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"It's another massive challenge on the heels of just kind of getting our feet back on the ground." But for some -- and not just fast food franchise owners -- the newly raised bar for compensation also marks a pivotal point for restaurants to remain competitive in an already difficult post-pandemic landscape. The industry with famously thin margins is once again being pushed to make monetary and operational adjustments to stay afloat, all without compromising consumer expectations.
Police accuse two youths in string of armed robberies in the Los Angeles area
The heist last June in Reseda was the work of a crew that targeted armored cars in a series of sophisticated robberies across Los Angeles County that netted six-figure hauls, authorities say. After casing their targets and studying routines for weeks, the crew waylaid drivers as they picked up or delivered bulk cash at banks, credit unions, markets, fast-food restaurants and a check-cashing business, according to a search warrant affidavit reviewed by The Times. Valdez, who's placed equity and wellbeing at the forefront of her business, first brought a taste of Texas food and hospitality to Hollywood, California with house-made flour tortillas, breakfast tacos, queso, and brisket back in 2013 and has since expanded to eight restaurant locations across Southern California with 350 employees. The crew is believed to have first struck in February 2022 when three of its members approached an armored car driver picking up cash from a Wescom Credit Union in Hawthorne. He forced the guard to the ground at gunpoint, FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Cardenas wrote in an affidavit. The city offers many regional styles, like the steamy domain of tacos al vapor; smoky, fully-dressed tacos from Tijuana; airy, crunchy fish tacos that hail from Baja; and the magnificence of Sonora’s massive flour tortillas, plus all the unique styles that blend this varied heritage with chefs’ perspectives from growing up in LA.
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The morning of June 10, 2023, a Brinks armored car pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. One of the drivers stayed in the truck while the other went inside to make a pickup. That same morning, detectives arrested Disaac Jones, 33, whose DNA was found on a glove left inside the getaway car used in the 7-Eleven heist, according to Delph’s affidavit. Davis pleaded guilty in February to robbery and gun charges, admitting he cased the Wescom Credit Union and acted as a lookout. Officers pulled over the Tahoe and questioned Davis and Hobson, who showed identification that listed an address in the West Adams neighborhood.
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As he returned with the money, a man wearing a white jumpsuit stepped out of a white Lexus SUV holding a rifle, Det. Emily Delph of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division wrote in a search warrant affidavit. An armored car driver was picking up cash from a Wescom Credit Union in Hawthorne when three men approached him, FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Cardenas wrote in an affidavit. Delph wrote in a search warrant affidavit which phone records showed Young had also been near the site of some of the robberies when they occurred.
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Investigators found further evidence which linked him to the heists and on March 21 this year, a SWAT team gathered at a Reseda Boulevard apartment building to serve a search and arrest warrant on the suspect. In the final heist connected to the group, a Brinks driver was robbed while filling ATMs in South Los Angeles the morning of Oct. 16. In June 2023, a Brinks armored car pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. They grabbed bags of cash, checks and the victim’s weapon after taking it from the holster and fled in a white Honda Accord with $166,640, according to court records obtained by The Post.
Review: Chilosos' tacos make you feel right at home - The Leader News
Review: Chilosos' tacos make you feel right at home.
Posted: Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The crew was composed of ex-convicts from the West Boulevard Crips, East Coast Crips and Black P Stone gangs, some of whom had met while serving time in state prison, according to court records. According Delph investigators also linked Hobson and Davis to a Jadie Lee Young Jr, a 30-year-old member of the West Boulevard Crips. He’d served 12 years in prison for assault and had been contacted by the pair during the robberies. "It's become really clear to us that our customers are [experiencing] sticker shock and price fatigue," Mendelsohn said.
It’s unclear how much cash was taken during the robbery, which lasted just 20 seconds, according to Delph’s affidavit. Davis pleaded guilty in February to robbery and gun charges, admitting he cased the Wescom Credit Union and acted as a lookout, according to The Los Angeles Times report. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of robbery and was released on $150,000 bond.
"We quickly shifted from being profitable to losing money on April 1." For the past 10 years we have rooted ourselves in the heart of The Heights near the local favorite shopping spots on 19th St.
LA is a mecca of Mexican cuisine.
What the bagel is to NYC, the breakfast taco is to Houston—so you’d better get it right. In the final heist linked to the crew, a Brinks driver was robbed while filling ATMs in South Los Angeles the morning of Oct. 16. The Lexus, which was registered to an Arkansas limited liability company, was found abandoned in a nearby alley.
Chilosos serves up handmade flour tortillas – possibly the thickest, fluffiest ones in the city – and a breakfast taco with a crap ton of sausage, huevos, pico de gallo, cilantro, and guacamole. They showed he was near the 7-Eleven during the robbery and in the area of the Taco Bell two weeks before the heist, which indicated he was casing the location, Delph wrote. Young was arrested on suspicion of possessing a gun as a felon in June 2023.
Several of the suspects had met each other while serving time in state prison, according to court records. To cut costs and stay afloat, Mendelsohn said their restaurants have had to reduce hours by roughly more than 10%, simplify menus, and implement new technologies such as automated ordering kiosks, which she explained can have a long learning curve for customers and hasn't helped save any money in the short term. The CEO of Pollo West Corporation, one of the largest franchisees of the fast casual California restaurant chain El Pollo Loco, told "GMA" they preempted price raises in February before the minimum wage law took effect on April 1 to test the waters and "had a 3% decline in transactions." "We're being as transparent as we can because cost has gone up," she continued, sharing for example that HomeState is "losing money every time we sell a brisket taco." Market-research firm Dataessential provided ABC News with menu price analysis at 70 limited-service restaurants (LSR), which includes both fast-food and fast-casual chains, that showed California eateries have increased prices by 10% overall since September and has outpaced all other states. It's been nearly one month since California raised the minimum wage at certain restaurants, which has put a spotlight on a course correction that many see as long overdue.
Thieves recently managed to carry off a staggering $30 million from a cash storage facility in Sylmar and loot millions of dollars in jewelry from an idling Brinks truck without firing a shot — heists that have confounded investigators and made fodder for headlines around the world. But meanwhile, a very different operation — brazen and lightning-quick robberies committed in broad daylight — played out on the streets of L.A., with all the twists and turns of a Hollywood thriller. A string of daring daylight heists in Los Angeles where gang members held up armored trucks at gunpoint and got away with millions of dollars had played out like a Hollywood movie — but were recently busted by cops. Stop by today to try all of our dishes, from breakfast tacos and plates to specialty enchiladas and nachos. Sorry for any wait when you order, every single one of our tortillas are made right when you order. A hot tortilla plus local ingredients bought fresh every morning equals one seriously tasty Chilosos dish.
When detectives and agents searched the Chesapeake Avenue house in October 2022, they seized a surveillance system that showed getaway cars used in the heists had been parked outside the home, Cardenas wrote. With the muzzle of the rifle pressed into the driver’s head, two others grabbed bags of cash and checks. They fled in a white Honda Accord with $166,640, according to one of the suspect’splea agreement. Later that day, detectives arrested Disaac Jones, 33, after his DNA was found on a glove left inside the getaway car used in one of the heists, according to Delph’s affidavit. In her affidavit, Delph said she discovered Young had been communicating with another person during the robberies on a number registered to Zeff Rocco, an East Coast Crip who’d done prison time for carjacking. "Coming out of a time where restaurants, who were essential workers during the pandemic and fought so hard to keep their doors open and to keep teams employed, now have another major impact on our ability to keep our teams happy and to keep our doors open, and to continue to offer affordable options for our diners," she continued.
