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It's not a huge surprise, but the owners of L'Patron Tacos have closed their original location on Diversey. The shutter comes a week after chef/owner Ernesto Gonzalez opened a L'Patron two miles west in Logan Square. DNAinfo had reported that Gonzalez and the building's landlord on Diversey were involved in a rent dispute and that July was the final month of their lease.
"He wouldn't budge," Gonzalez said. "It's kind of ridiculous, defies the purpose of working for yourself. You're working for someone else again."
Gonzalez also said that the Fullerton restaurant would be the flagship and they will just concentrate the new location rather than opening another.
A note informing customers of the closure read "No one can prepare you for a loss; it comes like a swift wind." Owners posted it on the restaurant's Facebook page. But don't let the news make those tortillas soggy. The owners promise the new location is bigger with new menu items.
The restaurant opened in 2012 and stands near the corner of Diversey and California, an intersection that doesn't draw too much in terms of foot traffic. The landlord wanted to double the restaurant's rent from $3,000 to more than $6,000 per month, as Gonzalez and brother Cesar had turned the spot into a destination for steak tacos. The small restaurant often stayed busy, packed with customers. It will soon turn to an empty storefront, much like that lonely, quiet Avondale corner that once housed Hot Doug's.
