Alexandra Daddario Dishes Out Elegant Hancock Park Mansion to Sweetgreen Co-Founder
By Wendy Bowman
He’s definitely not a household name, but if you’ve happened to nosh on some of the healthy fare at one of Sweetgreen’s 100-plus locations across the country, you’ve come across the handiwork of Nathaniel Ru. As one of three co-founders of the fast-casual restaurant chain that went public in November 2021 with a $364 million initial offering, Ru’s tenure at the dining juggernaut has made him a very rich man, with more than enough cash to plunk down on a stylishly decorated home in the historic Hancock Park community of Los Angeles.
Sweetgreen’s chief brand officer just doled out $7.7 million for actress Alexandra Daddario and her film producer husband Andrew Form’s French-Mediterranean property — or nearly $400,000 more than the couple paid “Shameless” creator John Wells for the place in summer 2021. But they did spruce up the 1920s structure in collaboration with the interior design firm Nickey Kehoe while living there; and previous owners — architect William Hefner and his wife, the late Japanese interior designer Kazuko Hoshino — also undertook an extensive remodel and expansion that included the addition of a detached two-story guesthouse.
Tucked away behind gates and high hedges, on a flat parcel spanning over a quarter-acre of land, the two-story home boasts five bedrooms and six baths in almost 5,000 square feet of living space rife with limestone, marble and tile finishes, hardwood floors, arched doorways and custom built-ins. Main-level highlights include a grand foyer boasting a wrought-iron staircase topped by a skylight, which flows to a formal living room displaying a wood-burning fireplace and French doors spilling out to a manicured backyard hosting a garden-laced terrace, plus an al fresco dining area and a lengthy lap pool.
Among the other notable features: a library/office, 600-bottle wine cellar, and formal dining room that connects to a fireside kitchen equipped with powder blue-hued oak cabinetry, Calacatta gold marble countertops, an eat-in island, stainless appliances and a breakfast nook. An upstairs master retreat is adorned with a fireplace, two balconies, a walk-in closet and spa-like bath; and elsewhere is the aforementioned two-bedroom, two-bath guesthouse sporting its own fireplace-equipped living room and private terrace, along with a detached two-car garage.
In addition to his new Hancock Park house, Ru still owns a restored and expanded Windsor Square contemporary that he paid celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin nearly $3.2 million for back in 2019. As for Daddario and Form, they’ve moved on to a midcentury-modern fixer in Brentwood, originally crafted by noted modernist architect Allen Siple.
