Spanish Kitchen : Mystery of Restaurant’s Death Grows

Some say it was gunshots in the night that dealt death in a duel, but nobody really knows the answer to the mystery of the Spanish Kitchen.

Upstairs, its owner’s widow lived as a recluse for many years, they said, hiding in a darkened room and keeping what she knew to herself. If she knew anything.

It was 25 years ago this month that the popular Mexican restaurant suddenly closed its doors under mysterious circumstances and became a boarded-up shell.

Once, stars like Buster Keaton and Bob Hope ate there. Today, escalating vandalism is gradually destroying one of the city’s most bizarre landmarks.

Rumors persist that something terrible happened there.

One story tells of a man, possibly owner John Carreto, dying in a gun battle during a lovers’ quarrel at the Spanish Kitchen.

Ghostly Female Figure

Some say the place is haunted. The story talks of a ghostly female figure seen standing in the darkened interior. Television’s “Lou Grant” once devoted an episode to the mystery.

The Spanish Kitchen opened on Beverly Boulevard in 1938 and thrived until one night in August, 1961, when Carreto and his wife, Pearl, shut it for good. There was no warning. And no reason was ever given.

Today, the interior seems frozen in time. Vandalism has taken its toll over the years, but some chairs still remain inverted atop tables, and a few plates and napkins are still stacked on the counter, ready for business.

Adding to the intrigue is the reclusive existence of Pearl Carreto, who, after her husband’s death in 1962, secluded herself in an apartment above the restaurant for nearly 20 years.

At least, that’s what local merchants say.

John Woo, manager of the Chinese Kitchen, recalled: “She’d call me (for an order). She would only talk to me. If someone else answered, she’d hang up. . . . She was a nice lady. But she never trusted anybody. She trusted me.”

At the corner drugstore, a clerk recalled that Pearl Carreto would never come to the door when he deli vered an order.

‘It Was Weird’

“I would bring her medicine. She would leave the screen door slightly open,” he said. “She sat in the back in the dark, and would have pale clothes on. It was weird,” said the man, who wouldn’t give his name for fear of angering his employer.

Six years ago, Pearl Carreto left her upstairs sanctuary because of numerous break-ins at the Spanish Kitchen below, said Brian Bobrosky of the upholstery shop next door.

Records show that Pearl Carreto remains the sole owner of the property and that she continues to pay all taxes on it.

Bobrosky and others who know her refuse to disclose her whereabouts, saying she needs protection from the many people who either want to buy the restaurant or learn its history. Bobrosky says he gets about six inquiries a week about the place.

The Carretos’ grandson, Ben Arnold, said he and his grandmother are disturbed by all the rumors about her and the Spanish Kitchen. For one, he said, his grandmother is not an eccentric recluse. She lives in Los Angeles and pursues her favorite hobby, watching baseball.

“My grandmother is very much alive,” he said. “She’s an avid Dodgers fan. If ever there’s a baseball game on, she watches it.

“Through the years, she’s been nothing but pestered by the press,” said Arnold, in a telephone interview from his home in Arizona. “They need a story. They will not leave it alone.”

‘We’re in No Rush’

Arnold said the story of the Spanish Kitchen’s demise is simple, too. No mystery. His grandfather contracted Parkinson’s disease and the restaurant was closed so Pearl Carreto could take care of him. He died within a year.

Arnold refuses to explain why his grandmother hasn’t sold the Spanish Kitchen, reopened it or leased it out. “We’re in no rush,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Kitchen continues to crumble. Plywood boards cover broken windows and rubbish surrounds the building.

In May, the city Department of Building and Safety declared the place unsafe, but the notice was rescinded in July after Arnold had the premises cleaned up.