Slow Business Chipped Away at Mexican Eatery

0

Margarita Mondays came to an end in Westwood Village near UCLA when the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina there closed its doors for good after 33 years.

Rick Van Warner, spokesman for Acapulco’s parent company, Real Mex Restaurants Inc. in Cypress, said the restaurant closed late last month because it had lost relevance in the neighborhood.

“It was an older restaurant,” Van Warner said. “And people are always looking for what’s new. I think that was part of it. The bottom line is that the economy has been soft, and despite the best efforts of the team there, it struggled to achieve strong performance for some time.”

Real Mex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October, then emerged in March after a group of investors banded together to buy the company. They include Tennenbaum Capital Partners in Santa Monica; Z Capital Partners in Lake Forest, Ill.; and J.P. Morgan Investment Management in New York.

Before the economy collapsed, Real Mex had 32 Acapulco restaurants. Now, the chain is down to 18, 12 of them in Los Angeles County.

Van Warner said the Westwood restaurant did not close as a direct result of the bankruptcy and sale. But he acknowledged the company’s overall financial struggle played a role.

“There are all kinds of factors that come into play when you make that kind of decision,” he said.

He said the company was able to transfer most of the Westwood restaurant’s employees to other positions in the company. Those who opted not to transfer workplaces were given severance pay.

“We certainly don’t take closing a restaurant lightly,” Van Warner said.

Revolving Doors

Kyle Richards, a star of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” announced last week that she will open a boutique at Brighton Way and Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills in June. The store, which will be called Kyle by Alene Too, will be a partnership with Boca Raton, Fla., shop Alene Too. … Japanese art space and café Royal/T in Culver City announced last month that it will close in August after five years in business. Owner Susan Hancock said Royal/T will instead begin to host roaming special events, exhibits, shows and pop-up stores in Los Angeles and around the world. … Swedish clothing company H&M, announced last week that it will open a store at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach on May 24. … Disney Store changed locations in the Glendale Galleria April 29. Disney opened its Galleria store in 1987; it was the company’s first retail space. The new store is in a smaller space near the food court. … L.A. nail salon company Bellacures Corp. will open its eighth location this week. The 2,400-square-foot Pasadena salon will be the company’s biggest yet. … Clothing boutique Weekend Lovers opened on La Brea Avenue last week. Owner Karolina Maszkiewicz is also co-founder of jewelry design company Pinky Panthers. … Restaurant consulting firm Golden Spike Resources Group has moved to Park City, Utah, after 15 years in Los Angeles. Founder Stephen Pettise said the move was an attempt to be more centrally located for national clients. … Kolletti Bambini, a boutique specializing in designer children’s clothing, opened at Malibu Country Mart last month. … Restaurateur Mike Simms and chef Anne Conness opened a second location of their Manhattan Beach gastropub Simmzy’s in Long Beach last month.

At Your Service

Naked Princess Worldwide LLC, a new lingerie and beauty company based in Beverly Hills, named Henry R. Mandell its chief operating and financial officer. Mandell formerly served as president of lifestyle clothing brand Ed Hardy, where he’s credited with helping grow the company from $15 million to $275 million in fewer than three years. Mandell left Ed Hardy in 2008, then worked as a business consultant with Tatum LLC before joining Naked Princess. … L.A. hospitality company Luxe Hotels named Marcus Mueller general manager of its flagship property, the Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel. Before joining Luxe, Mueller held various leadership roles in boutique hotels around the world. He worked as director of rooms at Hotel Bel-Air; front house manager at Connaught Hotel in London; and duty manager at Excelsior Hotel Ernst in Cologne, Germany.

Staff reporter Bethany Firnhaber can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.

No posts to display