[photo credit: Kings Breakfast & Burgers]
Two Altadena grassroots dining groups will join forces this afternoon at King’s Breakfast and Burgers in Pasadena in a combined push to help keep the area’s remaining Eaton Fire-affected restaurants from closing.
The 1 p.m. meetup marks a new phase in efforts to save businesses that lost 85 percent of their customers when the fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures across Altadena in January. The Altadena Dining Club and Altadena Restaurant Crawl, which have separately mobilized diners from across Los Angeles, are hoping that their combined reach can generate the steady traffic these restaurants need to survive.
“They’re really the last remnants of what we’ve got as a town. They are, in a way, lifelines to what was and what can be again,” said Brooke Lohman-Janz, who founded the Altadena Dining Club after losing her duplex in the fire.
King’s Breakfast and Burgers, located at 2057 N Los Robles Ave #14, Pasadena, and open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., is among a handful of Altadena and Altadena-adjoining establishments still fighting to stay open after the fire.
El Patron, at the top of Lake Avenue, is another.
“85% of my family, my customers, they’re not here [any] more,” said Margarita “Maggie” Cortez, owner of El Patron Mexican Restaurant, which hosted the Dining Club’s first event.
Today’s collaboration emerged from parallel efforts by residents who realized Altadena’s surviving restaurants were dying in empty dining rooms. Lohman-Janz, a seven-year Altadena resident now rebuilding in West Altadena, started the Dining Club after hearing about businesses on the brink. Their first outing at El Patron in late June drew about 20 people, doubling to 40 at Nancy’s Greek Cafe in July.
Jeff Dolen, a Tujunga resident, launched the Restaurant Crawl after visiting Altadena Ale and Wine House. His Meetup group and Instagram page @altadenarestaurantcrawl debuted July 26 and immediately flooded with members.
“All I did was create a Meetup group and an Instagram page, and it’s just been flooded with people joining every single day. There’s definitely a need or a desire, it seems like, in the great L.A. area to come up here and volunteer, and people don’t know how,” Dolen told ABC7.
The timing of today’s event coincides with the Altadena Rebuild Trade Show, running from noon to 4 p.m. at Loma Alta Park, potentially drawing more supporters to the area.
Restaurant owners view these dining groups as essential to survival.
“Most customers were all living within a mile or two of the restaurant, and most have lost their homes. We need our customer base back,” explained Shawn Shakhmalian, owner of Nancy’s Greek Cafe.
Both organizers stress that today’s event is just the beginning of support that must continue for years as the community rebuilds.
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Dining and Cooking