Restaurants are insane

How to help in LA

I wanted to write about the upcoming Oscar nominations today. I might still do it next week. But since Wednesday morning I’ve been attached to Instagram, checking in on my friends and favorite restaurants in LA. Kevin Hockin and Rosanna Kvernmo of Side Pie in Altadena are sorting through the loss of both their home and their business to the fires. Chloe Walsh and Courtney Storer are cooking and providing supplies to first responders, volunteers and the displaced. The Angel has a good list of resources and places to donate.

On Tuesday night, I was supposed to have dinner at Bernee, the new spot from the All Time crew in Altadena. The winds were bad when we left the house and the Palisades fire had already started that morning. LA is a weird and sprawling place. Living further East, the Palisades feel connected but impossibly far. No one mentioned canceling the reservation.

The air quality got worse the closer we got to the restaurant. At one point, we had to U-turn and reroute because a massive tree was blocking the road. I still thought we should go to dinner. I had Bernee’s magic dinner rolls in my mind, but I mostly felt some crushing guilt around a last-minute cancellation for a brand new restaurant on a tough night. I’ve seen what that does to bottom lines and tips and I hate being part of that problem. So I drove slowly and watched the sky.

A few minutes later, a nearby power line flashed and sparked above us. I conceded that it was time to go home. I’m fine and safe and lucky to have a place to escape to outside the city. The damage is devastating. LA has felt like home to me for a long time, even when I briefly left for New York. People inside and outside of the city joke that there’s no sense of community here. Day to day that’s not entirely untrue. But look at what Courtney and Chloe are doing, read through The Angel’s list, follow businesses like Cafe Tropical and Jitlada and Peads & Barnetts on Instagram and you’ll see how much the food culture of this city ties it together.

The recovery from this will be long. I don’t know what it looks like. But messages like these from Diana Lee Zadlo are on my mind:

The hospitality community never ceases to amaze me. When everything is burning down, the people who are busting their ass everyday to make it work are still the ones who show up and give and give. Restaurants are such a huge part of the community, institutions of joy, meeting places and memory makers. The amount of spots giving food away to the displaced, evacuees, front line workers and fire fighters in LA is huge and amazing and inspiring. The owners and workers who have lost their restaurants and homes, I'm so sorry. It all feels so big and scary but seeing how GOOD and caring and selfless so many of you are, that's that true humanity. I love you LA.

Diana is right. This is what people in hospitality do. It takes some insanity to be a part of this world. The hours are long, the money is rarely good, the work is hard. But restaurant lifers don’t know anything else. Can’t imagine anything else. They’re also the most likely not to imagine any response to the destruction this week other than helping in any way possible.

Some restaurants, like Botanica in Silver Lake, are reopening Saturday after being closed on Wednesday and Thursday to take care of their staff and cook donation meals. They’re posting about providing a place for relief and community while continuing to invest in ways to assist.

Donating is good. Volunteering is good. And simply supporting local spots is also good right now. Small businesses in LA were already in a difficult place before this. Especially restaurants. Constraining government regulations, the pandemic, multiple Hollywood strikes and a decline in consumers’ willingness to spend on dining out (especially on drinking, where the profit margins are) were forcing a distressing number of closures. Unfortunately, that’s only likely to get worse now if nothing changes.

Let’s make sure everyone is safe. Build back homes. Protect the environment. And also, finally, invest in this industry that invests so much in its community when disaster strikes.