“It’s been hard for all of us,” said Esqueda. “We are just keeping our heads up and leaning on each other. Our focus is my health and leaving everything in God’s hands. Prayer is what gets us through.”

The Green Chile Cantina, which offers a blend of American and Mexican cuisine, had only been open for about five months before disaster struck. On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 21, Esqueda got a call that a fire had broken out in the kitchen and destroyed the restaurant.

The kitchen and prep kitchen were completely burned out, the ceiling in the pizza kitchen collapsed and there were six holes in the roof with the rest of the ceiling collapsing, Esqueda said. There was also water damage from a broken pipe in the kitchen, which leaked into the dining area.

The fire was knocked down in about 25 minutes and caused an estimated $400,000 in damage, Orange County Fire Authority Captian Greg Barta said at the time. Fire investigators told Esqueda the cause was likely electrical, but the investigation on the source is still ongoing, she said.

The restaurant, Esqueda said, is a total loss.

“They say that the rebuild is going to take at least a year,” said Esqueda. “We are not sure what the future holds, and we are still ironing out all of the details in regards to the building.”

“Everything is messed up and destroyed, it’s all going to have to be rebuilt.”

Due to the fire, Esqueda’s 27 employees have had to find other work or go on unemployment, she said.

Esqueda was already struggling to balance the demands of keeping her business operational while prioritizing her health needs at the time of the fire. Just days before Green Chile Cantina opened its doors for the first time in August, Esqueda was given a diagnosis of stage three follicular helper T-cell lymphoma.

Now, Esqueda has had to delay medical appointments because of the chaos of the fire’s aftermath.

Right after the fire occurred, Esqueda said her phone was “ringing off the hook” from her insurance adjuster, fire officials, news agencies and community members wanting updates. She’s also diabetic, and with her sugar levels so inconsistent of late, she’s had to push PET scans as well, she said.

“I have lots to take care of, and the stress has been so high,” said Esqueda. “I am trying to not overdo it and trying to get rest when I can.”

As she considers what’s next for her Mission Viejo restaurant, Esqueda says she needs to make her health a priority — and the community is rallying behind her.

A fundraiser organized by Esqueda’s family and friends had already been in the works to help Esqueda with her mounting medical bills. But after the fire, it turned into support for the restaurant as well.

“This fundraiser was just meant to be a small thing for the family,” said Valorie Green, a long-time friend and previous owner of the restaurant. “But it blew up with all the news around the fire.”

The event took place in the Green Chile Cantina parking lot on Saturday, Jan. 27. Community members donated gift baskets full of goodies and services to be raffled off or bid on while others sold drinks and food, all to benefit the Esquedas. Close to 50 classic cars and hot rods were also on display for attendees to view.

The city of Mission Viejo assisted with the fundraiser, providing traffic control and portable toilets.

The turnout was “huge and successful,” said Esqueda.

“Mission Viejo really showed up, and there was great community support,” said Esqueda. “Restaurant regulars showed up, and they were so supportive.”

Esqueda and her husband, Tony Esqueda, purchased the Mission Viejo location from Green earlier this year. Seeing this happen to the restaurant that was once hers has been “overwhelming,” Green said.

“It’s difficult for my husband and me since this has been our second home since January 2000,” said Valorie Green. “We were in there often, even after the Esquedas took over because we know many of the patrons. People are coming forward to give support, and it shows what a wonderful community Mission Viejo is and the goodness of people.”

A GoFundMe was created by the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce in the fire’s aftermath. Esqueda said all proceeds will go toward her medical costs as well as provide anywhere from nine to 12 months of income for the employees who are now out of work while the restaurant is being rebuilt.

As of Friday, Feb. 2, more than $7,200 has been raised for the fundraiser’s $25,000 goal.

Esqueda said the best way to support her business and family at this time is to visit Green Chile Cantina’s La Habra location, located at 2050 W Whittier Blvd., and try a stuffed sopaipilla.

Staff writer Mona Darwish contributed to this report.

National restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory and some of its contractors have paid $1 million to settle a major California wage theft case, in which state labor officials accused the companies of stiffing hundreds of janitors of overtime pay and breaks.

Janitors at eight Cheesecake Factory restaurants in Orange and San Diego counties were forced to work as many as 10 extra hours a week without being paid overtime, the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office said in a 2018 citation.

Also see: At Southern California Cheesecake Factories, 559 janitors were cheated out of $4.57 million in wages, labor commissioner charges

“When we were working long nights cleaning the kitchen and the dining room of the restaurant, we knew the employer and the restaurant owner were taking advantage of us,” Naxhili Perez, one of the former San Diego janitors, said in a press release.

The state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office planned to formally announce the settlement and hand out checks to former workers at an event in San Diego on Tuesday. The office is now hoping to get the attention of other ex-employees who may qualify for a payout for unpaid work they did between 2014 and 2017.

The agreement, reached last fall, marks a long-delayed resolution in one of the state’s most significant cases alleging wage theft. To persuade workers to cooperate with the state, the Labor Commissioner’s Office worked with the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a workers’ advocacy center that employs former janitors to investigate conditions in the industry.

Such partnerships are one of the state’s recent strategies to bring wage theft cases against large employers in the hopes of sending a message across their industries. The trust fund’s director at the time of the citations, Lilia García-Brower, is now the state’s labor commissioner.

And the citations were one of the office’s first uses of a 2015 law that holds companies that hire janitorial contractors jointly responsible for workplace violations.

Also see: 3 Thai restaurants in Los Angeles area cited for more than $1 million in wage theft

For years, workers’ advocates have complained that with the rise of contracting and subcontracting in the janitorial industry, it was easy for smaller employers to close up shop, declare bankruptcy or change names when accused of wage theft, while building owners or other companies that hired them escaped liability.

In the Cheesecake Factory case, the company contracted with the national Americlean Janitorial Services Corp. to clean its restaurants. Americlean in turn subcontracted the work in the eight southern California locations to a cleaning company called Magic Touch, according to the state.

Though Magic Touch directly hired the janitors, the state said in 2018 that Cheesecake Factory managers kept workers from going home at the end of their eight-hour, overnight shifts. The managers would inspect the restaurants and assign additional tasks to the janitors before they were allowed to leave, without paying overtime, the labor commissioner said. 

During the state’s investigation, Magic Touch changed its name, but the state said both businesses were liable for back pay. Owner Zulma Villegas filed for bankruptcy in 2021.

Villegas’ attorney Roxana Verano, reached by phone today, declined to comment on her client’s behalf. An attorney for Americlean did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the end, The Cheesecake Factory agreed to pay the bulk of the settlement — $750,000 — while the rest was split between Villegas and Americlean, according to the agreement.

As part of the settlement, none of the companies admitted fault. But both Villegas and Americlean will provide a written apology to workers. Villegas’ apology, included in the settlement, states she “did not fulfill my obligations under the law as an employer, some of which were out of my control,” while Americlean notes it “could have overseen Magic Touch better” and said it no longer provides cleaning services to the restaurant chain.

For the next two years, the restaurant chain has agreed to require any contractors bidding to provide janitorial services at its California restaurants to disclose whether the state has ever found them liable for wage theft. It will also require its current and future California contractors to provide their janitors information on labor laws in English and Spanish, and submit to audits if workers have future complaints, according to the settlement. But the agreement says the apology by Villegas and Americlean won’t be distributed at any Cheesecake Factory restaurants.

A spokesperson for The Cheesecake Factory did not immediately respond to written questions this afternoon.

“It’s a message to all brand names out there,” Yardenna Aaron, executive director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a janitorial workers’ advocacy group, said in a press release. “If you don’t ensure your contractors comply with laws protecting workers, there are very real consequences.”

But the case also shows the hurdles for enforcing California’s strict labor laws in low-wage industries employing mostly immigrant workers.

When the state cited the companies in 2018, it calculated the total amount in unpaid wages and damages owed to more than 500 workers to be nearly $4 million.

The Cheesecake Factory and its contractors appealed, which is common for employers in such citations. For the next two years, the proceedings became mired in evidentiary disputes and scheduling conflicts, appeals documents previously obtained by CalMatters show.

Then the pandemic hit, and the appeal was put on hold until January 2021. Settlement talks were underway by August 2022 and the agreement was signed in September 2023 — for only one-fourth of the initial citation amount.

Now, the state and the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund are looking for the company’s former janitors to receive payments for unpaid work they did as long as nine years ago. They’re in touch with about 60 former workers, the trust fund said in a press release, but believe about 500 more may be eligible.

Janitors who worked at Cheesecake Factory restaurants in Brea, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Mission Viejo, Escondido and San Diego between Aug. 31, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2017 are asked to call 619-213-5260.

The settlement stems from an investigation that began in 2016 regarding alleged wage and hour violations at Cheesecake Factory restaurants in San Diego County.

The janitors were employed by companies that were contracted and subcontracted by the restaurant chain, according to the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a statewide watchdog group that investigates allegations of law violations in the workplace.

MCTF said the state Labor Commissioner’s Office found workers were often logging up to 10 hours of unpaid overtime every week, with some failing get proper meal or rest breaks.

Representatives with The Cheesecake Factory could not be reached for comment.

Naxhili Perez, who previously worked at a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in San Diego, said businesses sometimes think they can hire a contractor and avoid responsibility — but that’s not the case.

“If the law is being broken inside your company, you are responsible,” Perez said in a statement. “Now the Cheesecake Factory understands there are no shortcuts when it comes to workers’ rights.”

Cheesecake Factory restaurants targeted in the investigation:

120 Brea Mall, Brea

600 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine

7871 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach

1141 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach

42 The Shops At Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo

7067 Friars Road, San Diego

789 W. Harbor Dr. C-1, San Diego

200 E. Via Rancho Pkwy Suite 370, Escondido

Janitors who worked at those locations between Aug. 31, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2017 are advised to call the Labor Commissioner’s Office at 619-767-2039 because they may be entitled to wages and damages as part of the settlement.

“This settlement is a result of our effort to use enforcement tools which increase compliance, levels the playing field and recovers owed wages for workers,” California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower said in a statement.

California strengthened its laws to remove loopholes that allowed businesses to subcontract services and avoid responsibility to ensure workers are paid what they are owed, she said.

Shortly before 7 a.m., firefighters responded to reports of smoke from the roof of the building, where they encountered heavier smoke inside. The fire, knocked down in about 25 minutes, caused an estimated $400,000 in damage, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Greg Barta said.

FF’s responded to an unoccupied restaurant in the 23600 block of Via Linda in @MissionViejoCA at 6:49 a.m. for reports of smoke from the roof, encountered heavy smoke inside the restaurant, called a 2nd alarm to add additional resources, and knocked down the fire in 25 minutes. pic.twitter.com/QaERraGOgb

— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) January 21, 2024

Esqueda was expecting a busy day at the eatery — which had been getting popular – when she and her husband Tony were woken up by a phone call from their cook, Jose Orozco.

“The restaurant is burning, the restaurant is burning!’, he told them in Spanish over the speakerphone.

The extent of the fire was “huge,” Esqueda said. The kitchen and prep kitchen were completely burned out, the ceiling in the pizza kitchen collapsed, there were six holes in the roof and the rest of the ceiling was collapsing, she said. There was also water damage from a broken pipe in the kitchen, which leaked into the dining area.

“Everything is messed up and destroyed, it’s all going to have to be rebuilt,” Esqueda said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Sunday.

“I’m going through all these emotions,” Esqueda said. “I just can’t believe it. I’m so freaking shocked.”‘

Esqueda has received an outpouring of community support, including from the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce, which she said offered to start a GoFundMe page for Green Chile. On Sunday afternoon, a link had not yet been set up.

“God has a plan for everything and we just have to trust and continue to trust that everything that’s happening is for a reason and a bigger plan,” Esqueda said.

After she was diagnosed with stage three follicular helper T-cell lymphoma, her illness and weakened immune system meant she couldn’t be around groups of people inside her own restaurant, even though she’d love to “be the face of my business — meeting, greeting and being a part of our first days,” she previously told a reporter,

A fundraiser to help cover her cancer treatment was in the planning stages even before this latest setback. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Green Chile Cantina, at 23641 Via Linda in Mission Viejo.

It will be held in the parking lot.

MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Babar Khan

Current Job Title: Businessman

Political Party Affiliation: Peace and Freedom

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: Peace and Freedom Party county chair

City where you reside: Murrieta

Campaign website or social media: www.Peaceandfreedom.us

Gov. Newsom has been front and center lately in global affairs, from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing climate action to a trip to Israel where he met with victims of the Hamas attack. Aside from the governor’s trips, what do you see as the role California should play when it comes to foreign affairs?

Victims of Israel and Palestine need care and help regardless of their religious background. We as Americans love peace and security for all human beings. America always helps first. American goals are help and humanity regardless of any background, as our history proves.

We are under a huge monetary debt in the trillions but always go for help inside and outside of U.S. I love Jews, Christians and Muslims equally as long as they are good people. God created everyone. This conflict is not due to religion; it is a political conflict. We stand for peace and freedom. We are a unique political party in California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has the same type of policies as President Joe Biden. We have too many regulations in California that discourage investment to create jobs. More crimes are happening under the Democratic Party … so both political parties, Democrats and Republicans, have failed. This is the time we have to give a chance to a third party. We stand for real, common and actual people of California who are facing day-to-day issues. Our goal is Americans and America first. I will serve my full strength to make Californians stronger, and I will take their issues as my own issue.

The Peace and Freedom Party will bring a positive change because we do not work for special interest groups. We believe people are power and have all the good policies for the poor and working class first but at the same time respect business people. Too much love for the people of California.

There have been recent efforts at the local level to change voting requirements — from a proposed voter ID requirement in Huntington Beach to an effort to open up voting to noncitizens in Santa Ana. What changes, if any, should be made to California’s voting laws?

Only U.S. citizens should allowed to vote because of the country’s security and prosperity.

The latest state budget projections show California’s deficit has swelled to a record $68 billion, leading to calls for spending cuts. Give us two specific ways California could address the deficit.

We should improve our business revenue through our ports, tourism, AI and IT and encourage businesses to have fewer regulations. We should encourage good foreign investment in California and facilitate them as tax holidays.

Speaking of the budget, what are your top three budget priorities?

Health, education and law enforcement but create a task force to check and catch fraud in many fields. Where we are wasting tax-payer money in California?

The legislature garnered national headlines when an effort to increase penalties for child sex trafficking initially stalled. How would you, in the legislature, balance criminal justice reform with public safety concerns?

Education to people and awareness. Sex trafficking should be punished seriously.

Homelessness continues to be a concern for Californians. While there is no simple solution, what is one proposal you have that could reduce homelessness in our communities?

Arrangements to support mental health issues inside the inexpensive cities because our metropolitan areas are suffering as California becomes the capital of homeless people in the nation. San Francisco and Los Angeles are great examples after New York’s homeless population. Inside the smallest cities will create jobs and homeless people will get opportunities to have small one-bedroom facilities to enjoy and start a good life to go back to metropolitan areas after getting treatment.

The governor recently signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage standard for healthcare workers. Should minimum wage standards vary by industry? Why or why not?

Yes, I demand $21 per hour as a minimum wage because we have inflation and the dollar value has declined.

What is one environment or climate policy you’d champion if elected?

Solar is the answer. Climate change is real, and solar is profitable. Look how China is growing in it.

What is one capital improvement project you’d like to see financed and completed in your district?

I would like my district to grow financially by encouraging tax holidays and benefits to IT and AI-oriented businesses. We should encourage clean foreign investment-friendly programs to promote revenue.

The state recently began rolling out the CARE Court program in some counties, the state-funded effort that allows first responders, family and other designated people to petition a court to have someone with untreated severe psychotic disorders receive treatment and services. What other ways can the state prioritize mental health care for its residents, including those with less severe disorders?

Mental health issues are common and serious because our leaders in Sacramento have failed so we have to take this priority seriously. Give me a chance as a change and third-party candidate to make a difference.

Describe your political philosophy in 10 words or less.

Technical education, medical reforms, moral education and support to society. Compulsory draft for California youth to volunteer every month for a few hours.

What is your go-to campaign trail snack or drink?

Simple water is the best drink. Obesity is on the rise.

MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Kate Sanchez

Current Job Title: State Assemblymember

Political Party Affiliation: Republican

Incumbent: Yes

Other political positions held: None

City where you reside: Rancho Santa Margarita

Campaign website or social media: www.sanchezforassembly.com

Gov. Newsom has been front and center lately in global affairs, from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing climate action to a trip to Israel where he met with victims of the Hamas attack. Aside from the governor’s trips, what do you see as the role California should play when it comes to foreign affairs?

I wish the governor would focus on Californians instead of engaging in political theater abroad. We have tremendous challenges facing us here, some of which certainly do stem from international actors. The state needs to aid in securing our southern border, crack down on international crime networks and cartels that funnel fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our communities and help ensure that our crucial ports and supply chains are fully staffed and functioning. By taking proactive steps like these, California can improve public safety, help address the fentanyl crisis destroying families and adding to our homelessness crisis and help ensure general economic stability.

There have been recent efforts at the local level to change voting requirements — from a proposed voter ID requirement in Huntington Beach to an effort to open up voting to noncitizens in Santa Ana. What changes, if any, should be made to California’s voting laws?

California’s elections are mismanaged and drawn out. We see it every two years when it takes a month to know whether a candidate was elected. Ever-changing rules from Sacramento Democrats have made it harder for our county elections officials to process ballots in a timely fashion. We need to standardize timelines and processes for voting and clean up our bloated voter rolls of deceased and moved voters. My bill, AB 1688, would have given our election officials more tools to remove deceased voters from their voter lists — improving the efficient allocation of taxpayer resources and removing the likelihood of fraud. The bill passed the Assembly but was held by Senate Democrats. I’m committed to instilling integrity and fairness into our elections so that voters can have more faith in our electoral process.

The latest state budget projections show California’s deficit has swelled to a record $68 billion, leading to calls for spending cuts. Give us two specific ways California could address the deficit.

I’ve said it many times before, both in Sacramento and to my constituents: Sacramento does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending one. With one party, Democratic rule, there is little to no accountability for how the state’s massive budget is spent. And what are the outcomes of Sacramento Democrats’ unchecked spending spree? Our homeless population has increased almost 10% despite spending over $20 billion to “solve it.” During the pandemic, over $30 billion in taxpayer funds were fraudulently distributed by state officials as unemployment benefits. The over-budget high-speed rail sits uncompleted over 10 years after it was started and will likely only serve as a commuter line between Bakersfield and Merced. We need to instill accountability metrics back into our budgets, fund projects we know actually work instead of shiny new objects and cut worthless projects that drain our state reserves.

Speaking of the budget, what are your top three budget priorities?

Simply put, the state needs to get back to basics. We need to ensure accountable spending in education, in public safety and reduce tax and regulatory burdens on small businesses and individuals where we can.

The legislature garnered national headlines when an effort to increase penalties for child sex trafficking initially stalled. How would you, in the legislature, balance criminal justice reform with public safety concerns?

I was a proud co-author of that measure, SB 14, which will increase penalties for child sex trafficking. My Republican colleagues and I demanded that that bill be set for a hearing and passed. When it wasn’t, we took our case to the public, held multiple press conferences with survivors of sex trafficking and the public responded. Sacramento Democrats need more reality checks like this. We need to repeal Prop 47, Prop 57 and AB 109; fully fund law enforcement; and recenter conversations of criminal justice around crime victims and a public safety first mentality.

Homelessness continues to be a concern for Californians. While there is no simple solution, what is one proposal you have that could reduce homelessness in our communities?

A large part of our homeless crisis is fueled by mental health and substance abuse issues. The housing first policies Sacramento has presented have failed to yield results because they don’t fundamentally address these underlying issues. We need tough love. There are people dying on our streets who can no longer take care of themselves and need state intervention to ensure treatment for their underlying health issues. We cannot expect them to exit the cycle of homelessness unless they can end their drug dependence or address their mental health issues.

The governor recently signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage standard for healthcare workers. Should minimum wage standards vary by industry? Why or why not?

As the daughter of a registered nurse, I understand just how hardworking our healthcare workers are. They are an integral part of our community and deserve a fair wage. I don’t believe the state should pick winners and losers and dictate what an entire industry should pay. Doing so creates unretrievable costs for small and local businesses that unfortunately prompt layoffs or automation.

What is one environment or climate policy you’d champion if elected?

We need to ensure that our forests and wildlands are subject to fuel reduction and proper management practices. For too long, California policies prioritized preservation over natural vegetation management. The buildup of biofuels in our forests and wildlands has contributed to massive wildfires that have taken lives, homes and communities. I’m supportive of policies that would streamline these essential fuel reduction projects so we can reduce the threat of these potential wildfires.

What is one capital improvement project you’d like to see financed and completed in your district?

One of the priorities I’d like to see fully funded is the construction of the I-215 Keller Interchange in Murrieta, which will help emergency vehicles and patients quickly access the Loma Linda University Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente medical offices. With medical emergencies, time is of the essence, and the I-215 Keller Interchange is a straightforward investment that will help save lives.

The state recently began rolling out the CARE Court program in some counties, the state-funded effort that allows first responders, family and other designated people to petition a court to have someone with untreated severe psychotic disorders receive treatment and services. What other ways can the state prioritize mental health care for its residents, including those with less severe disorders?

CARE courts is a pilot program that will only serve a limited population in some counties. Should it prove to be an effective way of delivering services, I’d like to see it expanded to other counties. Until then, I believe it’s important for the state to invest in adult residential facilities for the elderly and ensure that local centers have enough beds for our veterans who are most at risk for ending up on the streets if their conditions go untreated.

Describe your political philosophy in 10 words or less.

Restore efficiency and accountability to our state government.

What is your go-to campaign trail snack or drink?

Red Vines or trail mix.

The dedicated food week will feature deals and prix-fixe menus ranging from $15 to $25 for lunch, and $25 to $45 for dinner, a date-night lineup and even luxury menus offering a more tony experiences for $60 to $120.

New to this year’s lineup include Irvine’s Benny and Mary’s, Bloom Restaurant and Bar in San Juan Capistrano, Le Shrimp Noodle Bar in Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo’s Dizzy Bird and Oliver’s Trattoria in Irvine, to name a few.

This year’s week-long event will also highlight family-friendly dining, which is a great way at getting kids to learn about cuisine and dining out, and vegetarian dining, ideal for those who either eschew a carnivorous lifestyle or yearn for a more vegetable-forward menu.

The annual event is put on by the Orange County Restaurant Association. Diners can find participating restaurants’ menus and prices at www.OCRestaurantWeek.com.

This year’s restaurants are as follows:

1886 Brewing Company – Orange

399 Vietnamese Kitchen – Tustin

Anaheim White House – Anaheim

Angelina’s Pizzeria – Irvine

AnQi Bistro – Costa Mesa

Apola Greek Grill – Yorba Linda

Aria Kitchen – Irvine

AVEO Table + Bar – Dana Point

Avila’s El Ranchito – San Clemente, Santa Ana

Benchmark – Santa Ana

Benny and Mary’s – Irvine

Billy’s at the Beach – Newport Beach

Blaze Pizza – Newport Beach

Bloom, Restaurant + Bar – San Juan Capistrano

Bluegold – Huntington Beach

Bodega Laguna – Laguna Beach

Bottega Angelina – Laguna Niguel

Brio Italian Grille – Irvine

BRU Grill and Market – Lake Forest

Brunos Italian Kitchen – Brea

Cabo Wabo Beach Club – Huntington Beach

Cafe Sevilla Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar – Costa Mesa

Cambalache Grill – Fountain Valley

Cappy’s Cafe – Newport Beach

Casa Ramos – Santa Ana

Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen – Brea

Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen – Irvine

Chapter One: the modern local- Santa Ana

Chelas Mexican Kitchen – San Clemente

Churriño – Costa Mesa

Citrus City Grille – Orange

Citrus Fresh Grill – Aliso Viejo

City Cruises Anchored by Hornblower – Newport Beach

Congregation Ale House – Santa Ana

CUCINA enoteca – Irvine, Newport Beach

CUCINA enoteca – Newport Beach

Descanso – Costa Mesa

Dizzy Bird – Mission Viejo

Eureka! – Irvine

Falasophy – Irvine

Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens- Corona Del Mar

Fermentation Farm – Costa Mesa

Five Crowns – Corona Del Mar

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar – Newport Beach

Fly N Fish Oyster Bar and Grill – Newport Beach

Gracias Madre – Newport Beach

Great Maple – Anaheim

Great Maple – Newport Beach

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken – Santa Ana

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ – (Huntington Beach, Tustin)

Haagen-Dazs – Irvine

Habana – Costa Mesa, Irvine

Hammer Burger – Santa Ana

Harborside Restaurant – Newport Beach

Hatam Restaurant – Mission Viejo

Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar – Orange

Henry’s Coastal Cuisine – Huntington Beach

High Horse Saloon – Fullerton

HoléSmokes – Costa Mesa

Il Fornaio – Irvine

Il Sole La Nuova Cucina – RSM

Indigo | Modern Indian Bistro – Huntington Beach

Ironwood, Cellar. Craft. Cook. – Laguna Hills

Izakaya Osen – Irvine

JA Jiaozi Authentic Dumplings- Irvine

Jars Sweets & Things – Laguna Niguel

Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen- Fullerton

Le Shrimp Noodle Bar – Costa Mesa

Left Coast Brewing – Irvine

Lido Bottle Works – Newport Beach

Lighthouse Cafe – Newport Beach

Little Sister – Irvine

Lola Gaspar – Santa Ana

Luciana’s Ristorante – Dana Point

Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que- Brea, Lake Forest, Orange, Tustin)

Lumberyard Restaurant – Laguna Beach

Luna Rossa – Tustin

Maldon’s Bistro – Irvine

Market Broiler – Huntington Beach, Orange

Mayor’s Table at Lido House – Newport Beach

MESA – Costa Mesa

Mickey’s Irish Pub – Fullerton

Morton’s The Steakhouse – Santa Ana

Mozambique – Laguna Beach

Mr. D’s – Placentia

Muldoon’s Irish Pub – Newport Beach

Native Son – Santa Ana

Newport Landing – Newport Beach

NOVA Kitchen and Bar – Garden Grove

O Fine Japanese Cuisine – Irvine, Laguna Beach

O SEA – Orange

Oak – Laguna Beach

OC Fish Grill – Irvine

Offshore 9 Rooftop Lounge – Huntington Beach

Olea, Cellar. Craft. Cook. – Newport Beach

Oliver’s Osteria – Laguna Beach

Oliver’s Trattoria – Irvine

Pacific Catch – Tustin

Pacitas Modern Filipino Kitchen – Anaheim

Paradise Dynasty – Costa Mesa

Paul Martin’s American Grill– Irvine

Perla Mexican Cuisine – Santa Ana

Pieology The Market Place – Irvine

Pita Feast – Huntington Beach

Playa Mesa – Costa Mesa

Plums Cafe – Costa Mesa

Pressed – Newport Beach

Prime Cut Cafe – Orange

Pub Thirty-Two – Mission Viejo

Puesto – Anaheim

Puesto Los Olivos – Irvine

Puesto Park Place – Irvine

RA Sushi – Tustin

RAKKAN Ramen – Tustin

Rancho Capistrano Winery – SJC

Rangeen Kitchen – Laguna Niguel

Red O Restaurant – Newport Beach

Robata Wasa – Irvine

Rockin Baja Lobster – Newport Beach

Romano’s Macaroni Grill – Irvine

Rub Red’s BBQ – La Habra

Rumari – Laguna Beach

Sapphire, Cellar. Craft. Cook. – Laguna Beach

Scratch Bakery Cafe – Laguna Hills, Scratch Bakery Cafe

SideDoor – Corona Del Mar

Silver Trumpet Restaurant and Bar- Costa Mesa

Simply Fish – Costa Mesa

Skyloft – Laguna Beach

Starfish – Newport Beach, Laguna Beach

StillWater Spirits & Sounds- Dana Point

Summit House Restaurant – Fullerton

Sundried Tomato American Bistro & Catering – SJC

Sweetgreen – Irvine, Tustin

Taco Rosa – Irvine, Newport Beach

TACOMPADRE – Santa Ana

Tacos TJ Style – Santa Ana

Tangerine Room – Anaheim

Taste of Beauty – Fountain Valley

Tea Maru – Irvine, Santa Ana

The Bungalow Restaurant – Corona Del Mar

The Country Club – Costa Mesa

The Crack Shack – Costa Mesa

The Peel Craftbar & Kitchen – Orange

The Pizza Press – Santa Ana

The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar – Tustin

The Yellow Chilli Tustin – Tustin

Thirty Four Bar & Bistro – Irvine

Vacation Bar – Santa Ana

Villa Roma – Laguna Hills

Vine Restaurant & Bar – San Clemente

Whitestone Restaurant & Bar – Dana Point

Wild Goose Tavern – Costa Mesa

Woody’s Wharf – Newport Beach

Ysidora Restaurant and Lounge – SJC

Zabb Thai Cuisine – Newport Beach

ZOOD – Newport Beach

Jackson Gutierrez was visiting Orange County with a friend in 2021 when he was a passenger in a car crash on Newport Coast Drive near Sage Hill School. He was pinned when the car slammed into a tree and rescued as it caught fire and became engulfed in flames.

The crash left Gutierrez with both legs amputated above the knee, second and third degree burns, a traumatic brain injury and broken bones.

“It’s important for me to come back and say thank you,” Gutierrez said after talking with some of his care team from two years earlier.

Staff members asked about his recovery and praised his strength following the accident.

“This is the best part of our job”, said Physician Assistant Ashley Mergelmeyer. “It’s very gratifying to have patients come back.”

Gutierrez is pursuing his undergraduate degree in psychology at Texas A&M and is considering graduate school.

“There’s so many times I’ve fallen down, both figuratively and literally, and had the option to stay down or get up and fight another day,” he said. “I’ve been knocked down and could have stayed down. But I chose not to.”

This week, the City Council updated its transient occupancy tax, money collected from hotels and other lodging facilities that is put toward the city’s general revenue. While the tax has always been enforced on hotels, there was some confusion among those who rent their property or part of their property over whether they, too, needed to remit the tax, said Mission Viejo spokesperson Kelly Tokarski.

The council billed the update as a clarification to its existing ordinance, and councilmembers unanimously agreed to it during the Tuesday, Jan. 9 meeting.

“Essentially,” said Tokarski, “this amendment closes the loopholes in the existing code and specifically references short-term rentals.”

“We believe that there are a number of short-term rental properties that are failing to remit transient occupancy tax in accordance with the ordinance,” said Tokarski. “The purpose of amending the ordinance is to further clarify the requirements to eliminate an ambiguity in the fact that the city’s long-standing ordinance does apply to short-term rentals.”

The ordinance was updated to add “online travel company” and “short-term rental unit” to ensure these parties are responsible for collecting the lodging tax. It now underscores that short-term rental properties have the same responsibilities for collection and remittance of the tax to Mission Viejo as hotels, according to the staff report.

The renovated ordinance defines short-term rental units as temporary lodging in hotels, motels and residential units for less than 30 consecutive calendar days.

“This is no way amending or changing the already existing tax rate,” said William Curley, the city attorney. “This is a high-level housekeeping to get our code current. What we had was usable but did not have all the current lingo so this is merely a lingo update. I just do not want anyone panicking that this is a rate change.”

All hotel and motel facilitators in Mission Viejo are required to collect this tax from guests, which is 8% of the room charge.

Mission Viejo has collected $5,700 in this tax from short-term rentals over the past year, said Cheryl Dyas, the director of administrative services. However, she said, that is a “small number.”

The city has an estimated 120-180 residential units being used as short-term rentals, Dyas said, but that amount could be as high as 200, said Mayor Trish Kelley.

“It is money we have been missing out,” said Kelley, “so I am glad that this has been flagged.”

The city, though, does not have an estimate of how much it has missed in collection from short-term rentals, Tokarski said.

Mission Viejo intends to initiate an outreach campaign in the next few months to inform short-term rental property owners of the requirements of the city’s ordinance, Tokarski said.

Some cities, such as Los Angeles, have an agreement directly with short-term rental services like Airbnb and Vrbo to collect the tax directly through these companies. In Mission Viejo, though, owners of these properties are required to pay the tax directly to the city and not through these services.

Mission Viejo, Dyas said, is “looking at better ways to monitor and enforce transient occupancy tax on short-term rentals like those services at this time.”

Mission Viejo is also developing new software to collect the tax from short-term rental facilitators. In collaboration with outside contractors, the software will monitor the tax collected from short-term rentals and assist those who may have trouble figuring out how to submit the payments, said Dyas.

Just days before Green Chile opened its doors for the first time in August, Lina Esqueda was given some scary news: She was diagnosed with stage three follicular helper T-cell lymphoma.

Lina Esqueda discovered a lump around her shoulder about two months before the restaurant opened, and after two ultrasounds, two biopsies, a CT scan and a PET scan, she was officially given the diagnosis. This cancer primarily affects the lymph nodes in the body, causing swelling and growth of the lymph nodes to occur. Fever, body aches or fatigue are also common symptoms with the cancer, according to an article from the National Institutes of Health.

“This entire process has been extremely tough,” said Lina Esqueda. “Everyone only gets to see me when I’m finally feeling good.”

Due to her illness and weakened immune system, Lina Esqueda can’t be inside the restaurant and around so many people, even though that is all she wants to do. That’s one of the worst parts of her diagnosis, she said, that she “can’t be there and be the face of my business — meeting, greeting and being a part of our first days.”

“It is very difficult to balance,” said Lina Esqueda. “I only have so many good days every three weeks.”

Lina Esqueda has chemotherapy treatments about every three weeks; those make her feel extremely sick and fatigued and limit her ability to participate in the everyday duties of the restaurant. Those weeks when she has chemo, she must also take a slew of medications and shots.

By the second week, she is still sore and tired but manages to help out over the phone and online, Lina Esqueda said. Once the third week arrives, she tries to get as much done at the restaurant as she can, like paying bills, signing documents and directing certain cleaning tasks.

“It has been so hard,” said Lina Esqueda. “I can’t be there to walk our guests through our style of food, and I didn’t have time to train the staff on what our style of food is or how to treat the guests like family.”

Lina Esqueda says her husband, extended family and the restaurant staff have been “very supportive and understanding” of the situation, but even with the help, “the struggle is real.”

Lina and Tony Esqueda met in 2003 while they both worked at a restaurant in Orange. Ever since, they have been a dynamic duo in the restaurant business, owning not only the Green Chile Cantina in Mission Viejo but another restaurant by the same name in La Habra as well. That location has been open since 2015, but one other in La Mirada closed in 2019.

The Mission Viejo restaurant has only been around for a few months and offers a blend of American and Mexican classics. Some of their menu items include “The Dodger” chicken sandwich with fried jalapeño and chipotle aioli; “Chorizo Fries” with cotija cheese, jalapeños and chipotle ranch dressing; and the “Albuquerque,” a half-pound beef patty with bacon, guacamole and chipotle aioli.

“My sister, Sophia Baro, quit her full-time job to come in and work at Green Chile Cantina and to cover my husband at my La Habra store so he can be with me when I get chemo,” said Lina Esqueda. “She is doing everything in her power to work in the front or bartend and even covers the kitchen sometimes. She is the face of the business while I have to step down and work from afar.”

“The restaurant is struggling, unfortunately, like many other restaurants out there today. It’s already a tough business then you add an owner who can’t work,” said Lina Esqueda.

Despite the limited opportunities to physically be in the restaurant, Lina Esqueda hopes to grow a following in Mission Viejo through community promotions, working with the city and simply “winning everyone over.”

“I love Mission Viejo,” said Lina Esqueda, who lives in La Habra with her husband. “It is a beautiful city, and being a business owner here will be great because of the support of the Chamber and the Mission Viejo City Council. I know I will experience that once I get to be here and be part of the community on a personal level.”

“I would love for everyone to just come out and try our food,” she said. “Let us be a part of your community.”

Throughout these health struggles, the Esquedas have received an immense amount of support and encouragement from not only her longtime friends and family but also from the new community she has found in Mission Viejo, they said.

“I have new and old friends praying for me,” said Lina Esqueda. “I have strangers praying for me. I have met some beautiful people at the Green Chile Cantina that send me messages and pray for me, and I have only met them once. These people become family.”

“Family, friends and strangers have truly been my backbone through this journey,” she said.

Lina and Tony Esqueda purchased the Mission Viejo location from their long-time friends, John and Valorie Green earlier this year. To Valorie Green, she sees Lina Esqueda as a “no-nonsense and hard-working” woman.

“Lina is a very strong, smart and confident lady who spent much of her time when she was at work, going around and talking to customers,” said Green. “That relationship with her customers is very important to her.”

Watching her friend walk through this unsettling health journey has been difficult, said Green, but she is confident that she will be back to the restaurant full-time soon.

Lina Esqueda will spend the next chapter of her life balancing her business and her health and hopes that she can provide the best service and food to the Orange County community.

“I pray to go into remission and beat this ugly thing we call cancer,” said Lina Esqueda. “I pray God will provide for my family and my restaurant until I can physically get in there and do my best to make it a family-friendly community and loving place to be.”