Dear Friend of the Chili Bowl,

Thank you for joining more than 1085 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.

We write you today with the news we hoped never to have to share. There is an active demolition permit, with the intent to destroy the Chili Bowl. And it was applied for months ago!

We are terribly sorry that we failed to see this permit when it was filed, and we feel foolish and angry. Here’s what happened.

We have been checking daily to see if the December 2020 demolition permit for the Chili Bowl has moved from pending to active status and confirming it had not.

But after community members told us about work happening around the property, including the removal of all landscaping and deep holes being dug, we checked the city website and discovered the property owner tricked everyone by filing a brand new demo permit on 9/8/2021! This new permit is moving quickly through the city approval process.

The Chili Bowl has never been in more danger than it is right now! But it's not too late.

While Mike Bonin opposed making it a landmark, and was not previously willing to pay to move the Chili Bowl, as we told you in our last update he has been open to working with the property owner to move the 1935 Chili Bowl from Pico to somewhere where it will be safe until a new use can be found for it. We all need to ask that he make this happen now—not just by signing this petition, but by following up with a quick personal phone call and/or email.

Please call Mike Bonin's office at 310-575-8461 and/or email Councilmember.Bonin@lacity.org with the simple message, which you can add to if you like: "I care about the Chili Bowl at 12244 West Pico Boulevard, which is currently threatened with demolition. I am asking the Councilmember to work with the property owner and find the funds needed to move this historic Los Angeles treasure somewhere safe, and not to let it be demolished. Thank you."

This is just a matter of money and real estate and time. Surely the answer can be found to save the only giant Chili Bowl in Los Angeles so it can enjoy another 87 years in the sun. Maybe you’ve got the perfect spot for a giant Chili Bowl to call its temporary home? Call us—we can help!

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