Well, maybe not so crowded. Went tonight (Friday) and although the parking looked like the place was busy, the restaurant was about half full. Got seated at once. Food was the same as it ever was. Ditto margaritas. Still the less than full vibe was a little off.
1 Like
on my way to the BOFA near PCC i drove down colorado and noticed the head cook at cluck2go just standing there forlornly looking out the front door taking in an otherwise deserted streetâŚ
That is heartbreaking - and to know heâs not the only one is just ⌠.
The signage is for âPasadena Burrito Co.â I am doubtful they will open ⌠.
This whole situation is gut-wrenching.
Aloha, Royâs Pasadena! It is now permanently closed. Not a great restaurant, but more than decent. Will cousin Flemingâs be far behind?
Canât bring myself to âheartâ this, but thank you for the update.
Checked website and all locations are now closed until 4/5.
Just talked to my mom and Chef Tony came up. Talk about bad timingâŚWonder if CT will survive for a proper opening. The rent at that corner canât be cheap.
2 Likes
He has ties to Forum, Ah Yat, those restaurants in Hong Kong famous for abalone. Pretty good chance they can find some money to keep it going. Probably wouldnât have opened at that corner in the first place, without confident financial backing.
Although I find his own taste in decor a bit tacky, having been to the Vancouver location, I must say the food can be quite enjoyable. I especially like the black truffle chicken.
For selfish reasons, Iâm eager for more Asian restaurants, Chinese in particular, to thrive in Old Town Pasadena. My other wish is a big Chinese/Asian market within walking distance of my momâs place. So Iâll be pretty tolerant of any type of decorâŚ
I hope youâre right and CT makes it. I mean if they donâtâIâd want it to be because they werenât good enough and not because of this black swan event.
2 Likes
If you live in Pasadena, youâre already (to me) a stoneâs throw to all the amazing Chinese offerings in Alhambra, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Arcadia, and beyond. 
Just to get to this point, takes me like a 45 minute drive typically⌠Do you know how long it takes to get to Hacienda and Rowland Heights?! 
For years, Iâd wish there would be even 5 noteworthy Chinese restaurants west of downtown LA.
Donât live in Pasadena, Iâm quite far, far awayâŚ
My mom does though and she does not drive. Hence, my eagerness for more Chinese offerings in Pasadena, particularly in Old Town.
2 Likes
Ah, understood. My bad.
Does she ever go out on her own for food, or are you able to sometimes drive her east?
I can imagine a Chinese market opening up in the area⌠but the âareaâ is so huge. I personally couldnât walk from one end of Pasadena to another.
i wouldnât hold my breath; places in old town are going to be overpriced in relation to comparable food quality in other burgs in the WSGV due to higher fixed costs including rent. i can remember when the only storefront open along that stretch of colorado blvd was the porno book store. old town was great during its gentrification process, when quirky little shops could afford to rent there. now itâs so expensive itâs largely homogenized franchised establishments now. pleh.
3 Likes
What was that video store that would give you free pop corn when you rented a tape [sic] or two? They used to have a small Golden Globe award for Paul Newman in Hud sitting on a shelf.
i donât see pasadena developing any sort of asian market because not many asian families will move to pasadena until the quality of the school system improves. having said that, i often hear cantonese/mandarin spoken by elderly chinese when shopping at super king supermarket in altadena which was uncommon ten years ago. they must live relatively near but i couldnât tell you where. i donât see them at baja or vallarta west of lake ave on orange grove.
pasadena is surprisingly large; if you include unincorporated LA county that the post office considers to be pasadena by mail address, it spans from the figueroa exit to the west to the michillinda exit to the east along the 134/210. thatâs about 10-11 exits and roughly seven miles across. the rose bowl route stretches about 6.5 miles.
as for east pasadena, you already have h mart at the western end of arcadia on huntington. maybe something near PCC (with its share of international students) and cal tech might draw some business if they could also attract asians living in san marino; the closest asian markets for them would be 169 on las tunas or the HK on san gabriel - or going to ranch 99 or h mart in arcadia. but i wouldnât hold my breath; itâd have to be no farther south than colorado blvd due to zoning, and there are no properties in that stretch that itâd make sense to convert to a market - not enough parking until you got east of san gabriel blvd - at which point it would no longer be convenient for PCC students. the CVS at sierra madre & san pasqual used to be a supermarket back in the late 90âs. (louis foods) but i donât think that their parking lot would bear the kind of business volume theyâd needâŚ
sorry, i donât recall. seriously, circa 1990, that stretch of colorado really was nothing but brown painted plywood and the porno book store. i used to work for kaiser at los robles and often took long walks at lunch.
2 Likes
Super King is a magnet for Cantonese if not other Chinese due to their produce selection and great weekly specials. We go to the Glasell Park store and there are lots there. Mrs. Chandavkl talks to many of them and most travel there from Chinatown. All our family members in the Hollywood / Los Feliz area shop there regularly. I suspect Altadena draws SGV Chinese.
2 Likes
There are two large senior citizen apartment buildings nearby in Pasadena. The majority of the residents are Asian, with the majority of that group, Chinese. Super King was on the weekly van run schedule. The van runs were discontinued late last year because the driver quit. Hope they have been revived to help the seniors now or will return in the near future.
Likely Bradbury. Straight shot off the 210-Fwy.