LA intersection dedicated to founders of El Cholo Restaurant

LOS ANGELES — The intersection near El Cholo was dedicated Thursday as Alejandro and Rosa Borquez Square in honor of the founders of the Mexican restaurant which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Ron Salisbury, the 90-year-old grandson of the founders; Brendon Salisbury, the chief financial officer of El Cholo Restaurants and a great-grandson of the founders; City Councilwoman Heather Hutt; and singer Michelle Phillips, a self-described El Cholo “superfan,” were on hand for the ceremony at the intersection of Western Avenue and 11th Street.

Phillips, best known as a vocalist for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame folk rock group the Mamas & the Papas, said she was first introduced to El Cholo by Jack Nicholson in 1969.

“He told me stories about how struggling actors would come to El Cholo and buy a bowl of frijoles a la hoja for 35 cents, and how the waitresses would bring a side of warm tortillas and salsa at no extra charge. This was how Jack survived for many years,” Phillips said.

“As for me, well I’ve never left the place. We have celebrated every birthday of mine, as well as the birthdays of my various boyfriends and all of my children at El Cholo for half a century, including my famous 40th birthday party. I will never find a more fun and delicious hangout, ever.”

During the event, El Cholo announced a $1 million fundraising campaign to fight children’s cancer.

Money raised through the effort will be donated to Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Foundation. El Cholo customers who donate $100 to the campaign while visiting any of El Cholo’s six locations will receive a VIP Nachos Card, providing them with free nachos for the rest of the year. Such donors will also be entered into a raffle for prizes including a helicopter ride, a Duffy boat cruise and gift certificates at various Southern California eateries such as Lawry’s, Pinks, Langers and Musso & Frank.

El Cholo customers are also being urged to add $1 to their checks, with proceeds benefiting the campaign.

The Borquez family opened the Sonora Café, named for their home state, Sonora, Mexico, in 1923 on Broadway and Santa Barbara Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) in South Los Angeles. The original menu included very early California plates, including sweet green corn tamales.

In 1925, a customer at the restaurant drew on a paper menu a figure of a Mexican field hand, an “El Cholo.” Alejandro Borquez enjoyed the sketch so much he and his wife were inspired to rename the restaurant El Cholo.

Aurelia Borquez, the daughter of Alejandro and Rosa Borquez, met her future husband, George Salisbury, at El Cholo in 1926. The couple opened their own El Cholo restaurant in 1927, choosing a site on the east side of Western Avenue, with George Salisbury’s mother, Lydia, mortgaging her home for $600 so he could open the restaurant.

El Cholo moved into a two-bedroom bungalow across the street in 1931 and remains at that site.

“El Cholo isn’t just a place to eat. It’s part of the culture of Los Angeles and has been for a century now,” Ron Salisbury said. “To me, El Cholo represents a cross-section of what L.A. is really all about.

“We have people coming in Rolls-Royces and people taking the bus. We have students, wealthy people, people barely getting along and even some struggling actors. You name it, they come here. To me, that’s always been a big part of our everlasting charm.”

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