Friday, September 19 2025
On September 30, we celebrate 26 years in business. That’s 26 years of shifts filled, events staffed, and late-night phone calls answered. What started as a two-person operation in Los Angeles has grown into a multi-market powerhouse, and the best part is, we are only getting warmed up.
From Fax Machines to GoLive!
Back in 1999, our president, Randy Hopp, closed the chapter on a franchise that wasn’t working on Friday and opened her own doors the following Monday. With nothing more than grit, determination, and a fax machine, Culinary Staffing Services was born. Orders were confirmed on paper, client outreach meant hand-written letters and hours of faxing, and scheduling was done with a phone call and a lot of trust. From the beginning, the mission was simple: create flexibility for workers, give clients peace of mind, and always put people first.
Fast forward to today, and the contrast could not be greater. We have developed our own proprietary technology, the GoLive! Pro app, which puts powerful tools directly in the hands of our clients. Staffing orders can now be placed instantly on a digital board, with preferred employees prioritized at the click of a button. Timekeeping is electronic, replacing paper timesheets with real-time check-ins and approvals. Clients can see an immediate cost estimate for every shift, update event details, and manage preferred and do-not-return lists in seconds. What once required hours of back-and-forth now happens in real time, without sacrificing the human judgment and personal support that have always set us apart.
Growing Beyond Southern California
Our story has always been about growth, not just in size but in how we show up for clients. After more than two decades of building our reputation in Southern California, we took our first big step in early 2024 by expanding into Northern California. In the Bay Area, we quickly found that our people-first approach resonated just as strongly with new partners as it did with the ones who had been with us since the beginning. By summer, it was time to raise the stakes, and we officially entered the Las Vegas market. Our very first major assignment was staffing the Formula 1 Grand Prix in November, an event that tested our ability to move quickly, scale smart, and prove that GoLive! Staffing could deliver on one of the biggest stages in the world. The momentum did not stop there. In May 2025, we brought our services to Seattle, anchoring ourselves in the Pacific Northwest and supporting clients across hospitality, events, and beyond. And the map is not finished yet. Let’s just say we have our eyes on a city that never sleeps, with more markets to come as we continue building coast to coast.
Why We Rebranded
In May of this year, we began the process of rebranding to align our company name with our app, GoLive!, and to better reflect the full scope of what we offer. For years, the name Culinary Staffing Services served us well, but it sometimes created confusion. People would hear it and assume we only provided cooks. While hospitality positions remain our bread and butter (pun fully intended), they are far from the only roles we fill. Today we support front of house, back of house, banquets, catering, light industrial, and logistics staffing, giving our clients a single trusted partner for a wide range of needs. The GoLive! name captures not just our tech, but also our ability to deliver reliable people and fast solutions wherever and whenever they are needed.
Looking Ahead
Reaching 26 years is not just a milestone, it is a reminder of what is possible when people believe in what they are building together. We have grown from a small Los Angeles office with a fax machine into a company with a national footprint and our own technology platform, but our core will never change. We will keep expanding into new markets, keep developing smarter tools, and keep raising the bar on what staffing should look like. Most of all, we will continue to honor the promise we made on day one: to put people first, every single time.
Thank You
To our clients who trust us with their operations, to our employees who show up early and stay late, and to our partners who walk alongside us, thank you. You are the reason we have reached this anniversary, and you are the reason we are excited for the future. This celebration belongs to all of us.
