The California Restaurant Foundation has awarded $10,000 LA Fire Recovery Grants to 51 Pasadena eateries, the city announced Friday.
The foundation’s Restaurants Care program provided more than $500,000 to Pasadena small businesses as part of a $2.4 million relief effort to support independent restaurants across Los Angeles County affected by the deadly wildfires in January that did major damage in Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and nearby areas.
“The California Restaurant Foundation has been an incredible advocate for the restaurant industry,” David Klug, economic development director for the foundation. “Our role is to stay closely connected to the needs of our business community and to share resources like this as soon as they’re available. We’re deeply grateful to CRF and partners for stepping up in such a meaningful way for Pasadena restaurants.”
City officials noted their own fire-aid efforts similar to the foundation grants, pointing to efforts such as the Pasadena Restaurant Resilience Pop-Up event in April at the longstanding Café Santorini in Old Town. Local restaurateurs gathered for an opportunity to network and do free one-on-one advising.
The city also completed the initial round of Dine Out Pasadena, investing nearly $700,000 in newly constructed and refurbished outdoor dining patios for 14 restaurants, officials said. The pilot round culminated in the Dine Out Pasadena Streetfest late last month that drew nearly 3,000 people to Old Pasadena to eat, drink, and experience Pasadena’s unique culinary offerings.
“Independent restaurants are more than just places to eat. They reflect the culture, creativity, and resilience of a community,” foundation President Alycia Harshfield said in a statement. “The impact of the LA fires reached deep into Pasadena, and these grants are helping 51 restaurant owners navigate the hardships caused by the disaster while continuing to serve the neighborhoods that rely on them. We’re especially grateful to the city of Pasadena for helping spread the word and ensuring local restaurants knew this support was available.”
The complete list of LA Fire Recovery Grant recipients and more information about the foundation’s statewide relief efforts is at RestaurantsCare.org/Resilience-La-Fire.
