Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — The corner of North Temple and 1000 West in Salt Lake City was far from a prime business location when husband-and-wife duo Margarito Parra and Imelda Morales opened El Asadero Mexican Food in 2009.
They initially struggled to weather TRAX construction and its impact on business. More people eventually frequented the area and a loyal clientele base promoted the business by word of mouth, to the point that Parra said advertising became unnecessary. But the increased traffic to the area was a double-edged sword and, more recently, appears to be a harbinger of a darker fate for both the restaurant and the surrounding neighborhood.
"This corner was not sought after. It did not have value — so things were difficult," Parra said in Spanish. "Now that it's more sought after, well, people are coming to buy it."
A new owner has transformed the corner, buying up the Chinese restaurant and homes that once surrounded El Asadero to make way for a two-building apartment complex. Today, El Asadero is surrounded by the partially finished complex, and plans for the second phase don't include keeping the restaurant around.
The construction has caused business to drop by about half, which forced Parra and Morales to let their workers go and take on staffing the restaurant themselves seven days a week. Parra said he was never given the option to buy the building, although he said he spoke with the previous landlord about doing so multiple times and he said his rental contract stipulated he would have first buying rights.
"It's been bad for us because people think that we don't exist anymore. The past owners, without me finding out, made a transaction with the owners of the apartments," Parra said. "I'm still confused sometimes because even though we have a contract ... well, you don't know what's going to happen. We could be here for a year, we can fight hard, we can paint the building — but we don't know when they're going to say goodbye."
A growing trend?
Advocates and residents say the restaurant is the latest victim claimed by the growing gentrification of their west-side neighborhoods.
"The neighborhood needs to look like the neighbors. We are majority Hispanic, and El Asadero is a restaurant we do care for," said Theresa Molina, who has lived in the Fairpark neighborhood for 15 years, during a recent city planning meeting. "There is not an accommodation to keep this Mexican restaurant in place by the builders. They just want what they want and are not complying with requirements. There is not community engagement by the owners. It's just business for them and they don't care about us as neighbors."
Michelle Watts, another community member, agreed.
"They take and give absolutely nothing back. We've lost homes and now we're losing a long-standing restaurant," she said during the meeting.
The Rose Park Brown Berets, a west-side advocacy group, has worked hard to save El Asadero and other homes from the developers it says are "unwelcome guests in this community." The group recently helped paint a mural on the restaurant to help attract business and raise awareness.
They take and give absolutely nothing back. We've lost homes and now we're losing a long-standing restaurant.
– Community member Michelle Watts
"El Asadedro is sacred and a representation of this community. El Asadero is here to stay," said Pachuco Lautaro of the Brown Berets during the meeting.
The Rose Park Brown Berets have criticized a number of new residential developments on the west side as destroying the community and displacing families of color and family-owned businesses. Others, however, see the developments as a step towards closing the city's housing shortage.
County property records list Lusso Apartments 2 LLC as the property owner of the complex near El Asadero at North Temple and 1000 West, and state business records identify Donovan Gilliland as the LLC's registered agent. KSL.com attempted to reach the property's owner, who has not responded.
Who calls the shots?
City planning commissioners voted earlier this month to allow Di'velept Design to move forward with plans for the second building of the complex, which consist of a seven-story building with 160 one-bedroom units and 149 parking stalls.
A handful of commissioners seemed sympathetic to the residents' concerns about the complex but said it was beyond their control to save El Asadero. Commissioner Andra Ghent suggested the developer offer El Asadero discounted retail space in the new complex.
"There's a rent at which some of the existing retail tenants can afford and that sort of would create walkability in the neighborhood. We sort of have a problem where if we don't have businesses to walk to, nobody walks and we don't get walkability," Ghent said, noting that such an arrangement is outside the commission's scope. "I would be really excited if I could see a lower retail rate and have that space occupied by somebody, even if you're not making — even if it's basically an amenity for the tenants."
Commissioner Aimee Burrows said this development does not require a special-use permit, unlike the Kum and Go gas station the commission squashed in the Sugar House neighborhood.
"That's my way of apologizing, to say we can't do what you're asking us to even if we want to, even if we thought it was the best thing for the neighborhood. These guys own this building and it's already zoned to be apartments, so it's kind of like we can't stop it — that's (up to) the property owner," Burrows said. "But I would also really love for something to be worked out so that this restaurant — that's important to the neighbors, the community, the culture and the world — could be saved, too."
Developers during the meeting said the owner is hesitant to add more retail space since they've yet to find a tenant to rent out restaurant space within the already completed portion of the project.
For some west-side residents, decisions like the one the planning commission made earlier this month are representative of a wider system that often leaves the west side with the short end of the stick.
"They are the ones who make the decisions. It seems to me that they don't know the neighborhoods," Parra said. "There is a big difference in how they allow you construct on the east side versus the west side. The difference is quite noticeable."
The Rose Park Brown Berets in a statement to KSL.com criticized state code, which they said favors real estate profit.
"The planning commission and city planners pick and choose what kind of community input they take seriously. Their interpretation of the state code justifies putting development and real estate interests first," the statement reads. "Planners have to follow state code (whether they agree or not) and it keeps putting developers' interest first and will continue to push more bills to make real estate developers richer. Instead of the planning commission and city planners calling out these issues or advocating for their communities, they're just complicit or actively recommending these harmful projects to move forward in the first place."
Parra's current plan is to wait and see how things play out before his lease expires in 2025. He said he has spoken with the new owner about the future of the restaurant, but nothing concrete has been decided.
"Whatever happens with my place, there are good people here. The west side are hardworking people," he said.
