“It was just time to move on,” a nonchalant Sergio Penuelas told L.A. TACO over the phone last night.
L.A.’s mariscos-loving community was shocked to see a story on Instagram yesterday afternoon announcing the immediate closure of his beloved backyard restaurant, 106 Underground Seafood. The ominous post featured the words: “We will be closed until further notice, thank you,” under an all-black background.
Prior to this sudden news, 106 Underground Seafood had been open five days a week since 2019. The restaurant operated on a “don’t ask/don’t tell”-style gray area in home kitchen stuck somewhere between the pages of California’s Cottage Food Operation permitting codes. Penuela has a business license for his operation and is highly experienced in food safety after working in multiple L.A. County restaurants throughout his life. Perhaps most importantly, he had to straddle blessings and the tolerance of neighbors while not operating within the proximity of any nearby brick-and-mortar restaurants.