X'Tiosu Kitchen, the acclaimed, Indigenous-owned restaurant serving a unique blend of Middle Eastern and Oaxacan cuisine, is in danger of closing, as owners Ignacio and Felipe Santiago, along with the surrounding Boyle Heights residents, fight to keep the gem from disappearing.
From its intimate restaurant window on the corner of Forest Avenue, X'Tiosu serves diners a cultural fusion cuisine that celebrates Oaxaca's rich culinary culture and traditions with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. Its dishes offer LA diners a taste of authentic Oaxacan cuisine with a Middle Eastern twist, a cultural fusion that sets it apart from other Oaxacan restaurants in the city.
“We struggled a lot,” explains Ignacio, who has been keeping their culinary vision alive with Felipe for the past seven years. Though the brothers hope to “seguir adelante” (keep moving forward), obstacles like inflation, rising rents, and a lack of knowledge about digital marketing techniques have forced the business owners to raise food prices.
“We don’t have a marketing team,” explains Ignacio, who is running the business for the first time, and with technology developing so rapidly, the pair are still unsure how to leverage certain formats, such as social media, to drive revenue.
Ignacio and Felipe had long dreamed of owning their own restaurant. They were just teenagers when they moved to Los Angeles from San Felipe Gila, a small town in Oaxaca, in 2009. They dreamed of starting a new life here and so far they have been successful, providing for their family and children.
They opened X'Tiosu Kitchen in October 2017. Inspired by their experience working at legendary Lebanese restaurant Sunnin in West Los Angeles, the Santiagos incorporated Lebanese-inspired cuisine into their recipes and menu, transforming their small establishment into a unique cultural experience and one of Los Angeles' more significant and innovative concepts.
The spicy shawarma tacos served with tahini-infused “Arabesque” salsa, nopal-studded tabouli salad, kebabs, and black bean falafel earned rave reviews in a 2019 review by LA Times food critic Patricia Escarcega, among other accolades from the media and food industry.
Ignacio and Felipe do a lot to help their community. They give street vendors a place to sell food in their parking lot and are always looking for ways to build friendly relationships with their neighbors. Now, more than ever, the brothers need mutual support.
Without it, X'Tiosu is in danger of disappearing, struggling to make ends meet in a tough post-pandemic restaurant industry with economic hardships and many former customers staying home to save money. In April, we noticed a social media post from the restaurant asking, “Where is everyone?”
“The truth is, we had to work without pay during this time of high inflation,” Ignacio explains. The brothers describe their problem as “very complicated,” intertwined with issues related to inflation and even the country's current economic situation.
Losing X'Tiosu not only means losing a culinary and individual artistry that is a jewel of L.A.'s rich culture, but also the loss of a dream for two restaurateurs who have always looked out for their neighbors, their community and their city.
If you want to support X'Tiosu, you can do so with some delicious food that's hard to find anywhere else. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday in Boyle Heights.
X'Tiosu Kitchen~ 923 Forest Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90033
