Volunteers showed up with paint brushes Saturday morning in Rose Park to give long-time restaurant El Asadero a mini touch-up.
It was the community’s way of supporting the iconic west-side restaurant whose business has slowed down within the last 3 years due to developers building chain stores and apartment buildings in the area.
Owners Margarito Parra and Imelda Morales can’t help but reflect on the days when their restaurant, which originally opened in 2009, was booming with customers.
“Everybody says, ‘oh you’re closed, you’re closed.’ No, it’s open,” Parra said. “We used to have so many customers. I don’t know what happened.”
That’s why volunteer Akary Geraldo, 25, showed up Saturday morning to help. Geraldo, who has lived in Rose Park for over a decade, said the neighborhood was the first place that felt like home.
“It really hurts my heart to see what it's going through right now,” Geraldo said through tears. “Taking that away from a community that needs it would be such a huge problem. We don’t have a lot of spaces where we can hang out, where we can be ourselves, play music, where you can watch a soccer game. Having those places is important.”
In 2023, a developer had told the owners they would need to leave to make room for more apartments, Parra said. However, the original developer filed for bankruptcy protection last summer and sold the property to another developer. Shortly after, that developer told Parra, who rents the space, that they could stay.
As apartment buildings continue to develop, Alien Roc, a community volunteer, said he worries about gentrification.
“It’s very scary just cause we’ve seen a lot of displacement already,” Roc said. “Even across the street they’ve already displaced a lot of families. Especially a lot of POC (people of color) families that lived there for years.”
Despite the restaurant owners’ lease ending in January, they’ll continue to operate their restaurant. In October 2024, their lawyer sent an email to the property owner Alta Bay Capital and requested to extend their lease for another 10 years, Parra said. However, the owner hasn’t responded.
Jereme Thaxton, chief executive officer of Alta Bay Capital last summer explored the idea of El Asadero moving into a commercial space next door at 1025 N. Temple, Parra said.
Although the future of the Mexican restaurant is still unclear, Roc and others will continue to protect their beloved El Asadero.
“It’s more than just a restaurant,” Roc said. “El Asadero deserves to be here.”
