"For owner Neddy Morelos, the soundtrack was a welcome contrast to the silence of other nights when employees joked that they could hear a fly flap its wings. For the first time since January, when the Eaton fire bore down on her restaurant on Fair Oaks Avenue, a busy thoroughfare in Altadena, every vaquero-themed banquette was filled with hungry customers."
"Welcome to the Altadena Dining Club. Unlike other exclusive clubs that dot Los Angeles, the cost of membership is free. Many dining club members lost homes and community cornerstones in the fire, but that unfortunate credential isn't required. Come as you are, members say. We are kind of like a little misfit sort of group, said Brooke Lohman-Janz, dining club founder and an Altadena resident who lost her apartment in the fire."
"Mundane conversation is a luxury for this group many were strangers before one of the most destructive wildfires in California history leveled parts of their community. The businesses that remain restaurants like El Caporal report dips in sales. United by tragedy, the dining club aims to save one struggling restaurant in Altadena at a time. Since June, the dining club has rotated through eight restaurants most are family-owned like El Caporal, where Morelos's husband, Francisco Cortez, works the kitchen."
A dining club in Altadena formed after the Eaton fire brings residents together at local restaurants to restore business and social life. Membership is free and open to anyone, including people who lost homes or community landmarks in the fire. Since June the club has rotated through eight mostly family-owned restaurants, providing vital economic boosts while filling dining rooms that had been quiet. The gatherings transformed strangers into neighbors who share meals, jokes, and support. Restaurants like El Caporal experienced renewed bustle as staff served birria and carnitas and the community rebuilt connection.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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