Bailey L Netsch

The Republic | azcentral.com

La Perla Cafe, a family-owned restaurant that has been serving Mexican food in Glendale since 1946, was shut down late last month when the building's landlord repossessed the property for non-payment of rent.

Locked doors and a closed notice greeted customers and employees on Jan. 28.

The building's landlord is Bascom Hill Development Co. Inc. Its attorney, Norm Keyt, said La Perla has failed to pay rent "for quite some time now, a couple of years."

Joseph "Butch" Pompa, the current owner of the restaurant, could not be reached for comment Friday.

"Bascom Hill knows it is quite an institution and has bent over backward to keep the doors open, but there is just a point where you can't anymore," Keyt said.

The attorney has his own memories of La Perla. Early in his law career, Keyt said he would have lunch at La Perla two or three times a week.

Under the Arizona commercial landlord-tenant law, landlords do not have to give advance notification to tenants and can simply lock them out. The building and everything inside can be sold at a public auction if the unpaid charges are not paid within 60 days.

Pompa was unaware of the closing when employees called him on Jan. 28, according to Silvia Chavez, Pompa's sister.

Chavez, who said she had worked at the restaurant for years, said her brother did give money to Bascom Hill when representatives approached him before the closing. She says it apparently wasn't enough.

"They, all three of them, are just trying to figure it out right now," Chavez said.

Keyt said Pompa and others have reached out to him to get the doors open again.

An independent restaurant operator, an employee group and Pompa's son Gabriel have expressed interest in buying the restaurant, Keyt said.

Joseph Pompa also is dealing with ongoing medical problems. He has managed the restaurant since 1973. It has served not only as a gathering place but also as a high-school or college job for all the family's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.



La Perla started with a small dining room and seats at a counter and has expanded through the years, its walls filled with sombreros, paintings of mariachis and photos of longtime customers and celebrity diners. Singer Vikki Carr's autographed picture has a prominent place at the bar.

The restaurant started with a simple menu: enchiladas, burros, tacos and tostadas in varying combinations. The No. 2 combo, a taco, tostada and rice, cost $1.

Iconic Arizona businesses that are closed