Dear Friend of the Chili Bowl,

Thank you for joining 1121 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.

This week, the property owner obtained a permit to destroy the Chili Bowl!

There is no reason for them to do this, when the small, portable structure was built to be easily moved from one place to another. In fact, this Chili Bowl was already moved from Silver Lake by original owner Art Whizin in 1939, to serve a booming trade in hungry aircraft factory workers.

When the Chili Bowl was up for landmarking last year, the pro-development lobby group Abundant Housing organized an email campaign urging City Council to reject the designation, claiming the easily moved Chili Bowl building was somehow standing in the way of a 24-unit TOC housing development.

As Cranky Preservationist Nathan Marsak explains in his short video, this housing project doesn’t actually exist—all the more reason for the Chili Bowl to be moved to safety and not demolished.

You can watch the video on Facebook, YouTube or in the latest Esotouric newsletter.

Please tune in, pass it on, and then 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