Erin Stone
attended a community town hall, reviewed public records and spoke with multiple sources to report this story.
Published July 22, 2026 2:08 PM
Catalina and Genaro Ventura sit on their porch, with dog Yogi, in Jefferson Park. They've lived near the Murphy oil drilling site for more than 25 years.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Topline:
After more than a decade of community organizing, an oil drilling site in Jefferson Park could be shut down. The city of Los Angeles has scheduled a hearing this week to consider revoking the license to operate the site.
The backstory: What’s known as the Murphy drill site on West Adams Boulevard sits atop the vast Las Cienegas oil field. The site’s name comes from Daniel Murphy, a business tycoon who donated the land to the Roman Catholic Church when he died. The L.A. Archdiocese has leased it to various oil companies for decades.
Why it matters: Although oil wells are present throughout Los Angeles, the effects are largely unequal. A 2022 study found twice the number of oil and gas wells in historically redlined neighborhoods, with L.A. topping the list. And numerous studies have found that people living near oil wells, which have been found to leak carcinogens like benzene, are more likely to have higher rates of asthma, preterm births and cancer.
What the current operator says: The operator disputes studies that show illnesses near the Murphy site, arguing that they did not measure "actual site emissions or exposure and cannot establish causation." They plan to make their case to remain operating to the city.
Read on ... to hear the story of a family who lives near the site and to learn what's next.
Genaro and Catalina Ventura moved to the South L.A. neighborhood of Jefferson Park more than 25 years ago. The Craftsman-style house they found was a dream — spacious, with a yard where they could garden and their children and dog could play.
What they didn’t know before moving in was that just a few hundred yards behind the house is an active oil drilling site.
Genaro Ventura, a now-retired custodian for the city of L.A., worked nights. When he’d come home around 2 a.m., the smell of oil and chemicals was often strong in the air.
“Since the night is quiet, there’s no traffic or smog,” Genaro Ventura told LAist in Spanish. “You can really smell the air from the drill site, and it’s a terrible odor.”
[“Como la noche es calmada, pues no hay tráfico, no hay smog, y puede uno pues percibir el aire del drill site, y es un olor muy feo."]
Five years after the family moved in, Genaro was diagnosed with cancer in his left kidney and had to have it removed. In 2013, a brain tumor led to another surgery, and the following year another brain tumor required radiation treatment. He has to return regularly for scans. Most recently he’s developed lung cancer and is scheduled to start chemotherapy.
With no family history of cancer, the Venturas suspect the illnesses are related to air pollution from the nearby drill site.
And it’s not just Genaro Ventura. The family’s last dog died of cancer. Their elderly chihuahua now has cancer, too. Two of Catalina Ventura’s friends nearby were also diagnosed with cancer and recently moved away. Their son and many children in the neighborhood grew up with asthma.
“I’d like to leave here,” Catalina Ventura said in Spanish. “But we can’t — this is our home and we like the area, plus we don't have the money to move, so we’ve stayed here despite everything we’ve gone through.”
[“Yo me quisiera ir de aqui. Pero no podemos porque estamos aquí, es nuestra casa y nos gusta el área, pero tampoco tenemos dinero para movernos, así que seguimos aquí a pesar de lo que sufrimos.”]
Now, after more than a decade of community organizing, the drill site could be shut down. The city has scheduled a hearing this week to consider revoking E&B Natural Resource’s license to operate the site.
The Murphy Drill Site in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
(
Sarah Craig
/
Faces of Fracking
)
“It is really the best chance we have ever had to see this toxic industrial site shut down and removed from our neighborhood,” longtime South L.A. resident Richard Parks said at a recent community town hall at a church down the road from the drill site. Parks is the president of the nonprofit Redeemer Community Partnership, a group that has spearheaded the shutdown effort.
In response to questions from LAist, a spokesperson for E&B emphasized the company’s compliance with regulations and said the facility “plays an important role in supplying locally produced petroleum to the Los Angeles Basin.”
Update, Thursday, July 23: A decision on whether to revoke E&B Natural Resources' permit to operate the Murphy drill site in Jefferson Park has been set for the fall.
At a hearing on Thursday that lasted more than 4 hours, L.A. associate zoning administrator Jonathan Hershey extended the timeline for public comment — and for rebuttals from the oil company — into October.
Here are the details: The oil company has until Aug. 23 to respond to a list of questions from Hershey. Then the public has until Sept. 25 to respond to the company's answers to those questions. After that, the oil company will have the final word, with their last opportunity to respond to public comment set for Oct. 9. Hershey will then provide a written determination on whether or not to revoke the company's permit to operate. He warned that his decision could take time, telling hearing attendees on Thursday to "please be patient." Once the determination is made, it can be appealed within 15 days.
Daniel Murphy's home was a sprawling estate on West Adams Boulevard in the early 20th century.
(
Courtesy L.A. Public Library
)
Why an oil drilling site is in the middle of a neighborhood
What’s known as the Murphy drill site on West Adams Boulevard sits atop the vast Las Cienegas oil field.
The site’s name comes from Daniel Murphy, a business tycoon who lived on an estate there in the early 20th century.
Murphy, who made his money in cement, oil and railroads, was also a devout Roman Catholic, so after his death, his family donated the property to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For decades, the Archdiocese has leased the property to various oil companies. Most recently, the site has been operated by E&B Natural Resources.
In a statement, the Archdiocese told LAist it "has no direct control over the facility" and that "the health and well-being of the community remain a priority." It added that the Church understands E&B has complied with regulations "and has taken efforts to address the concerns of the community."
Although oil wells are present throughout Los Angeles, the effects are largely unequal. Through the mid-20th century, racist housing laws and discriminatory lending practices relegated people of color to certain neighborhoods.
Jefferson Park was one of those redlined neighborhoods and remains home to mostly Black and Latino residents.
A 2022 study found twice the number of oil and gas wells in historically redlined neighborhoods, with L.A. topping the list.
A Google maps screenshot of the Murphy drill site, owned by E & B Natural Resources, in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of L.A.
(
Google Maps
)
How much oil is produced at the Murphy drill site?
Since 2018, Oildale, California-based E&B Natural Resources has operated the Murphy drill site.
Ever since, production has declined. In 2022, E&B extracted some 251 barrels per day of oil and 21 barrels of natural gas from the Murphy site — a relatively small amount by oil production standards. All oil drilling within L.A. city limits now makes up less than 2% of the state’s oil.
In a statement to LAist, a spokesperson for E&B said the site remains valuable.
“Maintaining responsible local production also helps meet regional energy needs with resources produced close to where they are ultimately consumed,” the company spokesperson wrote.
Where oil and gas comes from in California.
(
Courtesy CJM Petroleum Consulting Inc.
)
The health effects of living near oil drilling
Today, it’s easy to miss the Murphy drill site. A mass of piping and oil wells is hidden behind a wall and manicured hedges, and next door to low-income apartments, an AIDS Healthcare Foundation clinic and an education center for children with hearing loss. A church, library, elementary school and high school are also nearby.
At the convent directly behind the site, Roman Catholic nuns are tasked with caring for the sick who call for them.
On a recent afternoon, Sister Claudia of the Servants of Mary told LAist in Spanish that dark soot often covers the roof and walls of the building.
“A black dust settles even on the leaves of the trees and gets into the house," she said.
[“Un polvo negro que se queda hasta en las hojas de los árboles y entra a la casa."]
Many of the sisters have allergies they never had before living there, she said, and two of the sisters have cancer.
Sister Claudia, left, and Sister Maria de Jesus of the Servants of Mary convent in Jefferson Park.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Since at least 2014, the site has been the cause of dozens of complaints to local air quality regulators. People who live or work nearby have reported strong oil and chemical odors, noise and other concerns, according to records obtained by local nonprofit Redeemer Community Partnership and shared with LAist.
For more than a decade, the group and its partners have organized to gain more protections on the site and, ultimately, shut the drilling down.
They’ve gathered the experiences of nearby residents, many of whom have suffered multiple miscarriages, respiratory illness and cancer. Numerous studies have found that people living near oil wells, which have been found to leak carcinogens like benzene, are more likely to have higher rates of asthma, preterm births and cancer.
But such research is not enough to shut a site down, and it’s hard to prove exactly where those illnesses come from. So over the last decade, academic researchers have partnered with the community to try to do just that.
“The burden is often placed on the community to prove they're being harmed,” said Jill Johnston, an environmental health researcher at U.C. Irvine and previously USC, where she led the oil drilling research. “ We're trying to establish some of this data-driven evidence to support the observations that people have experienced for decades.”
The researchers and community members installed air monitors near Murphy and another nearby drill site. They found that the closer to the site people lived, the more likely they were to have reduced lung function.
“The amount of reduction we see is similar to what you would experience from living with a smoker,” Johnston said.
E&B disputes the findings, arguing that it did not measure "actual site emissions or exposure and cannot establish causation."
In another study, the researchers partnered with the community to collect hundreds of toenail clippings to measure toxic metals associated with oil drilling. They compared them to clippings from people not near drill sites.
“The closer you live to an oil drilling site, the more production it has, the more nickel and manganese that you have in your body,” Johnson said, explaining the study’s findings at a recent town hall ahead of the Thursday hearing.
Signs in various languages warn of the potential for dangerous gas at the Murphy drill site.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
The Murphy drill site is in a neighborhood with a convent, homes and schools.
(
Isabel Avila
)
How to shut down a drill site
The organizing paid off. In 2023, the community won a hearing from the city to consider adding new regulations to protect public health. Those new rules would extend protections currently in use in wealthier, whiter parts of L.A. They included enclosing the site and using electric equipment instead of diesel where possible. E&B’s permit also limits operations to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
But after an appeal from E&B, the city rolled many requirements back. For example, the site no longer is required to use electric equipment — E&B recently started burning more gas for electricity on site.
The site is also still not enclosed, despite the three-year-old mandate from the city. Neighbors say they have on multiple occasions seen, heard or smelled operations outside of the allowed hours.
“ They know the rules, but they choose not to follow them,” Parks said.
In a statement to LAist, a spokesperson for E&B said the enclosing of the site has been delayed due to complex permitting requirements from the city and that the company “is awaiting action by the city on the necessary approvals.”
In recent years, under E&B’s purview, the Murphy site has logged dozens of violations from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the state and the L.A. Fire Department, according to public records obtained by Redeemer Community Partnership and shared with LAist, as well as publicly available data.
Since 2019, some of the most concerning violations have been for at least four methane leaks greater than 50,000 parts per million — the explosive level of the gas. In January last year, an inspector identified a leak at 209,000 parts per million, four times that limit.
Outside of L.A., the state recently fined the company more than $1 million for violations at a site in Bakersfield, which the company has appealed.
Now, the city is considering revoking E&B’s permit to operate the site. City Councilmember Heather Hutt, who represents the area, called for a hearing after being presented with the evidence from local residents.
“The city and the community’s attempts to regulate and mitigate this site over the decades has failed,” Hutt wrote in a letter to the city’s zoning administrator ahead of the Thursday hearing. “I am calling for the zoning administrator to revoke this use and continue to reset the balance between community needs and corporate laxity in urban Los Angeles.”
Neighbors of the Murphy drill site have been fighting to get it shut down for years. They held a town hall July 18.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Signs and slogans were common at the July 18 town hall. Others read "Save South L.A." and "End neighborhood drilling."
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
What’s next
During the city’s hearing to consider revoking E&B’s permit the zoning administrator will hear testimony from residents, who can sign up and submit their comments during the meeting or ahead of time. Meanwhile, E&B plans to present its rebuttal to city staff’s latest report on compliance at the site and other concerns.
At the town hall, Parks discussed another drill site, a little over a mile away, called the Jefferson site.
He and other local residents successfully campaigned to get that site shut down, too. The oil company that owned the property eventually decided to sell instead of facing litigation and the cost of carrying out practices to better protect public health. In 2023, Parks and his group secured grants to purchase the property, where they plan to build a park and permanently affordable housing.
“Bit by bit, an amazing transformation is taking place,” Parks said at the recent town hall. “We are receiving beauty for ashes. … If we show up and we share our stories, if we call for environmental justice, if we call for care for our common home, we are well-positioned to build something beautiful and enduring for our community.”
Catalina and Genaro Molina at home.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
After the town hall, Catalina and Genaro Ventura returned home and sat outside on their porch. They said they hope this is a turning point to better protect future generations.
“I hope the city becomes aware and does something for the people, for the animals, for the children, for the elderly. For everyone, for everyone,” Catalina Ventura said in a Spanish.
[“Y pues que la ciudad tome conciencia y haga algo por la gente, por los animales, por los niños, por los ancianos. Por todos, por todos."]
Lawmakers and the governor on Monday failed to extend a state grant program that helped schools upgrade their air conditioner systems, a decision that will allow utilities that funded the program to claw back funds for their ratepayers.
CalSHAPE: The California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing and Efficiency program — CalSHAPE for short — set aside nearly $1 billion in utility funds to help schools assess and upgrade aging HVAC and plumbing systems. But the California Energy Commission abruptly closed applications in 2024, leaving $191 million unused — money that must now be returned to utilities by law. The program helped more than 4,500 schools assess the status of their HVAC systems. Of those, 172 schools made significant upgrades with program funds.
Why it matters: The CalSHAPE-funded assessments revealed HVAC systems in California schools are aging and in disrepair. In Los Angeles, where students endured temperatures above 90 degrees for 12 consecutive days, the Los Angeles Unified School District limited outdoor time for some students. The district received $27 million to assess their air conditioning systems from CalSHAPE but no funds for upgrades.
Read on . . . to find out how the utility receiving the largest amount of claw back funds plans to use them.
Lawmakers and the governor on Monday failed to extend a state grant program that helped schools upgrade their air conditioner systems, a decision that will allow utilities that funded the program to claw back funds for their ratepayers.
The California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing and Efficiency program — CalSHAPE for short — set aside nearly $1 billion in utility funds to help schools assess and upgrade aging HVAC and plumbing systems. But the California Energy Commission abruptly closed applications in 2024, leaving $191 million unused — money that must now be returned to utilities by law.
After last-minute negotiations, lawmakers passed a budget trailer bill giving schools that had already received funding an additional three years to finish projects before the state claws back the money. But they dropped a separate measure that would have reopened applications for schools to make upgrades because it did not have support from Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
“I don't understand why [Newsom] doesn't have the backs of everyday people in California, and why he doesn't think that children deserve a safe place to learn with air conditioning,” said Leah Stokes, a political science associate professor at UC Santa Barbara who has advocated for the program. “This is all on him.”
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor, declined to comment on the matter.
‘A disillusioning conclusion’
School administrators have praised CalSHAPE, saying the program offered schools the chance to improve class environments for students.
The program helped more than 4,500 schools assess the status of their HVAC systems. Of those, 172 schools made significant upgrades with program funds.
But the program’s future has been in question since 2024, when the California Energy Commission abruptly stopped accepting applications. Much of the controversy centered on whether ratepayers should be responsible for funding a school grant program.
Consumer advocates said the program doesn’t directly benefit ratepayers, while school advocates questioned why the state would pull back money already designated for schools.
In its June 2024 notice pausing the program, the commission cited budget constraints. Later that year, the governor signed an executive order directing the commission to examine ratepayer-supported programs “whose funding might more appropriately come from a source other than ratepayers.”
In a letter opposing the budget measure to extend CalSHAPE, San Diego Gas & Electric Senior Vice President Mitch Mitchell said its customers contributed about $189.6 million to the program.
The company stands to get back $100 million — the most of any participating utility — which would amount to about $24 per customer, divided into $2 monthly payments over a year, according to a legislative analysis. Utility officials said they are committed to returning all unspent funds to customers through bill relief.
“Policymakers cannot credibly elevate affordability while simultaneously redirecting unused customer dollars away from bill relief,” Mitchell said in the letter. “If affordability is truly a legislative priority, then these funds should be returned to customers as intended under existing law.”
School advocates questioned whether returning the money would make any meaningful impact for ratepayers. SoCal Edison ratepayers would receive $1.25 per month for a year and Pacific Gas & Electric customers would receive 20 cents per month for a year, according to the legislative analysis.
Meanwhile, the CalSHAPE-funded assessments revealed HVAC systems in California schools are aging and in disrepair.
“Extending CalSHAPE deadlines so existing funds could go to repair or replace broken school HVAC systems should have been an easy win,” said JuNelle Harris, founder of Clean Air Allies, a nonprofit that advocates for healthy air in schools. “Instead, this campaign has been a multiyear saga that’s come to a disillusioning conclusion.”
Schools cope with heat
The most recent heat wave left classrooms sweltering as many students returned for their first weeks back to school. School districts throughout the state reported having to adjust school times or cancel classes altogether.
In Los Angeles, where students endured temperatures above 90 degrees for 12 consecutive days, the Los Angeles Unified School District limited outdoor time for some students. The district received $27 million to assess their air conditioning systems from CalSHAPE but no funds for upgrades.
In San Diego, average temperatures stayed in the mid to high 80s, far above the average for the coastal city. The Coronado Unified School District shut down classes for all students.
Cody Petterson, a trustee on the board of the San Diego Unified School District, said he’s disappointed the governor would rather see CalSHAPE funds returned to ratepayers, when there is so much need for air conditioning in schools. He also criticized the CalSHAPE process, saying it limited schools from completing projects on time and disincentivized applications.
“No child should be in a classroom that is overheating because they cannot learn, they cannot achieve, they cannot grow,” he said. Petterson added that he’d prefer the state fund HVAC upgrades as categorical investments, rather than through a grant program.
San Diego Unified received $12 million to assess school air conditioning systems, but no funds to upgrade them.
Advocates said they were confused about the governor’s lack of support, but will continue to advocate for school HVAC investments from the state.
“It’s deeply disappointing that lawmakers, starting and ending with the Governor, have chosen to treat our children’s and teachers’ interests as secondary to those of big utility companies,” Harris said. “As our outdoor environment is transformed by more extreme weather events and wildfires, safe classrooms where children can learn and grow have never been more important.”
Stokes said Newsom “sat on it as an executive for years,” while disadvantaged communities went without air conditioning. “Why would he do that? Seems very Trumpian to me.”
California schools won’t be able to access more funds for upgrades, but hundreds of schools could have more time to complete projects in the works. According to the energy commission, 216 out of 719 school districts that were awarded a grant have pending projects.
US officials declares an end, origin still unknown
By Mike Stobbe | The Associated Press
Published September 11, 2026 11:00 AM
This undated photo taken through a microscope and provided by the CDC shows Cyclospora cayetanensis oocysts found in a fresh stool sample which had been prepared with a formalin solution and stained with safranin.
(
CDC
/
via Associated Press
)
Topline:
The largest cyclospora food poisoning outbreak in U.S. history is over, U.S. health officials said Friday.
Why now: U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said they are confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific outbreak is off the market.
Questions remain: Even with the outbreak deemed over, several questions remain, including about its origin. The parasite is spread through human feces, and it still isn’t clear how sewage could have contaminated enough food to sicken so many people.
Read on... for more on the outbreak.
The largest cyclospora food poisoning outbreak in U.S. history is over, U.S. health officials said Friday.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said they are confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific outbreak is off the market.
Nearly 13,000 reported cyclospora cases were tied to the multistate outbreak, federal officials say. They represent the bulk of an unprecedented surge in the parasitic diarrheal illness this year.
Even with the outbreak deemed over, several questions remain, including about its origin. The parasite is spread through human feces, and it still isn’t clear how sewage could have contaminated enough food to sicken so many people.
“This contamination can happen if produce is grown in soil or comes into contact with water that has been contaminated,” said Ellen Shumaker, director of outreach for a North Carolina State University food safety program, Safe Plates.
Since May 1, the government has received reports of nearly 20,000 lab-confirmed cases, or more than 16 times the number reported during the same period last year. More than 6,100 suspected cases also have been reported.
The worst previous year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported nationally.
This year’s surge in cases was dominated by an outbreak in 21 states linked to iceberg lettuce. But there are thousands of other cases that have not been linked to that outbreak.
Michigan was the hardest hit state, with the most reported cases and the two U.S. deaths tied to the outbreak.
Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.
The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source.
In this outbreak, investigators initially zeroed in on lettuce served at Taco Bell. Federal officials subsequently focused on Taylor Farms as the source of the lettuce, and the company recalled iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.
The Taylor Farms recall involved thousands of packaged salad products combining iceberg lettuce with other vegetables. The products were shipped to major U.S. restaurant chains, including Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC.
The FDA has ended its on-site inspections and sample collection at iceberg lettuce growers and the processing facility in Mexico, the agency said Friday. Samples from the on-site inspections are pending analysis, the FDA said.
The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
City declares local emergency from coastal erosion
Makenna Cramer
covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California — events, processes and nuances making it a unique place to call home.
Published September 11, 2026 10:57 AM
A beachgoer takes a dip as high surf rushes up in Laguna Beach on Sept. 4, 2026.
(
Don Leach
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Topline:
Laguna Beach is now in a local emergency because of coastal erosion, city officials announced Thursday.
The backstory: The emergency proclamation follows a loss of sand from the ocean swell of Tropical Storm Marie, which caused damage along parts of Southern California’s coast, including Dana Point, Malibu and Long Beach. In Laguna Beach, the city says six oceanfront homes have been yellow-tagged, and the parking lot for Aliso Beach "has partially failed," leaving the lot and three other areas temporarily closed.
Why now: Dave Kiff, city manager, said most residents haven’t seen this much sand leave the city’s beaches at once. “We expect it to come back, but we are not counting on it, and with a very strong El Niño forecast we need the ability to act quickly to protect homes, beaches and public infrastructure,” Kiff said in a statement. The city didn’t immediately respond to LAist’s request for an interview.
The details: You can see the full proclamation here.
What's next: Forecasters said Thursday that El Niño is strengthening, and that there is a more than 90% chance of a “very strong” El Niño in our region this year into next. Those conditions raise the risk of additional coastal erosion, according to Laguna Beach.
Why it matters: The city says the proclamation means officials can immediately take steps toward emergency shoreline protection, adding sand, removing debris and doing repairs — without the delays of typical contracting procedures.
Un Solo Sol, a vegan restaurant located on 1st Street in Boyle Heights, will close its doors on Sept. 28.
(
Andrew Lopez
/
Boyle Heights Beat
)
Topline:
For 16 years, Carlos Ortez, 64, has opened the doors of his restaurant, Un Solo Sol, near Mariachi Plaza, eager to share the philosophy behind his plant-based dishes and the importance of nourishing the body through holistic food. It’s what he’ll miss the most when the restaurant closes on Sept. 28, Ortez said.
Why now: “This decision was not made lightly,” Ortez wrote in an Instagram post announcing the restaurant’s closure. “Rising operational costs, inflation, and the broader challenges facing the restaurant industry have made sustaining a small footprint increasingly difficult.” The announcement comes after years of declining sales and mounting economic crises that have driven customers away, including the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration raids, and recently, the Lineage warehouse fire.
Want to visit? The restaurant will close on Sept. 28. Until then, hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m The restaurant closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Un Solo Sol is located at 1818 E. 1st St.
For 16 years, Carlos Ortez, 64, has opened the doors of his restaurant, Un Solo Sol, near Mariachi Plaza, eager to share the philosophy behind his plant-based dishes and the importance of nourishing the body through holistic food.
It’s what he’ll miss the most when the restaurant closes on Sept. 28, Ortez said.
“This decision was not made lightly,” Ortez wrote in an Instagram post announcing the restaurant’s closure. “Rising operational costs, inflation, and the broader challenges facing the restaurant industry have made sustaining a small footprint increasingly difficult.”
The announcement comes after years of declining sales and mounting economic crises that have driven customers away, including the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration raids, and recently, the Lineage warehouse fire.
The restaurant stopped making a profit in 2022, and ever since, Ortez has been using personal funds to sustain it, he said.
“We’re closing the front door right now so that I can think,” Ortez said. “How am I going to fit a small restaurant with these ideals … in Los Angeles, in Boyle Heights, in the world?”
Carlos Ortez, 64, owner of Un Solo Sol, stands in front of the restaurant on Sept. 10 in Boyle Heights.
(
Laura Anaya-Morga
/
Boyle Heights Beat
)
Un Solo Sol’s origin
Ortez, a career engineer-turned-business owner, launched Un Solo Sol in 2005 with his ex-wife as a food-service provider for charter schools. In 2010, Ortez opened the brick-and-mortar across the street from Mariachi Plaza, serving primarily vegan and vegetarian dishes before becoming fully vegan in 2022.
The menu features Latin-American staples like pupusas from Ortez’s native El Salvador, pozole and enchiladas, as well as cuisine from cultures around the world.
The yellow and green storefront near the corner of Boyle Avenue and 1st Street has become part of the fabric of the 1st Street business corridor. In neighborhoods like Boyle Heights, losing a small business disrupts “the cohesiveness of the community,” Ortez said.
On social media, customers grieved the loss of one of the only vegan restaurants on the Eastside.
“Thank you for the many years of delicious meals made with love,” one user commented.
“Carlos you poured your heart out for the Vegan community and Boyle Heights,” another wrote.
What’s next
While the restaurant will close its doors, Ortez said his work isn’t over. He plans to stay in the community and take time to consider how his naturopathic, whole-foods-oriented restaurant concept can continue in a different form.
“The plan is to reemerge,” Ortez said. “It’s not that I don’t have the capacity to let go, it’s that I’m still alive.”
Want to visit?
The restaurant will close on Sept. 28. Until then, hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m The restaurant closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
