Beloved Los Angeles independent journalism outlet, L.A. Taco, will furlough three full-time staff members as of Monday, April 15, due to lack of funds, editor Javier Cabral has confirmed to Eater. Janette Villafana, Hadley Tomicki, and Lexis Olivier-Ray are all included in the furlough, while Cabral will stay on for the next two weeks to continue site operations.
L.A. Taco has seen a recent decline in paid memberships and sponsorships, which Cabral credits to changing economic conditions, shifting readership habits, and the proliferation of AI-generated writing. For the first time in the publication’s history, it couldn’t secure a sponsor for its annual Taco Madness, an NCAA Tournament-style taco bracket that culminates with an in-person taco showdown and tasting event. The event, which the publication had planned to pay for out of pocket, has since been canceled due to rain. Past sponsors of the event have included Xbox and Bud Light.
As a member-supported publication, L.A. Taco relies on paying subscribers to fund its journalism and pay its staff. As of April 10, 2024, the publication had about 1,500 members; to retain full-time staff beyond the current pay period, L.A. Taco needs to reach 5,000 members by April 26. In addition to full access to its articles, an L.A. Taco membership also includes access to free tacos from local restaurants via an app, events, and merch at certain levels. The monthly fee starts at $5.95 for the lowest tier and goes up to $19.95 for the highest.
L.A. Taco’s history dates back to 2005 when it was started by Alex Bloomingdale, who also founded eNotes, as a publication to celebrate graffiti, cannabis, and, of course, Los Angeles’s expansive taco scene. In 2017, Daniel Hernandez joined the publication as editor and refocused it into a news-first organization. Over the following years, L.A. Taco shifted to covering the undercurrents of Los Angeles with stories on labor issues, law enforcement, and local legislation, all while maintaining consistent coverage of restaurants and food. In 2019, Hernandez left the publication, and current editor Javier Cabral took his place. Since then, the publication has honed its focus on street-level journalism, which garnered it a James Beard Award for Emerging Voice in 2020.
The furlough at L.A. Taco is just the latest in a string of layoffs and shutdowns at Los Angeles publications in an increasingly precarious media landscape. In 2017, LAist announced it was shutting down, along with its sister sites, leaving 115 journalists unemployed. In 2018, KPCC purchased LAist to revive the site but required laid-off staffers to reapply for roles within the new organization. That same year, LA Weekly was purchased by Joe Ricketts, and every writer and editor, outside of one, was abruptly laid off. The magazine still publishes but with a greatly diminished output. In January 2024, The Los Angeles Times conducted a mass layoff that affected at four staff members in the food section — columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson, cooking columnist Ben Mims, recipe tester Julia Giuffrida, and audience engagement editor Amy Wong.
Currently, Cabral is exploring alternative options to guarantee a future for L.A. Taco. While he has heard calls to transition the business to a nonprofit, he expressed concerns about outside entities exercising influence over the publication’s investigative work. He is especially conscious of conflicts of interest between potential investors and L.A. Taco’s reporting. “We publish so many investigative scoops about everything,” Cabral says. “So inevitably, you’re going to be writing about these rich people’s friends, right?”
He also cited the most recent development at Knock LA, a nonprofit publication operated by Ground Game LA, as an example supporting his apprehension over the idea of L.A. Taco turning into an investor-backed nonprofit. On April 11, Knock LA journalist Cerise Castle shared on X that she, along with other staffers, were locked out of their Slack and workspace accounts. Recently, Knock LA had taken steps to become independent of Ground Game, but the shift had not happened yet. Instead of reclassifying the publication, Cabral says he is developing “LA Taco Lab,” a nonprofit arm of L.A. Taco focused on supporting emerging writers, which will accept sponsors.
The new nonprofit arm will continue what Cabral calls the proudest achievement of his tenure at L.A. Taco — removing barriers for up-and-coming journalists. Over the last five years, Cabral has published more than 100 first-time writers, working with them to develop stories for the publication. He has particularly focused on avoiding “helicopter journalism” and instead looks for local writers within Los Angeles communities. Today, he says he regularly gets emails from writers he worked with in the past thanking him for giving them a shot.
But the nonprofit will take time to develop. For the time being, the most viable way for L.A. Taco to retain its staff is through memberships or direct donations. This story is still developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.