DINING BEAT\Long road back home.The reopening of Cafe Cordiale, 14015 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, two years after it burned in the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. is a lesson in tenacity and patience. The May family - chef David, wife Margaret and son Peter - owns Cafe Cordiale, and it has fought, cajoled and negotiated with insurers, government agencies and just about everybody else to finally get back the restaurant that is the extension of its life. The once-popular eating place seemingly carries on where it left off that fateful Jan. 17 morning. The Mays initially considered relocating, but the building's owner convinced them to return to a new edifice that would be built where the original stood. Little did they know it would take two years. Cafe Cordiale, which retained its original phone number, (818) 789-1985, during its prolonged absence, reopened quietly Jan. 9 when some 200 well-wishers, mostly former customers, returned to register their support. A majority of the staff also returned, confirming an employee attachment and loyalty rarely found in the restaurant industry, or any industry, these days. And guess what day the Mays decided to officially begin their grand-opening-week celebration? You guessed it. Jan. 17. A game of chicken The chicken race continues. Kenny Rogers' Roasters - trying to maintain its local market presence in the face of burgeoning competition from the rapidly growing Boston Market Boston Market (known before 1995 as Boston Chicken), headquartered in Golden, Colorado, is a chain of American fast-food restaurants. Founded in December 1985 in Newton, Massachusetts, the chain grew rapidly in the early and mid-1990s, filed bankruptcy in the late 1990s, and , plus Koo Koo Roo and giants like KFC KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken (restaurant chain) KFC Kenya Flower Council KFC Kitchen Fresh Chicken (Kentucky Fried Chicken motto) KFC Kung Fu Cult (Cinema) KFC Kitchen Fixed Charge (Kentucky Fried Chicken Fried chicken is chicken which is dipped in a breading mixture and then deep fried, pan fried or pressure fried. The breading seals in the juices but also absorbs the fat of the fryer, which is sometimes seen as unhealthy. ) and El Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco is a fast-food restaurant chain and Mexican grilled chicken franchise. "El Pollo Loco" is Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken". Juan Francisco Ochoa started the restaurant in Guasave, Mexico, in 1975. - will open a Reseda outlet at 6840 Reseda Blvd. later this month. Franchisee Hank Westerhout of HJR HJR House Joint Resolution HJR Hepatojugular Reflux HJR Horizontal Joint Reinforcement Roasters said his firm is looking at locations for Kenny Rogers outlets in Granada Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks and Studio City. Etc. Sad to see North Hollywood's Ron's Kitchen, a tiny Jamaican cafe at 12127 Magnolia Blvd., closed Jan. 12. |
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