LA Restaurants Are at a Financial Breaking Point Due to the Wildfires

Across the industry, Eater has heard from business owners that the Palisades and Eaton fires — which have devastated neighborhoods and homes and led to the deaths of at least 25 people — have also significantly affected restaurants. Over 150,000 residents, from Malibu to Arcadia to the San Fernando Valley, were put on mandatory evacuation orders or delivered evacuation warnings; many service workers within the restaurant industry were part of that number. To provide relief, restaurants have answered the call to feed first responders, firefighters, and evacuees. Even with the concentrated relief efforts, these businesses are experiencing an unprecedented reduction in revenue. Eater spoke with 16 members of the industry — owners, general managers, and chefs — who share the economic impacts they’ve experienced as a result of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

These interviews have been edited for clarity.

Crossroads Kitchen — Beverly Grove

Crossroads served 45 to 50 people last night on a shift when we usually have 200. We can’t keep going on like this. It’s heartbreaking with 60 employees who rely on us to make a living. I don’t want to tell anyone what to do right now, because people handle these situations differently. There could be 1,000 reasons why people don’t feel comfortable going out. But if they have the means, order something to-go. We also just love to see people’s faces. I fear that this is going to be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of restaurants. Last year was brutal, and we’re all running on such razor-thin margins with the higher cost of goods, minimum wage, and other things. It’s just really tough. — Tal Ronnen, owner

Pez Coastal Kitchen — Pasadena

The fires have had a massive impact on our cover counts. Pez Coastal Kitchen lost 85 percent of our business over the last week. It’s been heartbreaking for our staff, as we’ve only been able to keep them on for three or four days a week. We’ve been volunteering with our church to help parishioners affected by the Eaton Fire. It’s especially difficult for Pasadena because so many of our staff have had their friends’ or families’ homes burned down or loved ones displaced. It feels like we’ve all been through a war. But we also need the fabric of the neighborhood to come out and support local restaurants. — Bret Thompson, chef and partner

Ronan — Melrose

As soon as we saw the fires breaking out, we closed Ronan on Tuesday and Wednesday. Once we reopened, we found that no one was going out. Our covers dropped by 60 to 70 percent. Everyone has this eerie sense of wanting to be home, safe, inside, and away from bad air quality. I feel like people have left LA to escape, or maybe regroup and be with families elsewhere. People are very generously purchasing meals from us to donate, which is amazing. But I don’t see business picking up within the next week. We currently have two front-of-house people working per night and rotate who gets those shifts. If diners want takeout, order it and pick it up yourself, if possible. Or go to the restaurant’s website and use their preferred delivery partner. Purchasing a meal through a restaurant to deliver to first responders or evacuees is hugely helpful. Also, Ronan is, like, basically half indoors and half outdoors. At what point people will feel comfortable sitting outside again? — Caitlin Cutler, co-founder

Rossoblu and Superfine Pizza — Downtown

The hardest part for us is this: How do we keep people coming in to support us so that we can support the community? Superfine Pizza is doing a quarter of the business we usually do and Rossoblu is at one-third. We never want to be in a position to not make payroll. We’ve been trying to promote takeout to keep over 60 people employed. We’ve been trying to find ways to support them with resources like applying for grants. I’m usually super creative during moments like this, but I’m overwhelmed. Also, a lot of people don’t think we’re open! People have this idea that everything in town is shut down. — Dina Samson, partner

Some of our employees were directly affected. We served meals to friends who were evacuated or lost homes. But the main thing is that we just want to be of service. We’re here to help people and to make people feel better. I think most people in the restaurant industry feel the same way. It reminds me of COVID-19, which came out of nowhere with the immediacy and immensity of it. — Steve Samson, chef and partner

Two Hommés — Inglewood

Customers are not coming in. A lot are displaced or don’t feel right leaving the house. We kind of feel the same way. Some people can’t even afford this right now or even think about having a good dinner. But staff need to get paid. We just did our remodel and took out a personal loan to cover it. We’re only in the beginning phase of wildfire recovery, and all I can think of is how can we show up for the people of Altadena. Two Hommés served hundreds of meals to Pasadena last week. Everyone in this industry needs to put together some type of initiative for people who go out to eat that can also help house a family. There needs to be a conscious dining experience. People are going to be affected for many, many years. — Yaw Marcus Johnson, chef and co-owner

Wife & the Somm — Glassell Park

We closed Wife & the Somm Wednesday through Friday and escaped town. We decided to open last Friday with a few workers and saw a bunch of regulars. The end of 2024 was pretty slow already. We know many people in Altadena who lost their homes, and some who were spared. A lot of people who live in or around Glassell Park are in the film and television industry, and finally just started working again after the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strike. They are our customers. They said a lot of productions shut down this week. Our numbers last weekend were below half of what we’re used to seeing. It would help to have customers just come in and have a glass of wine and a cheese board. — Chris Lucchese, co-owner

The Benjamin — Melrose Avenue

We’ve been one of the busiest and hottest restaurants in town since we opened, and we’re down 30 to 40 percent. I can’t even imagine the restaurants that are not that busy or popular. We cut our hours short just by an hour, but most restaurants I know are cutting more hours off or shifting their timeframes completely. I haven’t wanted to post anything, but I feel like I need to post something. I would say, “I’m not sitting here saying [people] should go out and have a great time, but [they] need to go out and support restaurants.” The only reason we had any people in the dining room last week was because we were donating profits from Friday and Saturday night. With restaurants being slow, that means that people are going to be working less. It’s a big ripple effect.

Restaurants, at the end of the day, are the center of communities — it’s where people gather, celebrate, mourn, and everything in between. Even for the busiest restaurant in LA, there’s only so long people can hang on. — Ben Shenassafar, co-owner

Baroo and Shiku — Downtown/Arts District

Baroo closed for two days last week, but I would say we have seen the most impact at Shiku. We’re down in terms of reservations [at Baroo] maybe 10 percent. There is that feeling where people feel badly coming to celebrate, so we understand. We haven’t changed anybody’s shifts because we want to give our staff their hours. It does feel awkward. I think there are certain things we are not going to post about right now. We’re just staying quiet with promotion and amplifying some posts for people looking for volunteers or efforts to support people who have suffered. But we understand that a lot of restaurants do need to speak up or remind people that they’re open. [I saw somebody] ordered 20 meals that they were going to pick up and donate. If people are able to support restaurants in that way, that’s always really appreciated and everybody wins. — Mina Park, co-owner

Grand Central Market seems almost like the pandemic era; there are very few people over there. Revenue-wise, I can say [we’re down] almost 60 to 70 percent. But, there are a lot of people who actually lost their homes. I believe if there is somebody that needs to be supported, it should be those people. — Kwang Uh, co-owner

N/Soto — Mid-City

To begin with, it was just a lot of uncertainty as to what was happening and how severe it was. Once we got an understanding that it was just going to keep getting worse, we wavered on whether we should be even open for service, just for the sake of the safety of our staff. Throughout last week reservations definitely declined, and a lot of people canceled. On a normal weekend night perhaps we might do 130 to 140 guests — this past week it was pretty much half of that. Labor has definitely been tricky, especially on the weekdays, which are typically a little quieter. For the most part, it hasn’t been drastic, but we’re just cutting hours earlier or being a bit more efficient with overall hours. We’ve been trying to create more things to do so we don’t have to cut hours. I’ve just been trying to keep a “this too shall pass” mentality. We’re really doing the best we can. — Mark Nechols, general manager

Bar Etoile — Melrose Hill

Bar Etoile began offering free meals to displaced Angelenos and first responders as the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires broke out.

I don’t know how much we’ve worked it out frankly — the business of running a restaurant, as in numbers, bottom line, and profit margin; we didn’t really think about that. We just knew that we had a venue, we could help people. Over the last couple of days, we had to reckon with that a little bit more. If we want to keep [offering free meals], which we do, what does the bottom line look like for us? I know we and a lot of our other fellow restauranteurs and colleagues in the industry believe that what we do is a respite. — Julian Kurland, co-owner

Reservations dropped off markedly, immediately, and that was expected and natural. So many restaurants, venues, and food businesses are doing fundraisers. I want to implore people that when they’re going and buying the thing that businesses are offering, where 100 percent of the proceeds go toward a charitable organization, don’t forget to buy something else because restaurants still need to support their staff and pay their rent to survive. The short-term effect is that a lot of businesses and people have lost their homes and their venues in Los Angeles, and that’s horrible. But we need to allay the long-term damage that will happen if small businesses, especially food businesses, are not supported — because they will cease to exist down the road, whether in months or in years. — Jill Bernheimer, co-owner

Camelia, Ototo, Tsubaki — Arts District

Business is definitely down. At the three restaurants, it’s probably 40 to 50 percent down. Part of that is due to logistical reasons because we’re not currently seating outside. Right now, we’re basically operating at half capacity. Reservations are down very dramatically at both restaurants, but we are seeing neighbors [come in], which has been great. I think people are making an effort to come out, but it’s been quite a challenge. We’re trying to do our best to provide shifts for our team. It’s a challenge for us, even on a personal level, trying to feel the feelings about everything. But then we’re trying to do the best we can for our team and our community. I think a lot of us are very worried about the long-term future. Things are already financially unstable for restaurants and this adds another layer to that. We have to keep the doors open and hope that, eventually, people will return. I think at their best, restaurants are a transportive experience. It’s not just about business — we are actually giving people an opportunity to get out of their house and maybe forget about what’s happening, even if just for a moment, and get a little bit of solace. — Courtney Kaplan, co-owner

Madre

Seline and Pasjoli — Santa Monica

We’re at 20 to 30 percent of what our projections would typically be. I don’t blame people — it’s tough to stand here and say, “We’re all going through this, but please come out and support us.” Supply chains have been challenged; staff had to evacuate, so it was tricky. It feels very similar to when the pandemic was happening. This time, there are no SBA loans. We would love to get a loan for working capital, but Seline doesn’t have the history. We’re trying to keep staff at a liveable income, but with the restaurant at 20 percent of expected revenue, money needs to come in for money to go out. People can go out to eat or buy gift cards if they can’t come in to dine. Anything that gives a restaurant some form of money or income will help. If you left town, buy a gift card and use it when you come back. No one is sitting on a nest egg after the pandemic and the entertainment industry strikes. As soon as something bad happens, there’s no parachute. Everyone wants to help out right now, and Pasjoli was making $25 dinners to support, but there’s only so much you can do before you’re out of resources to help with, too. — Dave Beran, chef and owner

Melisse and Citrin — Santa Monica

I didn’t lose a house, everything I owned, or a family member; there was so much devastation. We tried to feed first responders and give discounts. Amazingly, people are willing to help out right now with donations to evacuees. Citrin and Mélisse are in a precarious area because people think we’re in the evacuation or curfew zone. Business is down 80 percent. It’s never been this slow. We’ve had to cut back so much on labor … it’s just managers. It starts to affect everybody; we have to go into savior mode and try to turn a big ship around. In Venice, Charcoal is doing okay, but the only thing keeping that place better is the building above it is full of short-term rentals. Even Dear Jane’s and Dear John’s are off the mark in terms of revenue — they’re about 40 percent down. Restaurants always have to be busy for them to succeed. We know we’ll have slower times at the beginning of the year, but when you start going down 20, 30, or 40 percent, it’s crazy. The public can help by just going out. We know it’s hard because it’s a weird time. Everyone knows someone who was affected, so it’s hard to keep an upbeat or positive attitude. At the same time, we need to keep our cities strong. — Josiah Citrin, chef and owner

Katsu Sando — Chinatown and San Gabriel

We’ve definitely seen a drop in sales, but the San Gabriel Valley location has been affected more. The Eaton Fire was closer to that area, and the drop in sales has been about 30 percent. I’m definitely encouraged by everyone being so generous. From what I’m hearing from others, it’s difficult to be an operator right now. We had post-COVID inflation that led to sticker shock. What’s the endgame at this point? It’s been such a battle. I remain grateful and try to find any way that I can help our community. Of course, people can help by going out and spending money. That is the answer. Move away from using luxurious delivery apps. Support local mom-and-pop restaurants. We’re the least supported and don’t have the systems and supply chain to give us competitive pricing. A lot of operations run on a small margin. I would say most mom-and-pops aren’t doing it for the money; it’s because of a sense of community and passion, and genuinely wanting to feed people. — Daniel Son, chef and owner

Bistro Na’s — Temple City

A lot of reservations have been canceled. We’re down about 50 percent because of the fires, but I think we’re fine for now. I think we can handle it, but this is even lower than normal January business. We’re still trying to schedule staff as normal, but we have been closing a little bit early. Some guests have been ordering things to go. We’ve been offering free lunch boxes to first responders and firefighters. — Carol Lin, general manager

Madre — Santa Clarita, Palms, Fairfax District, Torrance

Our locations in Fairfax and West LA (Palms) are affected — we’ve been down 60 to 70 percent over the last five days. In Torrance, our patio was affected because of the poor air quality, so we’re down about 30 percent there compared to last year. In Santa Clarita, the winds were still high until recently, so people are not going out. I also think people are watching their money right now. Times are very tough. People are concerned in Santa Clarita; they think their neighborhood might be next. In terms of labor, a lot of people were concerned because of all the evacuation alerts. Some team members called off because of allergies and respiratory conditions. We had call-outs because people didn’t want to take the bus, so we were short cooks and servers due to those air quality conditions.

At Madre, we’ve been supporting the community by feeding first responders and firefighters. The small businesses are the ones putting the plates out there. I feel bad for people who lost their houses … I’ve never seen anything like it in my 25 years here. I’m very concerned about how the recovery is going to be for those families and our whole city. We need to move forward as a community; we need to get this city back on track with the soul that we have and the beautiful things we have to offer. — Ivan Vasquez, owner