El Cholo, often honored, is helping hospitals by naming booths
BOOTH AT EL CHOLO can be yours, in perpetuity, if you help pediatric cancer research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles or CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County).
For the past six months, the local El Cholo Spanish Café on nearby Western Avenue — as well as the other restaurants in the numerous dining outlets comprising the Family of El Cholo Restaurants — has been celebrating the 100-year anniversary of El Cholo’s founding.
Now there is a new benefit available to customers who want to join in the celebration while supporting a $1 million pledge to benefit pediatric cancer research. The first 100 people making a generous donation above a certain amount can name one of only 100 available booths in one of the six (soon to be seven, including Salt Lake City, now under construction) El Cholo locations.
In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the restaurant, the Salisbury family already had announced — earlier this year — the launch of its Charitable Gift Campaign Benefitting Pediatric Cancer Research. Monies raised through the campaign will be donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and to Orange County’s Children’s Hospital / CHOC Foundation.
The previous ways to participate in this charitable campaign included (and still include) making a $100 donation while visiting any one of the six Southern California El Cholos. The donor immediately will receive a VIP Nachos Card by which he or she can enjoy Carmen’s Nachos free throughout the rest of 2023. In addition, those donors also will become eligible to win one of many nifty prizes.
Booth-naming details
CONCEPT ART for the not-to-exceed-100 naming plaques to be mounted in select booths at the El Cholo restaurants.
Now, for this new way to support the pediatric cancer research pledge, details have just been announced by the Salisbury family as follows:
A donor may apply to become a permanent part of El Cholo history while contributing to improving lives of children by making a charitable donation of $5,000 or more. For such a donor, El Cholo will permanently identify one of its legendary booths in the donor’s name or with the donor’s proposed dedication text (text subject to El Cholo approval).
The donor gets to choose which El Cholo location is preferred for the plaque and booth: Western Avenue (the Original), Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim Hills, Corona del Mar, La Habra or (soon) Salt Lake City. There only are 100 booths available for naming (that’s only about 15 available booths per restaurant). The donors will write their tax-deductible checks to either CHLA or CHOC Foundation.
El Cholo owner Ron Salisbury asks people interested in naming a booth — while they last! — to telephone him personally at 562-352-8669.
Honors continue
At the end of May, the Orange County Business Journal (OCBJ) bestowed its annual Family-Owned Business of the Year “Longevity Award” on Ron Salisbury and his son, Brendon Salisbury, owners of the Family of El Cholo Restaurants.
El Cholo has been owned by the same Borquez / Salisbury family since the restaurant’s launch in 1923.
The winner of this year’s OCBJ Family-Owned Business Award (in its 24th year) was selected from among 43 nominees that ranged from restaurateurs to construction companies to wealth managers. To qualify, each company must have had at least two family members actively involved in the business.
Responding to the news of the award, Ron Salisbury said, “This year, we have been so very fortunate to have received a great deal of recognition for the wonderful journey of our 100-year-old family business.
Receiving this honor was a really special day for us because the award was voted on by people who share our same world of running small businesses — and I certainly know exactly what that means and what that entails.
SALISBURY FAMILY members receiving an award are (left to right) Harrison Moore, manager of The Cannery in Newport Beach; Cheyenne Moore, manager of El Cholo in Anaheim Hills; Eryn Salisbury, general manager of El Cholo in Anaheim Hills; Brendon Salisbury, chief financial officer of Family of El Cholo Restaurants; and Ron Salisbury, owner of Family of El Cholo Restaurants. On the far right is the presenter of the Orange County Business Journal’s 2023 Family-Owned Business Award, Jeffrey M. Verdon.
“It was also highly meaningful for me to share this award with 10 members of my family in attendance, including my youngest son, Brendon, who is El Cholo’s CFO, along with my brand new grandson, Daemon.”
In related news, the City of Los Angeles recently honored the Salisbury Family with the renaming of the intersection of Western Avenue and 11th Street. [See “El Cholo founders honored during centennial year,” April 2023.]
Category: People
