Bill Chait never waits around long, especially when there's vacant property involved. It's part of the reason that Petty Cash exists at all: time was dragging on with Republique and Playa was sitting empty, so Chait got Walter Manzke to move on the space with his more approachable taqueria concept in the meantime.
Now at first blush it seemlike the same is happening with the former Mo-Chica space downtown, which was vacated late last year in the midst of Ricardo Zarate's restaurant stumbles. Chait, who teamed up with Ray Garcia to move into the Rivera space and bring about the forthcoming Broken Spanish, has grabbed ahold of the ground under Mo-Chica and plans to make his move there with... an approachable taqueria concept, this time with Garcia at the helm.
Refreshingly titled B.S. Taqueria (that's B.S. as in Broken Spanish, but also B.S. as in, well, bullshit), the upcoming operation looks to marry Mexican flavors with a casual Chicano vibe. It's actually a concept that Garcia, himself a third generation Angeleno, has had for a few years: to serve the sort of staff meal dishes and local family favorites that are found in Mexican-American homes all over the city, but within the walls of a full-fledged restaurant.
It won't take long for B.S. to be up and running, either. The plan is to reformat the space so that it's a bit more inviting and not so segregated, and then blow the doors open to the neighborhood as soon as possible (read: early spring at the latest, but possibly even by late February). Garcia is currently finalizing the menu himself, while construction gets underway at Rivera for the eventual Broken Spanish takeover.
B.S. Taqueria
514 W. 7th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014