The Brief

Suehiro Cafe has been a Little Tokyo staple for half a century, surviving the pandemic, the founder’s death and the current owner’s bout with cancer.

Ultimately, it will be the landlord who will end the restaurant's run.

After a months-long threat of eviction by Anthony Sperl who wants to make way for a new tenant, Suehiro’s owner Kenji Suzuki on Tuesday agreed in court to leave by January 16. He had at least wanted to stay open through the holidays for the sake of his employees.

His struggle to stay in Little Tokyo has become emblematic of the changes facing the historic neighborhood. Neighborhood activists say rising rents and land values have only been accelerated by the arrival of a new Metro station.

They’re calling on the city to help preserve legacy businesses like Suehiro, which they say give the neighborhood its character. A rally in support of Suehiro will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. outside the Little Tokyo Metro station.

Suzuki said at first he stayed quiet about his eviction woes. But as patrons and activists expressed outrage and concern about the loss of Little Tokyo businesses like his to the pandemic and gentrification, he changed his mind.

“Now I think I need to rock the boat and create some waves to let everybody know about what's happening and that Little Tokyo needs everybody's help,” Suzuki said.

The beginning of the end

Suzuki, whose mother opened the restaurant in 1972 with her sister and died of COVID-19 in 2021, found himself in a vulnerable position because he had been on a month-to-month lease for the last 10 years or so.

Suzuki said he saw trouble on the horizon when Sperl last year asked for $100,000 to enter into a long-term lease, which Suzuki could not afford, and raised the monthly rent from $6,400 dollars to $10,000 which Suzuki felt he had not choice but to pay.

But then Suzuki's lawyer Clifford Jung said that Sperl stopped cashing rent checks and started eviction proceedings, alleging nonpayment of rent. When that claim was dismissed, Sperl initiated a legal end to the landlord-tenant relationship with Suzuki, Jung said.

"(Sperl) just decided he didn't want to work with us anymore," Jung said.

Suzuki expected to be evicted by law enforcement as early as this week but during a court hearing Tuesday, the judge asked the two sides to confer and Jan. 16 was chosen as the date that Suehiro would vacate. Jung said the other option was to take the case to trial.

"If (Suzuki) wanted to go all the way, I would have done it," Jung said. "But he just wanted to try to find a way to get to the end."

Jung said that Suzuki reserves the right to file a separate action against Sperl if he wants. Neither Sperl nor his attorney Dennis Block could be reached for comment.

The lunch crowd at Suehiro Cafe enjoys specials like curry rice and miso-flavored pork.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

The community rallies

For months, the Little Tokyo community has been rallying to save the restaurant, which has been serving miso-flavored pork and curry rice, affordable to local seniors and downtown workers alike, in its current location for more than 35 years.

A pegboard at Suehiro Cafe lists the lunch specials.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

Recent days have seen Japanese American activists gathering signatures from patrons outside Suehiro calling for a stop to the eviction.

Kristin Fukushima, managing director of the Little Tokyo Community Council, said Monday that dozens of legacy businesses have been lost in recent years.

A coalition of Japanese American activists asked the public to support Suehiro's fight against its eviction.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

“We are at a point where Little Tokyo is facing an existential threat as to what our future is,” Fukushima said.

Reports that Sperl will replace Suehiro with a marijuana dispensary have been especially worrying.

Longtime Suehiro patron David Palos, holding his daughter, Lola, signed a petition to keep Suehiro Cafe in Little Tokyo.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

A coalition of Japanese American organizations said they would organize a boycott of a dispensary or any replacement that's not a fit for the neighborhood.

Mark Masaoka of the social justice group Nikkei Progressives said that Sperl's late mother, from whom he inherited Little Tokyo properties, had been a friend to local businesses and lived in the neighborhood herself.

Suehiro Cafe, opened 49 years ago by Junko Suzuki, is at a crossroads.

(

Courtesy of Suehiro Cafe

)

"She would have been horrified at the thought that he was tossing out all these Japanese American long-standing institutions here to replace them with what he is doing right now," Masaoka said.

Advocates say there need to be more ways to save struggling legacy businesses through efforts such as the Little Tokyo Community Impact Fund, which has raised about $750,000.

New faces in the neighborhood

Neighborhood advocates say that Sperl had already pushed out a neighboring Japanese American business, Family Mart. It's been replaced by Space City Vintage which moved its clothing store from the second floor to the first.

Several new tenants have moved into the upper-level space once occupied by Space City, including tattoo artist Stefan Farrera.

Farrera, who specializes in "American and Japanese traditional" art at Black Sun Tattoo, said that he had not even known that he shared a landlord with the restaurant, and he bemoaned its departure and potential replacement by a dispensary.

He declined to comment on Sperl and his history with other tenants but said the landlord had rented him an affordable space that he shares with a multicultural mix of creatives: a leather worker, plant seller, streetwear vendor and upcycle store. Together, he says, the new tenants have helped to bring a “charge” to Little Tokyo.

Stefan Farrera, owner of Black Sun Tattoo, shares the same landlord as Suehiro Cafe.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

“The space offers us an opportunity as small, small business owners to make our living doing what we want to do and I think that brings a DIY element to Little Tokyo, which is very big in our punk scenes,“ Farrera said.

What's next

As for Suzuki, in September, he opened a new Suehiro location downtown on Main Street in anticipation of being evicted.

He is also running a smaller restaurant in Chinatown — a juggling act that's tough on his shaky health. Suzuki, 61, is in remission from leukemia. Then in August, he was struck while in his car by a motorist in a stolen vehicle, a crash that's left his legs aching as he serves customers.

Despite the collision of challenges, Suzuki says he will fight to be able to serve his mother's dishes again in Little Tokyo.

“I know someday we will return,” Suzuki said. "We have to return. That’s almost a non-issue for me.”

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

(

Robert Garrova

/

LAist

)

Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

(

Even Keel Imagery

)

“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

(

Destiny Torres

/

LAist

)

Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

(

Destiny Torres

/

LAist

)

Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.