50-year-old family-owned restaurant pushed out of Little Tokyo, owner says

The Little Tokyo community is calling for a change as more and more legacy Japanese businesses are closing down. 

"It's almost like you're losing a relative," Kenji Suzuki, who owns Suehiro, said. "It's that kind of feeling."

For 51 years, Suzuki and his family have served loyal customers at Suehiro. However, after 51 years Suzuki was forced to say goodbye to his mother Junko's American dream. 

"She was a tireless worker, and she did what she knows how to do best, which is just work hard," he said. 

His mother and Aunt Yuiko immigrated from Japan in the 1970s. They knew no English and had no business or professional cooking experience. Suzuki said the Japanese comfort food restaurant should have gone under multiple times but his mother's grit saved Suehiro. 

"I think if somebody told her how to give up, I think she probably would have," Suzuki said. "But, it was her grit that saved Suehiro."

Suzuki took over in the 1990s and continued to serve loyal patrons. Business continued well but then came the news of a new Metro station across the street. 

"We thought we were going to see more customers," Suzuki said. "We were looking forward to that. I feel like we were duped."

Suzuki said that's when his relationship with his landlord, Anthony Sperl, soured. He claimed Sperl tried to find any reason to evict him. 

"He was saying we weren't paying," Suzuki. "No, we were paying. He just wants cashing it."

Still, Suzuki said he continued on, as his late mother would have done. However, last year, he found ou Sperl applied for a marijuana dispensary license at Suehiro's address and things started to click. 

"It seems like the landlords are trying to cash in on the fact that, I guess, their property value goes up if the Metro station is close by," Suzuki said. "A marijuana store in a very good location could fetch five to six times the rent, and that, I can't compete with."

Suehiro wasn't the only business being ousted. Earlier this month, Little Tokyo Arts and Gifts shuttered. Now, the Japanese American community is fighting to take back Little Tokyo. 

"If the Japanese community didn't adopt this area and called it Little Tokyo, they would just be called ... Skid Row North," Suzuki said. "To get rid of the very people that helped make Little Tokyo what it is, is a real slap in the face."

KCAL News contacted Sperl's attorney for a statement. He replied with no comment.

Despite this setback, Suzuki channeled his mother's spirit and found a new home for Suehiro just outside of Little Tokyo. Customers have slowly trickled into the restaurant since its soft opening in September. 

Even though they are in a new building, Suzuki made sure to include a mural of his mother and aunt, to remind himself to never give up despite challenging times.

"Hopefully we will build a strong customer base like my mother did," he said. "Once we can do that then I think my first thought is to just get a little sleep."