Supporters of Chef Marilyn’s gathered in Leimert Park on Sunday for a fundraiser benefiting longtime South LA restaurateur Marilyn Cole, widely known as Chef Marilyn.
The restaurant abruptly closed last month amid a highly publicized ownership dispute.
Cole sold every menu item for 99 cents during the event, drawing longtime customers and new supporters eager to help the beloved soul food chef recover financially.
“I know how hard she works for her community. I know what she has done for her community and I am very happy to support her,” Shawnta Lee said, adding that Cole has been a loyal family friend for many years.
The fundraiser highlights the deep support Cole continues to receive from the community as she works to regain stability and reopen the restaurant she built over the course of nearly four decades.
Cole said she has regained access to the restaurant space and hopes to reopen in June.
“This is what I live and work for,” Cole said during the fundraiser. “I love cooking for people and making them happy.”
Chef Marilyn’s has been closed since April 20 after a conflict between Cole and attorneys Cierra Carter and Channing B. Smith over ownership and control of the business. The dispute first gained public attention after Cole alleged she had unknowingly signed away control of the restaurant during a financial restructuring effort and had not been paid as agreed.
The attorneys denied wrongdoing, saying they stepped in to help stabilize the struggling business during financial hardship and paid Cole as contractually obligated.
Through a publicist, the two attorneys said in a statement to The LA Local they “understand that Chef Marilyn might feel the matter is resolved now that she has returned to the restaurant space, through an agreement with the building’s landlord.”
“There are some housekeeping items that Marilyn still needs to work out with us,” the statement read. “We will consider the matter resolved once those are addressed, and once the threats against us stop.”
The attorneys also released a nearly six-minute Instagram video on Monday further explaining their position and saying they’ve “endured a near-daily onslaught of falsehoods and threats.”
Despite the ongoing tensions, Sunday’s fundraiser focused on restoring a neighborhood staple in the heart of South LA.
“This is a community celebration just to show when you work together as a community, you can make things happen,” said Kevin Wharton Price, co-founder of Africa Town Coalition and one of the organizers of the fundraiser.
During the fundraiser, Cole told The LA Local she’s grateful to have supporters and had a message for those who continue to show up for her.
“Thank you for your support. I’m coming soon,” Cole said. “This is what I wake up for everyday.”
