job. I’m still in touch with almost everyone who worked here.”

Elizabet began Uplifters Kitchen with the idea to create an environment where people could eat good things, talk to each other, and truly connect. “Sharing good food is a powerful human experience. It creates bonds.” The menu is a combination of global flavors, spices, herbs, and history. “To me, discovering the perfect blends of flavors and foods is exciting. I love when seasonings work together unexpectedly—there’s something hopeful about that.”

The food reflects Elizabet’s desire to explore. “Ingredients tie together the hidden history of the world,” she notes, “and Los Angeles is the perfect cradle for discovery, a place open to my culinary experimentations. That’s why I’m here.”

In building her business, Elizabet has surrounded herself with the people that she wants to be with, from employees to customers, and of course her family. “I believe in happiness,” Elizabet says. “I feel that inside of each person, there is everything they need to be happy.”  

Especially when the food is delicious, the coffee hot, and the service impeccable. I find happiness in that, too.