Henry's Tacos may not close, owner says

The owner of Henry's Tacos said on Facebook tonight that the Studio City stand may not be closing entirely when its lease is finished. Janis Hood, whose father opened at Tujunga Avenue and Moorpark Street 51 years ago, had previously gotten the landlord to extend her Dec. 31 closing date until Jan. 15. A few days ago she asked the 1,463 members of a Henry's Tacos group on Facebook if they would follow Henry's if it moved to another nearby location. Those who replied overwhelmingly said they would keep eating Henry's tacos and burgers, and tonight she posted in a comment:

We may not be closing...just moving. Stay tuned!

Hood has been in a dispute with the landlord for about a year. Toward the end of 2012, she said on Facebook that the landlord stopped taking her calls and was obstructing her efforts to sell the stand seen in many television episodes. On Dec. 8, I noticed that a sign posted at Henry's said the stand had lost its lease and would close. After coverage at LA Observed and elsewhere raised the media profile of Henry's, and fans and celebrities such as Elijah Wood began showing up, Hood said that the landlord reopened communication and they agreed to keep the stand open until Jan. 15.

KCET's SoCal Connected did a story on the Henry's fans tonight.

Photo: Gary Leonard