LOS FELIZ — After five years of business, the renowned Latin restaurant Broken Spanish in Downtown LA’s South Park neighborhood is closing permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The restaurant transitioned to mostly takeout and delivery amid the temporary halt of indoor dining within the last couple months; however, the revenues did not suffice. Chef Ray Garcia made the announcement of the closure on Instagram on August 4:
“Broken Spanish was more than a restaurant; it was a family. Together we pushed each other to be the best ambassadors of a cuisine and culture that up to that point had been so often overlooked, underappreciated and underrepresented in the culinary community.”
The restaurant was featured in Thrillist’s 31 Best Mexican Restaurants in America and made Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America in 2015. Although the Broken Spanish has been shut down, Garcia is currently making plans to initiate a new delivery-only restaurant called Made In Los Angeles (MILA) introducing similar types of food he presented at Broken Spanish.
“The current environment has sped things up a little bit,” Garcia stated to Eater Los Angeles. “It’s changed the variables in the equation, at least for the foreseeable future. Having extra square footage really isn’t a benefit. I’m in Downtown LA, across from a convention center, a sports arena, a music center. Who knows when they will open again.”
MILA will open early next month for lunch and dinner for five days a week with plans to expand their hours and locations in the near future.
