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Prop 8 and Where You Eat in Los Angeles: Where is the Boycott Line Drawn?
Photo by mlpdesign via Flickr
An e-mail is floating around pointing out Southern California restaurant high ranking employees or owners who donated to Yes on Prop 8, which sought to eliminate gay marriage. The author of the e-mail, who wished to remain anonymous wrote "it's wrong to penalize those whose employees were the ones that donated, of course, so this list is limited only to ownership and decision-making upper management. Still, the results are surprising. All of these results are freely available to verify yourself." As you may already know, El Coyote Restaurant on Beverly Blvd. has already been the focus of much discussion.
So, what well known restaurants are caught up in this hot mess? Let's take a look at what the e-mail points to...
- C&L Restaurant Group - Largest franchisee of Burger King locations in So Cal; Richard Cross, restaurant operator, donated $4,000 to the campaign. Donation verified on LA Times.
- T-Bird Restaurant Group - Exclusive rights to franchise Outback Steakhouse in California. CFO Mikkel Christensen donated $2,000. Donation verified on LA Times.
- WKS Restaurant Corporation, company with franchise rights for El Pollo Loco. Roland Spongberg, President, donated $6,000 to Yes on 8. Donation verified on LA Times.
- Yard House - Restaurant Partner ("Owner"), Executive Chef Carlito Jocson donated $100. Donation verified on LA Times.
- Real Mex Restaurants - Steven Tanner, CFO, donated $500.00 Restaurants under their belt include all: El Torito, Chevy's and Acapulco, as well as smaller concepts Las Brisas, Casa Gallardo, Who Song & Larry's, and El Paso Cantina. Donation verified on LA Times.
A slew of other small family owned restaurants are also listed as well as Michael O'Grady, operating partner for three San Diego County locations of PF Chang's.
But the real question is, where do you draw the line when deciding if to patronize these restaurants?
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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