As the President and principal urban planner of the Elizabeth Peterson Group, Inc., Elizabeth has provided land use expertise on urban development in Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles. Using the model she implemented in Hollywood, Elizabeth has established a collaborative system for gaining approvals for new businesses, housing developments, restaurants and nightclubs in the city. She partners with the Los Angeles Planning Department, City Council members, local police and community leaders to tackle issues related to new developments and restaurant and nightclub venues, whether it be security, noise design or neighborhood impacts. Getting these projects approved has led to the reactivation of urban street life in both Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles.
Elizabeth began her foray into Downtown Los Angeles in the Old Bank District, now a bustling community developed by Tom Gilmore. She met Gilmore in Hollywood, where he was refurbishing the Equitable building. Gilmore brought her on to help secure the entitlements for a three-building collection and it’s anchor restaurant, Pete’s Café. Since then, Elizabeth Peterson’s client roster has swelled to include the KOR Group, CIM Group, Kennedy Wilson, Palisades Development, the Downtown Standard, the Golden Gopher, Seven Grand, Pitfire Pizza and the Edison Bar.
In addition, Elizabeth is a member of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Community Activities Board, vice chair of the LAPD’s Central Division’s Activities League, as well as a board member of the Responsible Hospitality Institute, and the Downtown Los Angeles Central City Association. She has over 22 years of hospitality experience, as well as a passion for music and entertainment combined with a strong sense of community.
Elizabeth has recently opened two of her own new venues in downtown Los Angeles. “I swore I would never go back into this business, and I stopped running venues in 1999,” Peterson recalled. “But when I saw that no one was doing anything in the space at the Toy Factory Lofts I said, “We’ve got to do it.” Royal Clayton’s which opened in August of 2006 is an English styled Pub with serious food. Serving the local loft community and the downtown area for both lunch and dinner
On December 23rd of 2007, Elizabeth had the grand opening of “The Bordello” Supperclub located at what was formally known as Little Pedro’s in the Art’s District. The Bordello is now considered one of hottest night spots in all of Los Angeles, flirting with it’s notorious past as the infamous location as the oldest bar in brothel in Downtown Los Angeles, by reflecting its legendary status as a theater of the unusual and provocative.