MY LATEST @latimes COLUMNA: Will L.A. flatten a legendary Boyle Heights tortilla factory? RT, porfas! latimes.com/california/sto…
So for this story, I visit La Gloria Foods, which has made corn and flour tortillas from Boyle Heights since 1954. On a good day, they can make 120,000 flour/500k corn.
Their tortillas are staples of Southern California mercaditos, and restaurants, an icon of the scene with their festive logo
Mexican immigrants Manuel and Antonia Behar started with a small corner store and expanded it into two separate factories. For his efforts, he was inducted into the Tortilla Industry Association's Hall of Fame (yes, such a thing exists) in 2009 #respect
But now, the 3 Behar daughters who now run La Gloria are fighting to keep their business alive. The issue? The City of LA acquired their flour tortilla plant via eminent domain years ago. The two sides then tried to settle on an amount for relocation fees. Then...
KEY QUOTE:
Maria Vera (right) and her two sisters own La Gloria. She's been working there ever since she was a small girl serving as a translator for her dad. “When we first formed La Gloria, the city helped us,” she said softly but matter-of-factly. “Now, the city wants to take it away. ”
Much more to the columna, so do read/share/subscribe. Ever-expert edits by homie jefe @hbecerraLATimes — you know, two Mexican men who supposedly like to tear down Mexican food legends haha. Onto the next columma! As @dario_rivero would do:
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