Commentary

There’s a little restaurant in the 12-story office building 117 W. 9th Street. It’s a counter, actually—no sign touting its name, just somewhere around 50 square feet of space furnished efficiently enough to turn out coffee and doughnuts and breakfasts and lunches.

The place took a hit after the financial meltdown that struck late last year. It’s still facing challenges in the wake of the meltdown. The natural customer base has shrunk as some businesses in the area have closed. Many of the customers who remain are spending less on coffee and doughnuts and breakfasts and lunches.

Yet business at the little counter has picked up in recent weeks, and the improvement is a reminder that a bad economy doesn’t wash everything away.

The truth is that the economy wasn’t the only problem for the little restaurant. The place didn’t have the right person preparing the menu until a few weeks ago. Then came Severiano Morales, and things started to change.

Morales is a veteran of the restaurant business who first arrived in Los Angeles from his hometown of Cuernavaca in Mexico nearly 17 years ago. He didn’t waste any time once he got here. He worked hard and got an education for himself, including culinary training at Los Angeles City College. He served in the kitchens of some fine restaurants before becoming an entrepreneur at the Little Owl Deli in the Fairfax district.

Morales learned that success brings challenges, too. He sold the Little Owl after developing a strong late-night business—the place got so busy that neighbors complained about the noise and traffic, so he let it go.

Morales is taking a cautious approach on his latest move, buying in as a partner at the little counter on 9th Street, where the overhead is low and the morning-to-afternoon hours leave room to work the dinner shift at some other restaurant, if need be.

Morales’ caution doesn’t mean cutting corners. He keeps the little counter in spotless condition. He cuts up small slices of doughnuts for samples in the morning. Many customers grab one while passing by—and then get a whiff of the coffee or whatever Morales has cooking for breakfast. Some of them turn back to place an order.

Morales also cooks up a daily special, and he balances his menu. There are always some healthy salads for anyone watching their diet, along with delicious soups. There are higher-calorie selections, too—some sandwiches of substance, so to speak. And the rotating specials provide customers more variety, with everything from hamburgers to pasta primavera on any given day.

The makeover is working, drawing more customers from the offices of the many small businesses that remain on the upper floors of the building. Morales gets some natural marketing help, too, as the aromas from his little kitchen waft through the lobby and reach up several floors in the elevator shafts. More than one tenant has left his or her office with no particular lunch spot in mind and decided to eat whatever Morales is cooking by the time the elevator carried them to the lobby.

Those folks also get around in the compact neighborhood, venturing through the Fashion District to the east and along Broadway to the west. They talk, and the word-of-mouth is helping draw more customers to the little counter.

None of this guarantees that Morales will make a living on 9th Street. The economy remains a challenge, and will be so for awhile. But he’s given the little counter a chance to beat the odds.

Morales enjoys some advantages that are unique to Downtown, where many older commercial buildings have nooks and crannies that can be turned into opportunities such as tiny restaurants. Give him credit for making the most of one of those small openings. He’s in the game, and it looks as though he’s got a chance to win because his hard work, education, and entrepreneurial skill are meeting up with the opportunity that can still be found in the working neighborhoods of Downtown.

That’s a powerful combination, and it proves something that everyone would do well to remember amid the dreary economic picture: Ambition and opportunity might be taking some hits these days, but they still live in Los Angeles (see related story, “Can Entrepreneurs Beat Bad Economy,” photo and caption, “Local Hero,” home page)

—Jerry Sullivan, Editor & Publisher