In one sense, the Yoshinoya Japanese Kitchen across the street from MacArthur Park couldn’t be in a better location. Thousands of potential customers stream by each day on foot, headed to and from work, home, shopping, school and the Metro station.
In another sense, it couldn’t be in a worse location. The fentanyl epidemic is often literally at its doorstep, along with the same raft of public safety issues that prompted the exasperated owner of nearby Langer’s Delicatessen to tell me in August that he was thinking of shutting down after 77 years in business.
Yoshinoya manager Hortencia Garcia told me that when she gets to the restaurant each morning at the corner or Wilshire and Alvarado, there’s often work to do before the food prep begins.
“We have to move all of these people and remove all the trash that’s left behind,” Garcia said.
Security guard Gabriel Sanchez, meanwhile, said he routinely shoos away people selling or using drugs in front of the restaurant or in its parking lot, and he carries Narcan in his pocket to revive overdose victims. Altercations are part of the job, too.