For Altadena restaurants, recovery remains uncertain a year after the Eaton Fire

Altadena one year after the Eaton Fire finds itself in the space between a memory of what existed before and the unknown of where the town will be once it’s rebuilt.

For restaurants that survived and those that didn’t, the unknown could last a while.

“We’re acknowledging that we’re part of something that is going to be much longer and an extended period of uncertainty,” said Randy Clement, co-owner of West Altadena Wine and Good Neighbor Bar with his wife and partner, April Langford.

With the town still years away from recovery, it’s that uncertainty, as Clement explains, that is particularly hard for the Altadena business community. Having lost its local customer base, businesses no longer can rely on the seasonal ebbs and flows. For businesses whose structures were destroyed in the fire, this uncertainty extends into decisions to rebuild.

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Fox’s on Lake Avenue served diner-style dishes like buttermilk pancakes, a winning house veggie burger and homemade pies. It was the kind of place you went to feel at home. (In fact, the building had been converted from a house into a restaurant.) Co-owners Monique King and Paul Rosenbluh, who own Little Beast and Cindy’s in Eagle Rock, remain undecided about rebuilding.

Fox's before the fire.

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Courtesy Fox's

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Fox's after the fire.

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Courtesy Fox's

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“Resources are thin, and our property’s footprint is small,” King said, “so a costly rebuild for a tiny restaurant carries many considerations. We’re in a holding pattern until we decide what’s best.”

King and others said rebuilding is not necessarily straightforward. Businesses that operated in older structures may need to update layouts to comply with newer regulations. Construction and materials come with high expenses, as does permitting, and a host of other factors. Another question mark is whether a business was adequately insured before the fire.

While businesses agreed the top priority is resettling residents, there are limited financial resources to help commercial structures that were destroyed.

Determined to rebuild

Up the street from Fox’s sat Café de Leche, a coffee shop owned by Anya and Matt Schodorf.

“As painful as the loss was, and still is, we never had any doubt about returning,” Anya Schodorf said.

Café de Leche owners Anya and Matt Schodorf before the fire.

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Courtesy Café de Leche

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Anya and Matt Schodorf, where Café de Leche once stood on Lake Avenue.

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Courtesy Café de Leche

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“Of our multiple locations, this was the only building we owned. It was the majority of our income and a magical place,” Matt Schodorf said.

In November, to much community excitement, the couple shared design renderings of their prospective rebuild, as they ambitiously push toward returning.

“We’re eager to offer a space for the community to gather and heal together,” Anya Schodorf said.

Major challenges

Other businesses' futures are less certain.

On Mariposa Street, half of the small shopping strip known as Mariposa Junction was lost in the fire. The structure housed the beloved Altadena Hardware store and the daytime cafe Amara Kitchen.

Paola Guasp owns Amara, which has another location in Highland Park. The Altadena shop was popular among locals, with its bright welcoming space and tables outside for enjoying a sunny Altadena day.

“After the fire, we immediately transferred staff to our Highland Park location. We’ve been putting our energy there and growing our catering business,” Guasp said.

Amara Kitchen before the fire.

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Courtesy Amara Kitchen

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Amara Kitchen after the fire.

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Courtesy Amara Kitchen

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As for getting back to Altadena, it may be a long road.

“Our landlords are amazing and want to see the space thriving. We’re just so far away from rebuilding, so it’s hard to say what the future looks like,” Guasp said.

Over on Fair Oaks Avenue, Jamie Woolner, co-owner of Pizza of Venice, also lost his business. With a long list of creative pizzas and salads, Pizza of Venice, or “POV” as locals called it, was a classic neighborhood spot.

Woolner’s now-97-year-old grandfather built the structure in 1962, and Woolner owned and ran the business for 12 years.

“The restaurant was finally turning into the dream we’d always envisioned for it, and then the whole place burned down,” Woolner said.

Since the fire, Woolner has reflected on if and how the business could return, but rebuilding is a long and expensive project.

Unexpected help

Guillaume Patard-Legendre and his wife and partner, Darcy Ballister, run Altadena’s much-adored Pain Beurre bread popup that draws on Patard-Legendre’s French background and baking expertise.

In February 2024, the couple moved from France to Altadena, where Ballister grew up. That July, Patard-Legendre started Pain Beurre from his in-laws’ ADU.

“The business was dedicated to Altadena,” said Patard-Legendre, who saw a local opportunity for French-style baked goods.

Pain Beurre quickly took off, growing a dedicated fan base. The Eaton Fire destroyed Ballister’s parents’ home, including the ADU where Patard-Legendre and Ballister lived and operated the business.

Without a traditional brick-and-mortar shop, Patard-Legendre was in a unique situation.

In March, World Central Kitchen extended an olive branch, helping him restart, including offering baking space at a local commissary kitchen.

“Their help was such a gift when we had nothing,” he said. “I felt like I was in the movie Pretty Woman at the restaurant supply store. World Central Kitchen has been so supportive. We couldn’t have restarted without them.”

Resilience

A unanimous sentiment among businesses a year after the fire is an undying love for Altadena and reverence for the community’s resilience amid ongoing tragedy.

“The mass scale of loss is still unbelievable,” said Guasp, of Amara Kitchen.

“People lost their homes, along with 20, 30, 40 years of their lives. Some people lost their lives,” Fox’s King said.

Yet as King and fellow owners’ hopes and dreams for returning show, no one has lost sight of what brought everyone there to begin with. Altadena, King said, is “just a remarkably special place.”