If not for Elvira Garcia, Cha Cha Chicken would have been boarded up in 1998.
The colorful Santa Monica staple –– which marks 30 years in business this summer –– owed more than $100,000 to its landlord, vendors and the I.R.S. when Garcia’s ex-husband, Toribio Prado, sold her the restaurant for $1 and walked away.
“I was living day by day, going downtown to buy things in the morning, and coming back over here to cook,” she tells The Sun.
Elvira and Toribio snuck across the border from Mexico when she was just 16 and spoke almost no English. He quickly gained fame as a head chef, catering to celebrities like Madonna and Michael Jackson at the Caribbean hot spot Cha Cha Cha in Silver Lake.
Toribio looked to create a more casual beach version of the concept when he opened Cha Cha Chicken at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Pico Boulevard in 1996.
“He had a dream to kind of create this fusion of food before fusion was even a word,” the couple’s son, Ricardo Prado, says. Toribio accomplished that goal by combining Caribbean, Latin and Mexican influences into recipes that remain on the menu at Cha Cha Chicken today.
But despite its picturesque location, just one block from the beach, the restaurant fell on hard time within its first two years –– and Elvira was left to clean up the mess.
Unbeknownst to her employees, she spent nearly six months sleeping on the floor of her office, often clutching a metal flashlight to ward off intruders.
“I’d go around the corner, park my car by the beach, and then let the employees just close the restaurant,” she remembers. “Then I came back after they’re gone, so I can spend the night and get up before they come back in the morning.”
It took Elvira almost five years to pay off all of the debts and finally see a profit. Says daughter-in-law Elizabeth Banks: “If there’s ever a story about the American dream, that’s it.”
An enduring menu
Cha Cha Chicken’s appeal has always been rooted in a menu that feels generous, familiar and just different enough to stand out. The restaurant’s best-known dish is jerk chicken, marinated overnight in spices, garlic and orange juice, then baked until tender and served with rice and beans, fried plantains and greens.
Other favorites include coconut fried chicken, jerk enchiladas, empanadas and Cubano sandwiches. Ricardo notes the kitchen draws from flavors across Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico and Jamaica, creating a Caribbean fusion menu with a distinctly Latin twist.
The coconut fried chicken, which was featured on Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate, remains one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Ricardo, who runs the restaurant with his mom, estimates the kitchen goes through about 1,000 pounds of chicken each week.
“We’ve had people who came as babies who are now coming in with their kids,” Ricardo says. “It’s the same taste that they had when they were little ones.”
Built for the beach
Part of what has kept Cha Cha Chicken special is its setting. The restaurant sits just off Ocean Avenue near the beach, with a bright, hand-painted exterior and a patio that feels more like a neighborhood hangout than a polished dining room.
Customers order at the counter, then settle in with a plate of food and a casual atmosphere that has long been part of the experience. The restaurant’s bring-your-own-beverage tradition adds to the laid-back charm.
The next generation
This summer, as Cha Cha Chicken begins its fourth decade, the next generation of Prados is already helping carry it forward. Ricardo’s son, Maxwell, 14, pitches in delivering food and clearing tables three to four days a week during summer break.
Garcia admits she is “ready” to step down from the helm and would love to see her grandchildren take over one day. “They love coming over here, but of course, I want them to go to college and get a career and focus on their own dreams,” she says.
While the official anniversary date was in June, Ricardo and Elvira are planning a public celebration to mark the milestone on Friday, August 14. The event will feature special pricing on Cha Cha Chicken’s most popular dishes and live calypso music.
“I feel very happy and proud to be part of this community and be here for 30 years,” Ricardo says. “In restaurant years, that’s a really long time.”
Never miss a single story!
