Navigating the potentially awkward encounter posed by a person having a mental health episode while you’re eating out in Los Angeles has become as common as eating your favorite tacos in the street.
This reality of doing business in Los Angeles ultimately forced Brittney Valles to close Gogo’s Tacos earlier this month. “I am particularly concerned about the amount of violent and aggressive individuals that regularly hang around the restaurant. We have had guests tell us outright that they do not feel comfortable coming by. We are really hanging on by a thread and are actively looking to move because the neighborhood is just so difficult,” she said in an Eater L.A. article going into detail about the closure.
Her response received pushback from homeless advocates: "The owner of Gogo’s Tacos blamed unhoused people for the closure of her restaurant while failing to mention the impact of its location situated in one of the worst traffic intersections in Los Angeles. The business owner didn’t cite a single incident of concern, and the reporter failed to investigate her vague insinuations about poor people in the neighborhood."