Restaurants are leaving Los Angeles, California, en masse due to business owners feeling disenfranchised following coronavirus lockdowns and high costs, a report released Wednesday showed.
A SFGATE report detailed multiple local restaurant owners who suffered so much financial loss that they had to shut down, with fine dining establishments and mom-and-pop shops suffering alike.
Chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke, owners of several popular high-end eateries, have had to close multiple restaurants in the last year. Among the failed ventures are Petty Cash Taqueria, which had been in the downtown L.A. area since 2013, and a casual Filipino concept called Sari Sari Store at Grand Central Market.
“I don’t know if we’ve seen the end of how the pandemic has affected restaurants,” Walter told the outlet. “People are being more careful about where they’re spending their money.”
The longtime restaurateur explained that he doesn’t plan to open another restaurant soon.
“We’re not looking to open a new restaurant in the next few months. Even chefs who’ve been in the business a long time and have helped to shape LA dining are struggling. It’s tough to get buzz for a new spot.”
He added that neither the French nor Filipino restaurants were “financially very strong coming into this year.”
Coronavirus-era business assistance — the Paycheck Protection Program loans and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund — are long-gone, and the prices to lease commercial spaces are sky-high.
Another restaurant that sadly had to go was the 15-year-old icon, Animal, by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. Carlos Salgado’s Michelin-rated Taco Maria also fell short of making it another year, along with “beloved neighborhood spots” like the Jewish-owned Diamond Bakery and Wes Avila’s Chinatown sandwich shop, Angry Egret Dinette.
The California publication also named chef Jason Neroni as another business foodie who, after spending “millions of dollars over four years of construction and permitting,” has had to close his Culver City pizza joint, Best Bet.
“Other closures include Cassell’s DTLA, Tallula’s, Needle, Kinn, Cafe Tropical and more,” the outlet added.
Kristin Ciccolella announced Tuesday that her nine-year-old Venice seafood restaurant, Anchor, is also unfortunately shutting down due to lockdown effects.
“I had to pivot my menu from seafood only when we shut down, because who wants to order mussels for delivery? And then my indoor business just never came back, which was really disappointing,” she said.
“Industry vet” Jeremy Adler highlighted the expensive costs to obtain and keep liquor licenses in the progressive state of California, pointing to legislation like Assembly Bill 1228 as a steep hill for business owners trying to succeed.
The law, recently signed by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, will raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 come 2024.
“That law puts pressure on independent restaurants as well,” Adler said. “When the average profit margin at a restaurant is 5-7 percent, 1 percent really matters.”
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