"His decision to close on Dec. 29 marks the end of a chapter for the East Side. "We have had so many phone calls (saying) 'Please do not do this,' Huitron told San José Spotlight. 'But we're losing a lot of money. We cannot put any more into it. People are coming in to see me. They come and say, 'I don't want you guys to go. You have the best margaritas in East San Jose.''"
"Where modern, hip chain restaurants tout minimalist polish, La Perla's crowded interior evokes a family home occupied for 41 years. Huitron raised his three kids within the restaurant's warm, off-white walls bearing hand-painted flowers, bells and multicolor patterns. Hacienda arches grant passage to a banquet room. Antiques fill most available ledges."
Owner José Huitron and his wife Ana opened La Perla in 1985 and operated the original location at 1150 McGinness Ave. for 41 years while opening and closing other sites. The restaurant’s tables have been pushed together for family meals, birthdays and baby showers. Rising overhead—about $10,000 monthly rent plus $5,000 in utilities, licenses and permit fees—combined with smaller crowds, economic hardship and fear of immigration raids drove the decision to close on Dec. 29. The restaurant’s crowded, homelike interior, family traditions and community attachments have prompted pleas from longtime patrons.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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