There was a somewhat similar story in Chicago a few years back.
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Pretty sure I had a reservation that night
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Geez this whole piece was disturbing
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Neither sideās story seems entirely convincing. His seems sketchier, but if she knew heād abused 14 animals over seven years, how devastated could she have been about the most recent? Cat horrors aside, WTF are a couple both working chef hours doing with three dogs?
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I donāt really have the stomach to read these stories, has anyone reported if he still has an ownership stake in the restaurant?
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Reportedly heās been on paid leave for months. Iām not sure who the owner(s) is / are. So far thereās no report he did anything that would void his contract, just bitter personal divorce shit.
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Iād read somewhere when it first broke that each of them had a 25% stake, and have not seen or heard anything to suggest this is no longer the case.
I read that the four chefs were splitting the responsibilities equally. In one of the divorce drama articles here was a reference to an owner who is not one of the chefs.
Theyāre all batshitā¦ I stand with my original conclusion - Bring back Pikey!
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Judging from the liquor license, owners are the four chefs plus one (money guy?)
More specifically, itās my understanding that Aghajanian and Johnson each have 25%, with the other 50% split among three others (presumably the three listed on the ABC license, not sure if/how Ken Friedman works into this). As far as Iām concerned, the fact that Aghajanian āhas not been involved in the day-to-day operations of the restaurantā since November (per their IG post) is utterly irrelevant if he would still be getting my money.
In fairness, I guess I would be marginally less concerned about being deliberately served rotten seafood and worms.
Without seeing the contracts I wouldnāt guess whether they could stop giving him money. He didnāt quit and hasnāt been fired. The restaurant isnāt a party to the lawsuits and likely would prefer not to be.
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Bill esparza has jumped into the fray lol.I feel like this guy is having a mid life crisis every one of his stories comes off as unhinged/pining for attention and clout.
Bill Esparza (@streetgourmetla) ā¢ Instagram photos and videos
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Iām not even sure what heās trying to say, but Sqirl is catching strays for no reason.
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hi iām not saying donāt go to horses, but also go. itās the mediaās fault, but itās not, especially not eater. itās all your fault. sqirl toast sucks.
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His name sounds familiar, but Iām not sure that Iāve read his journalism beforeā¦was he part of Eater? Has he always been this much of a clout trout coming off like a passive-aggressive hater on a moral high horse?
Itās always funny to me when someone tries to bolster his or her credentials with the āIāve dined at some of the most famous fine dining places on Earthā boast. Itās also funny to me when someone tries to trash others then backtracks at the end like he or she is being respectful.
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He writes for eater and other publications. Heās pretty locally famous in the food scene around LA for documenting tacos and Mexican food. I think he used to organize tacolandia too. Imo his contributions to writing and publicizing local and less widely known Mexican/Hispanic foods are awesome, his personality maybe not so muchā¦
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IMO this is a valid credential, although not that thoughtfully written. Especially given that he covers pretty approachable foods. Iām sure he gets a lots of haters saying āwhat do you know about good food, all you do is eat tacos all day.ā Dining broadly (including the high end) does matter when I consider whether to trust someoneās judgement on food. Our tastes may differ, but if youāve dined adventurously and experienced a wide range of bad, good, and excellent executions of food youāre more likely to be able to make an assessment that would match what I like or uncover something worth trying. Instagram stories is not a good venue for a nuanced discussion though 
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Heās on Good Food often too.