For the past eight years, Dean and Pauline Yasharian built a life for their family in a quiet corner of northeast Altadena. They live near the top of an area known as Christmas Tree Lane. His two children attend school on the street. And the couple owns and operates a small French restaurant called Perle, just 10 minutes south of their home in the heart of Old Pasadena.
On the night of January 7, the life they knew changed forever with a text message from a friend, whose husband is a local firefighter.
“He said, 'You guys have to get out of there,'” Dean says.
Over the years, Yasharians had seen some fires in the mountains just north of their Altadena neighborhood. When the Eaton Fire started, Dean remained optimistic, never imagining the flames could reach them.
Pauline packed some valuables and left with the children. Dean decided to stay with his dog and wait.
“My neighbors and I were watching the fire,” Dean says. “When the winds blew, they roared and the flames seemed to be 50 feet high. “We were praying that they would stay on the mountain.”
But the fire quickly moved south and, by 11:30 p.m., smoke was thick in the air and the power was out. Dean decided to leave and return in the morning.
The next day, the couple received a text message from a neighbor who lives across the street. The neighbor's house was gone and Dean and Pauline feared the worst. They got into the car and headed to check on their house.
“It was like an apocalypse, like someone had dropped a nuclear bomb on our entire community,” Dean says. “There were power lines everywhere, everything was still on fire, houses were burning, but we finally got to our street.”
They drove as far as they could and then walked the rest of the way to their house.
“We went out to our house and broke down and held each other for a while,” he says. “It was something you would have never expected to happen in your life. It was no longer there. “Everything disappeared.”
What remains of Dean and Pauline Yasharian's Altadena home after the Eaton Fire. The couple owns and operates Perle restaurant in Old Pasadena.
(Paulina Yasharian)
The Yasharians are one of thousands of families who lost their homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires. They are part of a community of survivors who are now in the agony of figuring out how to shelter their families and rebuild. Instead of taking the time to grieve and fully process their loss, the Yasharians shifted gears to focus on their restaurant and the 30 employees they consider family.
“The next day it was still snowing ash everywhere and all the restaurants were more or less closed and it was like a double whammy,” Dean says. “How are we going to survive this?”
Even before the shutdown, the restaurant was entering what Dean calls an annual “sales decline period” after the holidays. With their general manager, Nikki Langworthy, and a handful of other employees who were also displaced due to the Eaton's fire, they made the difficult decision to close the restaurant to regroup and assess the full impact of the fire. It continued to pay its salaried employees and shared resources on how to file for disaster unemployment with anyone who was paid hourly.
Dean held a “crisis meeting” with his staff on January 9. Was the water safe in the restaurant? What about air quality? How could he pay his employees with an empty dining room?
Pauline and Dean Yasharian stand in front of Perle, their French restaurant in Old Pasadena.
(Molly Donna Ware)
After numerous conflicting messages about water contamination, Langworthy received confirmation from Pasadena Water and Power that the water in the area was safe.
Dean closely followed a text message chain he shares with several restaurants around Old Town, including Bone Kettle, Osawa, Pez Cantina and Union. Restaurants shared how many customers they served each day to help inform if and when Perle should reopen.
Dean and Pauline let themselves get lost in the inner workings of the restaurant, a welcome distraction from the trauma they faced at home.
The French restaurant is one of the most famous in the city. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison included Perle on one of his lists of 101 best restaurants. I have featured (and visit frequently) Yasharian's perfect tarte tatin.
“We were starting to detail the things we lost,” Dean says. “It's a difficult process and they want to know approximately what year you bought something. Putting a cost on these possessions is a long and tedious task, but with restaurant things, you have to put all your attention at that moment. It’s a nice escape to think about food and restaurants for a while before we have to get back to everything else.”
During the week the restaurant was closed, its working capital fell to an all-time low and the team made the decision to reopen on January 15. Dean redesigned the menu, hired a skeleton staff of 10 and reduced opening hours to operate conservatively without running out of money.
The reservations showed 10 tables and about 30 seats. Typically, you need between 75 and 80 covers on a weeknight to stay afloat.
After being evacuated from my own home in Pasadena for a week, I found solace at a corner table in the Perle dining room. When disaster strikes, restaurants offer a sense of normality and it feels good to be surrounded by other people, sharing fries and a tarte tatin.
Apple tarte tatin is one of the signature desserts at Perle restaurant in Pasadena.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
At 7 pm that night, with several air purifiers running, the dining room was almost full. Dean recognized most of the names in the reservation book. The table behind me told their waiter that they had seen Dean's Instagram post about reopening and wanted to come out and support him. At another table, a man wearing a sweatshirt from the school Yasharian's children attend stood up to give Dean a hug. That school burned in the Eaton fire.
“We really appreciate everyone coming out to support us and it gives us hope that maybe the restaurant will recover,” Dean says. “We are a very united community. And the restaurant community has been fantastic too.”
With its own future uncertain, Bone Kettle reopened its doors on January 11 and donated proceeds from that weekend's sales to the Yasharian family.
The restaurant, located around the corner from Perle on Raymond Avenue, asked its nearly 30,000 Instagram followers for help.
“Words can't even begin to describe the blow this is to this sweet family,” Bone Kettle's Instagram post reads. “Nothing makes sense in this, the only thing that makes sense for us is supporting our neighbor when they need it most.”
For those who are able to do so, it is more important than ever to eat in or order takeout from your favorite restaurants. They are the lifeblood of communities across the city, providing employment, safe spaces and food.
“We lost our house, the restaurant is in danger, but it relieved some of the pressure knowing that people are still going out to eat,” Dean says. “Restaurants tend to get really hit during these disaster situations. “It helps a lot for people to spread the word about Perle and just get out and support local restaurants.”
Dean expects a steady stream of upcoming events and holidays to keep the business going. She signed up to participate in DineLA, the semi-annual food event that features prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus at restaurants around the city.
“The goal is to get the restaurant back up and running and then maybe take a little time to breathe as a family,” he says. “We'll find time for that.”
