The recent fires in Los Angeles decimated entire neighborhoods and business districts; wiped out history; crushed open spaces and disrupted the patterns of life in the city. But even if a building wasn’t destroyed by the flames, the effects are causing havoc for the restaurant industry.
One of those restaurants, Bar Chelou, which opened two years ago in Old Pasadena, said this week that it will have to close as a result of decreased business brought about by the Eaton Fire, which killed 17 people and burned 9,000 buildings in the Altadena neighborhood nearby.
The news is another blow for the city since the restaurant — led by chef Douglas Rankin — has ranging from the Los Angeles Times 101 best restaurants of 2023 and 2024, Eater’s 12 Best New Restaurants in America, the New York Times’s list of the best restaurants in Los Angeles in 2023, and .
“After careful consideration, we have decided not to extend our lease, which is set to expire at the end of the month,” Rankin wrote on the restaurant’s Instagram page on Wednesday. “The timing presented us with an opportunity to reconsider our path forward following the Eaton fire just a few miles from us in Altadena. Thus we have made the heart-wrenching decision to close our doors in Pasadena. Our final service will be Sunday, February 16.”
Bar Chelou describes itself as an upscale bistro that focuses on French food and wine, but with some twists coming from both Spanish and Asian cuisine.
that he “finds inspiration right now in Denver’s dining scene, noting Los Angeles chefs who successfully opened new restaurants, including his former mentor, chef Ludo Lefebvre, who opened Chez Maggy in Denver in 2022.”
Rankin didn’t return an Instagram message seeking comment.
