Lawndale Tribune
AND lAwNDAle News
The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 79, No. 51 - December 17, 2020
Lawndale Library’s New Garden
is a Beautiful Sight to See
One good thing to grow (pun intended) out of a bad year is the revitalization of a garden. The Lawndale Library staff worked hard at making their corner of Lawndale a little more beautiful. Come visit the garden at the corner of Grevillea Ave & De Oro Ln. Photo
courtesy Lawndale Library.
Krieger from front page
L-R...Tavern Co-owner Kristian Krieger, long-time employee Maggie Fogarty, and general manager Xavier Flamenco.
known Krieger for more than two decades
and had worked with Krieger back in the
Hennessey’s days. Flamenco, who has drawn
a paycheck from the Tavern for more than
seven years, said he enjoys his work. “We
get along very well,” he said. “I think that
since we both worked for the same company
for a long time, we both adopted some of
the basic business policies that (Hennessey’s)
followed,” and that allows Flamenco to have
a general idea on how Krieger will react to
business challenges.
“Kristian is one of the nicest guys I know,”
Flamenco said. “He is one of those people
who goes out of his way to try to keep
people happy.
Krieger is sanguine in his COVID-19 assessment.
“It is tough, we have been beat-up bad,
but I also realize that everybody must do their
part, but the only way that we are going to get
past this is to get it under control and make it
to the other end.” He thinks that most of the
elected and non-elected officials, statewide are
“trying, doing their best… (but I) think they
re-opened too fast,” which led to COVID spikes.
“I am out every single day in the public…I
am concerned, but not petrified because that
is what I have to do,” while noting that the
recent shutdown could lead to the permanent
closure of many area establishments.
Krieger said that the Tavern, which once
employed about 40 workers, now has about
a half dozen. And Brewport is also working
with a skeleton crew.
When not contemplating new menus and
business plans, Krieger, who lives on the
westside of El Segundo, said that he likes to
hit the golf links once-a-month for a little rest
and recreation. But his day planner is mainly
filled with work-related entries. He said that
he is “working more and harder than before,”
trying to plan for the next day, as well as for
what the hospitality scenery will look like in
three months.
He said that he is hopeful that once the
vaccines become readily available, the city
will again approve outside dining, at least
through summer.
As a restaurant/bar owner located in town for
nearly two decades, Krieger remembers when
“Mayberry” pretty much shut down after dark.
But times have changed, and Krieger said that
180-degree turn started to occur when other
bars/restaurants bars started to take hold on
Main Street, noting Rock & Brews, which
is located a stone’s throw from the Tavern.
Suddenly, in-and-out of towners who had
gravitated to the blossoming hedonistic bar
scene in Hermosa Beach were either staying
in town or making El Segundo a destination
spot for their revelry.
Krieger said he does not begrudge other
establishment’s successes, saying that “as
long the Tavern’s sales were going in the
right direction, they could be as successful
as they want.”
As the interview wound down, Krieger
wanted to add one thought. If you are looking
to help bars and restaurants in these
cataclysmic times, a great way to do that is
to purchase Holiday gift cards, he opined.
Those purchases give establishments a muchneeded
cash flow as we endure a new kind
of Holiday season.
“Gift cards, gift cards, gift cards,” he repeated.
“It is a great stocking stuffer. That
will help the restaurants right now, and then
when things get straightened out, people can
start using their cards,” calling it an across-theboard
way to support struggling businesses.
So, if possible, open up your wallets to
support local businesses. •