From
Sarah LeTrent, Slashfood.com: Caesar's, the restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, credited with creating the
now-mainstream Caesar salad, closed last week over a rent dispute.
"I
showed up for work on Monday and I found all the furniture outside,"
Miguel Angel Ventura Oros, a waiter at the restaurant, told the
Associated Press. "The manager told us there was an eviction for not paying the rent."
The restaurant blamed recent drug cartel battles and the swine flu outbreak for a downturn in business.
Tijuana
relies on tourism as a major source of revenue, so it comes as no
surprise that the restaurant blames the lack of customers for the
closing.
Caesar's Restaurant was the latest incarnation of
Caesar's Place in Tijuana, Mexico, where according to lore, an
unexpected number of diners came in craving salad on July 4, 1924. The
owner, Caesar Cardini, used what he had on hand to make a salad for all
the hungry guests -- Romaine lettuce, lemon juice, croutons, Parmesan
cheese, olive oil, egg and Worcestershire sauce -- creating a salad
that proved to be a worldwide hit.