Posh Restaurant in East L.A. Has Tongues Wagging

The opening of yet another trendy eatery in Los Angeles may leave some taste buds feeling a bit blase. But when the ritzy new place, bankrolled in part by a major partner in Spago, turns up in East Los Angeles, tongues start wagging.

Today’s opening of the city’s newest chic Mexican restaurant, Tamayo, is being eagerly anticipated mainly for where it is.

“It’s about time East L.A. had a place like this,” said Lydia Lopez, a longtime community activist. “I can’t wait for it to open.”

Indeed, who wouldn’t be excited by a place named after famed Mexican artist and muralist Rufino Tamayo that will feature two of his original works, “La Familia II” and “Sandias”; several oversized tapestries from the Mexican state of Oaxaca; imported floor tiles and marble; three mini-waterfalls to accent the entry and main dining room, which seats 165 people, and an open pit in which some of the lambs, chickens and other delicacies will be spit-roasted?

A Sense of Pride

There is a sense of pride among many Latino professionals and longtime Eastside residents over what such elegance may mean for an area that is viewed by many outsiders as violent and impoverished.

“A lot of people dwell on the negative about East L.A. But here’s something good,” said Eastside political fund-raiser Julia Silva.

Yet not everyone is jumping for joy over Tamayo. Some activists, while applauding the restaurant’s opening, are nevertheless critical because of its financial backing from the East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU), which promotes economic development in predominantly Latino neighborhoods with the help of federal funds. They argue that the nonprofit corporation, which has attracted controversy in the past, should funnel its money into pressing social needs, instead of a fancy eatery.

There are no hard figures on what the restaurant, located at 5300 E. Olympic Blvd., may mean for the surrounding areas, but TELACU officials report that it will generate about 100 jobs.

Believe Timing Is Right

The $2- to $3-million venture in the barrio, intended to attract residents of the area as well as well-to-do and middle-class professionals from outside the Eastside, may appear to be a risk, but its backers believe that the time is right for a place like Tamayo in East Los Angeles.

The venture is a partnership between TELACU and Dr. Stanley Kandel, the dentist-turned-restaurateur who successfully launched Spago on the Sunset Strip. A Spanish mission-style building, which dates back to 1927, and some adjacent property were acquired in 1985 by TELACU with the help of a $500,000 grant from the Office of Community Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The building at various times housed a pipe supply store, a coffee shop, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the California Highway Patrol and the Brown Berets, the 1970s Chicano militant group.

TELACU put up an additional “$1 million or so” and Kandel invested about $1 million, to renovate the building and set up the restaurant, which retains the structure’s original high-ceiling wood beams.

“I was hesitant at first about it, but they convinced me,” Kandel said. “After 6 to 18 months, we’ll find out how people feel. We won’t be another Spago in terms of celebrities. But I really like the challenge to work in Mexican cuisine. We’ll be a very fine restaurant.”

Warranted by Demand

TELACU officials said a 1984 feasibility study showed that there is a burgeoning luncheon and banquet trade on the Eastside, with much of it now going to such places as Stevens Steak House and the Hyatt Hotel, both in Commerce; Luminaria’s in Monterey Park, and the Quiet Cannon in Montebello. Kandel and TELACU officials believe that there is enough business among professional and community groups to warrant Tamayo’s entry into the fray.

Already, more than a dozen Latino professional groups, including the Mexican American Bar Assn., have booked gatherings there. To attract these initial get-togethers, the organizations are not being charged for use of the restaurant.

The menu, supervised by chef Claude Koeberle, a 30-year-old Frenchman who previously worked at Ma Maison, will reflect the regional foods and spices of Mexico.

Dishes range from huachinango flameado (whole marinated red snapper roasted in the open pit) and pavo fumaro en dos salsas (fresh smoked turkey with green and red chili salsa) to pollo pibil (chicken marinated in many spices and orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves and baked in the hearth ashes).

While prices could be considered high for some Eastside natives--dinner entrees range from $11.95 to $22--Kandel emphasized that a patron can spend as little as $5.50 for lunch and $12 for dinner. There are also plans to offer family-style dining on Sundays with youngsters under a certain age eating at no charge.

Some Are Skeptical

But because of TELACU’s involvement, there is some skepticism about the new dining spot.

Originally founded as a social service organization, TELACU under president David Lizarraga has become a $125-million moneymaking business, developing, among other things, an Eastside transit system, a thrift and loan company and a construction supplies firm. Over the years, it has come under scrutiny from federal officials over its use of the funds, much of it from federal and other public agencies.

Criticism peaked

Criticism peaked in 1982 after federal investigators confirmed a series of reports in The Times that showed that TELACU executives spent a portion of those funds on big salaries, fancy cars, personal loans, worldwide travel and plush accommodations. A year after the disclosures, TELACU paid back $1 million at the order of a Los Angeles federal judge.

The only visible signs of Eastside community involvement, critics charge, is TELACU’s 54-acre industrial park and its four-story glass headquarters, located across the street from Tamayo.

‘Prices seem out of reach’

“I have knowledge of that area (where Tamayo is located) and the prices seem to be out of reach for the average resident,” said community advocate Vivien Bonzo, whose family has been in the restaurant business in Los Angeles for nearly 65 years. “I think it’s unusual for a nonprofit group like TELACU to open a restaurant at all because there are so many other needs that need attention.”

Why Not Libraries, Hospitals?

“Why don’t they pay for more libraries, hospitals?” asked longtime East Los Angeles resident David Lara, 71.

Lizarraga, who has kept a distance from reporters in recent years, said in an interview that the criticism is unjustified.

“I believe we’ve always done good; the banks are still lending money to us,” he said. “We’ve developed an industrial park that provides 3,000 jobs. It’s a place that the community can be proud of. The restaurant is a positive symbol of growth for East Los Angeles.”

Community leader Lopez, once skeptical of TELACU and Lizarraga because of the unfavorable publicity, has changed her mind. “I think they’ve learned from their mistakes and they’re going the extra mile,” she said. “The restaurant is evidence of that.”

Federal authorities, aware that government funds were used to help establish Tamayo, said that nothing appears improper about it. The original application clearly stated TELACU’s intent to use the funds to renovate the structure into a restaurant, said James Abbee, a spokesman for the federal Office of Community Services.

Tamayo Is Pleased

One person unfazed by the criticism is Tamayo himself, who will attend the restaurant’s dedication next Saturday.

“I’m impressed that Hispanos in the United States want to keep alive their cultural ties,” said the 88-year-old legend, who lent use of his name free of charge. “That’s very important and I’m happy to be part of that.”

There is another, personal reason for Tamayo’s eager participation. “You know,” he said in a telephone interview from his Mexico City home, “there’s a restaurant here that is named after Picasso and there’s not one for me. . . . “