Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Get your Haitian chicken this weekend because TiGeorges' is closing
Chicken at TiGeorges'.
(
Elina Shatkin/KPCC
)
After almost 15 years in business, Los Angeles's most famous Haitian restaurant, TiGeorges' Chicken, is closing.
If you want a piece of the Echo Park institution's famous chicken, grilled over an avocado wood fire in a pit in the center of the dining room — a design embellishment that would likely be forbidden under current building codes — you have until Sunday.
Owner TiGeorges Laguerre, who Off-Ramp profiled back in February, tells KPCC that the he'll be grilling through the weekend and will pack up the restaurant on Tuesday.
The building, which Laguerre doesn't own, was sold to a new owner, as Eater reported last month.
Support for LAist comes from
The restaurant, located on a relatively unhipsterfied stretch of Glendale Boulevard, has been threatened with closure before. This time it's real.
"Well, you know, this is something that was in my mind for the last 20 years. I was never going to do it, but this time I think the timing is perfect," Laguerre says. He's surprisingly upbeat about the situation.
Laguerre doesn't know what the new owner plans to do with the building, but he knows where he'll be heading: Miami. Eighty percent of his family lives there, Laguerre says, and it puts him closer to his native Haiti.
"I'm going to go be in the Haitian community and do what I know best: cooking," he says. He won't reveal details, but when asked if he's planning another restaurant, he says, "Oh, yes. Big time!" He'll also be involved in his family's coffee business.
More than just a restaurant, TiGeorges' was a de facto community center for L.A.'s expat Haitian community — and for anyone who appreciated Laguerre's stories and larger-than-life personality.
"I feel sad," says Jeremy Rosenberg, a longtime friend who coauthored Laguerre's recent memoir, "No Man Is An Island." "I think there's a loss for many communities. I spoke with a friend of his and that guy was borderline devastated. But Georges is like a cat with nine lives. I am confident that whatever he does next, it's going to be something worth following."
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist