Dear Friend of the Chili Bowl,

Thank you for joining more than 760 concerned citizens who have signed the petition urging councilmember Mike Bonin to pause the pending demolition permit and help to move L.A.’s last Chili Bowl from its longtime home at 12244 West Pico Boulevard to a safe location within the city of Los Angeles.

Tonight, there was a special meeting of the West Los Angeles Sawtelle Neighborhood Council to discuss a motion calling on City Council’s PLUM Committee to void last week’s vote against Chili Bowl landmarking and reschedule it, because neither the public nor the applicant the Los Angeles Conservancy was allowed to speak.

We live-tweeted the meeting, so if you’d like to read our opinionated feedback to what was said, you can find it here: https://twitter.com/esotouric/status/1407869886488006668

Adrian Scott Fine from the Conservancy talked about their landmark nomination, the strange things that happened when it went before the PLUM Committee, and their legal demand for a new vote (PDF link).

Then the landlord’s attorney Daniel Freedman took an aggressive tact trying to discourage the NC from asking PLUM to hear the matter again. He talked about his client suing the city and insisted the building wasn’t worth landmarking. But he also said the Chili Bowl wouldn’t be demolished, and that they were willing to give the building away along with some funds for restoration, if somebody would take the building off their hands.

We spoke briefly about this petition, letting the Neighborhood Council know that more than 700 people have signed on to this campaign in the last week, and want to see the Chili Bowl saved and moved.

The NC board had strong words for PLUM’s failure to follow proper meeting procedure, and for the mixed messages they were getting from Mike Bonin and the developer’s attorney. Was there a plan to move the Chili Bowl to the shuttered Bundy Triangle or another location, as they claim? If so, why wasn't the landmark nomination allowed to move forward, and the public and Conservancy given a chance to speak?

The motion passed unanimously. Now it’s up to the city to follow the law and let the people be heard before holding a proper vote on the Chili Bowl’s future.

That’s all the news that fits in a giant Chili Bowl. Please continue to share the petition (http://www.change.org/SaveTheChiliBowl) with friends who love the Chili Bowl and want to see it saved. And stay tuned for additional updates as they happen.

Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim Cooper & Richard Schave
Friends of the Chili Bowl