Wednesday, August 26, 2026

County Officials to Join El Patrón Grand Re-Opening in Altadena Thursday

El Patrón Mexican Food Restaurant will hold a grand re-opening celebration at noon Thursday at 2555 N. Lake Ave., 19 months after the Eaton Fire spared the building but emptied the neighborhood around it.

Those expected to attend include owner Margarita “Maggie” Cortez; Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district covers Altadena; Kelly LoBianco, director of the county Department of Economic Opportunity; Roberto Barragán, executive director of ICON CDC; and representatives of the Altadena Chamber of Commerce, according to the event announcement.

The celebration marks the restaurant’s return and the continuing recovery of Altadena’s business district.

El Patrón was supported in part by a grant from ICON CDC, which, working with the county, helped provide grants to 18 brick-and-mortar businesses in Altadena, according to the event announcement.

El Patrón’s building was not damaged in the January 2025 fire, but Cortez has said she lost 85 percent of her regular customers, many of whom were forced to relocate away after their homes burned. The restaurant closed immediately but reopened shortly afterward.

Cortez told the LA Public Press in January that it was hard to predict which days would be busy, and that “we are just trying to hang in there, and I’m trying to be strong.”

Residents rallied to the surviving restaurants. The Altadena Dining Club held its first outing at El Patrón in late June 2025, drawing about 20 people.

At noon on August 27, the reopening becomes official.

For more, call the restaurant’s listed number, (626) 296-2818, or visit elpatronaltadena.square.site.