Thai temple food threatened

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

For 20 years, we’ve all considered the weekend food court at the North Hollywood Thai Temple a basic part of the Valley’s food scene. But as food blogs have been reporting -- and a petition soliciting signatures at last weekend’s food court made clear -- the sociable, inexpensive gathering may be doomed. After Sunday, it will close as the result of of neighbors’ complaints. It’s unclear whether the closure has been forced or whether the temple made the decision on its own.

The closure may not be permanent. The temple’s food court committee says it’s seeking a way to save the institution, which benefits a Thai school for preteens on the temple grounds. It has plenty of supporters -- food court manager Somkuan Watchinda says more than 1,000 people have signed the petition of support.

The problem is that some residents charge that temple diners litter the streets and cause unacceptable parking congestion. Watchinda disputes the first charge but acknowledges the parking situation -- sometimes adjacent streets are lined with cars for a block or more on weekends.

There’s no way for the temple to park all customers on its own grounds, which have room for only about 75 cars. A good deal of potential parking is available under the power poles across the street from the temple, but Watchinda says the city would require the temple to do a minimum of $50,000 worth of landscaping, which it can’t afford.

Wat Thai, 8225 Coldwater Canyon Ave., North Hollywood

-- Charles Perry