LA Crossroads Dedicated to Founder of El Chorro Restaurant – Daily News

LOS ANGELES — A crossroads near El Chorro was dedicated Thursday as Plaza Alejandro and Rosa Volquez in honor of the founders of the Mexican restaurant, which celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Ron Salisbury, the founder’s 90-year-old grandson. Brendon, chief financial officer of El Chorro restaurants and great-grandson of the founder he Mr. Salisbury. Councilor Heather Hatt. And singer Michelle Phillips, a self-described “superfan” of El Chorro, was in attendance at the ceremony at the intersection of Western Avenue and 11th Avenue.

Phillips, best known as the vocalist for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame folk-rock group The Mamas & the Papas, said he was first introduced to El Chorro in 1969 by Jack Nicholson.

“He tells us how struggling actors come to El Chorro to buy a glass of frijoles a la jolla for 35 cents, and how the waitresses serve them warm tortillas and salsa at no extra charge. That’s how Jack survived all these years,” Phillips said.

“I, well, never left the place. , we’ve celebrated all the kids’ birthdays in El Chorro, and we’ve never had a more fun and delicious hangout than this.”

During the event, El Cholo announced a $1 million fundraising campaign to fight childhood cancer.

The money raised through this initiative will be donated to Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and Orange County Foundation Children’s Hospital. El Chorro customers who donate her $100 to the campaign while visiting any of her six stores in El Chorro will receive a VIP Nachos Card, providing free nachos for the rest of the year. Such donors will also participate in a raffle to win prizes such as gift certificates at Helicopter Rides, Duffy Boat Cruises, Lowry’s, Pink’s, Langer’s, Musso & Frank and many other Southern California eateries.

El Cholo’s customers are also asked to add $1 to their checks, and the proceeds benefit the campaign.

The Volquez family opened the Sonora Café, named after the Mexican state of Sonora, in 1923 on Broadway and Santa Barbara Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) in south Los Angeles. The original menu included very early California plates such as sweet green corn tamales.

In 1925, a restaurant customer drew a picture of Mexican fielder “El Chorro” on a paper menu. Alejandro Volquez enjoyed sketching so much that he and his wife inspired him to rename the restaurant El Chorro.

Aurelia Volquez, daughter of Alejandro and Rosa Borquez, met her future husband George Salisbury in 1926 in El Chorro. The couple opened their own El Chorro restaurant in 1927, choosing a location on the east side of George’s Western Her Avenue in Salisbury. Her mother Lydia mortgaged her home for her $600 to open her restaurant.

El Cholo moved into a two-bedroom bungalow across the street in 1931 and remains there today.

“El Chorro is more than just a place to eat. It’s part of the Los Angeles culture and has been for a century now,” said Ron Salisbury. “For me, El Chorro represents the true cross-section of LA.

“Some come in Rolls-Royces, others take the bus. Students, wealthy, barely getting along, even struggling actors. You name it, they’re here.” To me, it’s always been a big part of our enduring fascination.”