It almost pains us to mar such a beautiful Southern California morning with a Deathwatch, but we all have a job to do, don't we. Over the weekend, a reader sends word that the fairly new La Huasteca Mexican restaurant has been shuttered. This isn't a well-known restaurant---hell, it was only open for about a year, if that---but it was very prominently placed on our Pasadena Deathwatch a few weeks ago. We thought the colorful family-run eatery would fall prey to geography; off the beaten path, chances that the Cheesecake Factory hordes would ever make their way to it, strong margaritas and all, were slim. And in some way, geography did cause La Huasteca's ultimate demise:
"The sign on the door says it is closed due to the pending construction on the NW corner of Green and Fair Oaks. From the photos of the proposed building and the information on all of the Public Hearing posters all over Old Town, it looks like the La Huasteca building will be demolished, as will the parking lot currently on the corner - for the construction of a four-story, mixed use parking/office/retail project. Underground parking and retail included. It looks pretty hideous, and I'm sure it will just bring more unneeded chain retail to Pasadena. Boo."Sure enough, the website notes the closure. This was an off-shoot of a popular Lynwood eatery; the owners put a lot of time and, we imagine, money into making the former white-and-red Ruby's Diner a Mexican restaurant filled with archways, huge murals, and roving maricachis. Why didn't someone tell them the city was considering a new mixed-use project on that corner? To date, this is the second restaurant from our Pasadena list to close. Time on the Deathwatch: Four weeks.
· Eater Deathwatch: Pasadena [Eater LA]
· Exlusive: Xiomara Pasadena Closing [Eater LA]
