Dear Friend of the Chili Bowl,

Thank you for joining 1203 concerned citizens who have signed the petition urging councilman 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.

The Chili Bowl is in grave peril, with an active demo permit, obscured from public view with fence and scaffolding surrounding it. And even though they have never proposed any redevelopment for the parcel, know this is a potential National Register landmark and that many people want it moved to safety, the property owner now has a crew inside doing loud, destructive, mysterious stuff.

Despite a refusal by Mike Bonin and the property owner to explain what’s happening to the landmark, fans continue to document the situation. On Monday 2/21/22, drone flyover footage captured a view of the roofless, hollowed out building.

By Tuesday 2/22/22, the Chili Bowl was unrecognizable. Thanks to an anonymous fan who accessed the site, we have a better idea of what is happening—and while it’s very hard to look at, at least it isn’t wrecking bar demolition. The stucco over wooden curved walls of the Chili Bowl are being cut into slabs, numbered and stacked on the ground.

You can see video and photos of the status as of yesterday here.

How does this scope of work jibe with statements from Mike Bonin’s office that the property owner plans to preserve the building? We wish we knew, and hope that the councilman’s planning staff will provide a detailed report during this evening’s meeting of the West Los Angeles-Sawtelle Neighborhood Council, when City aid in the preservation of the Chili Bowl is on the agenda.

If you’d like to tune in and make public comment, you can find the info here.

And even if you’ve already reached out, please call Mike Bonin's office at 310-575-8461 and/or email Councilmember.Bonin@lacity.org with the simple, updated message, which you can add to if you like: "I care about the Chili Bowl at 12244 West Pico Boulevard, which is currently has a demolition crew cutting it into slabs, removing and destroying historic features. I am asking the Councilmember to direct the property owner to immediately halt demolition, to resume discussions with Friends of the Chili Bowl and the Los Angeles Conservancy, and to work with the property owner and find the funds needed to move this (now deconstructed) historic Los Angeles treasure somewhere safe, and not to let it be destroyed. 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 (now deconstructed) 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