In 2017, after witnessing the constant change and displacement happening in my neighborhood of Virgil Village, I decided to start documenting it. I created @ThisSideofHoover, an Instagram account that archives the quickly gentrifying neighborhood and its disappearing culture. The project has been featured in Hyperallergic, LA Taco, Remezcla, The LA Times Festival of Books, and exhibited at the International Center of Photography in New York City.
Cha Cha Cha opened its doors on the corner of Virgil and Melrose in 1986. The restaurant was famous for its funky, kitschy decor and its Caribbean dishes and sangrias. It was a neighborhood staple for three decades. Then, it suddenly closed in October of 2016. Months later it was demolished. The land was bought for $2.5 million.
Construction is in progress for a mixed-use development that will include retail space and luxury lofts above, pool included.
Cha Cha Cha replaced by mix-use luxury development.
Panadería Súper Pan is a Guatemalan bakery in Virgil Village owned by Elvia Perez and her husband since 2000.
“My name is Elvia Consuelo Perez. I'm from Guatemala. Our job here is to make bread. We opened this place eighteen years ago. Pan dulce is a tradition.
We have different varieties: pan frances, sweet bread, and bolillo which is for the Mexicans because many of them come here. There are a lot Mexicans and Salvadorans that come here. Everyone has their preference. We like to have a little bit of everything so our customers can leave happy.”
A new owner bought the building where Super Pan Bakery once stood. In August of 2018, he gave the family 60 days to vacate the premises. Doña Elvia and her family packed up their belongings and emptied the bakery that served the community for almost 20 years. On October 18th of 2018, the day Super Pan officially closed its doors, regulars kept stopping hoping to buy their usual pan dulce, but Doña Elvia told them with great sadness that they were closed. “I’m leaving with great sadness. I resign myself. It had to end one day. I thank God first because it’s been twenty years, twenty years that we’ve been here. My children and my grandchildren grew up in this place. I want to thank all my neighbors, the whole community here who always supported me and they have come to say goodbye to me.”
Doña Elvia eventually relocated her business to South Central. This means making the long commute from her apartment in East Hollywood every day. It also means building a completely new customer base. Meanwhile, the location of the original Super Pan on Virgil Avenue was completely renovated to make way for a gourmet bagel shop. The mural of Indigenous women that donned Super Pan’s walls was whitewashed. In October of 2020, two years after Super Pan was displaced, Courage Bagels opened. Every weekend there are lines down the street of predominantly white people purchasing “Montreal-style” bagels that cost $3 each and bagel sandwiches ranging from $10 to $18. The owners, who built a loyal following while selling bagels from a bicycle and at farmer’s markets, contacted Doña Elvia and worked out an agreement to sell Super Pan’s baked goods at the store. Her pan dulce sells between 50 cents and $1 a piece. Prices Doña Elvia chose. Time will tell if Doña Elvia’s old customers feel comfortable waiting in line to purchase the pan dulce they miss. Next door to Courage Bagels, Ken’s Ramen opened after renovations. Its walls painted grey. When you look at the two business from California Grill across the street, you start to see a totally different neighborhood begin to replace the existing one.
