For 67 years, Fox's in Altadena was more than a restaurant, it was a locus for community connection. Opened in 1947 by Paul and Edie Fox out of a house, it was run by their son and daughter-in-law, Ken and Lorraine, for more than 50 years. In 2017, Monique King and her husband, Paul Rosenbluh, acquired the business.
Monique King (left) and Paul Rosenbluh took over Fox's, a family restaurant, in 2017. Photo courtesy of Fox's.
Monique explains that she and Paul, who met in Chicago, were drawn to Fox's for the feel of the space. They loved how it wasn't just a restaurant, it was also a neighborhood hub. They worked to maintain that spirit.
The couple was out of town in Portland when the Eaton Fire started on January 7. They flew back to Los Angeles after receiving a call from an employee who had been stopped from going to work as flames engulfed the area. By the following morning, they received official word that Fox's had been destroyed.
Paul Rosenbluh (right) works the line at Fox's, where 15 employees lost their jobs as a result of the wildfires. Photo courtesy of Fox's.
Monique and Paul are working to employ their 15-person-staff at their other restaurants, Cindy's and Little Beast, both in Eagle Rock. They also established a crowd-funding campaign to raise money for their employees. While the couple hopes to resurrect Fox's, infrastructure issues and concerns about chemical toxicity have left them uncertain.