Cugurt, a Mediterranean eatery in Los Feliz mostly known by its neighbors for its unusual name, has closed. The space won’t sit dark long, however. Hot Chicko’s—whose name might be as equally unusual—has moved in and is “opening soon” in place of the bizarrely-named Cugurt, according to signage on the Hillhurst Kafco Plaza storefront.
It’s unclear where the Cugurt name comes from and reps for the now-shuttered eatery over the weekend did not immediately respond to a request for comment by What Now Los Angeles (WNLA). Yelpers have long guessed the meaning behind the restaurant’s name as LAist’s Gina Pollack aptly points out. “Since its opening, Cugurt has sparked a healthy debate on Yelp, where users have suggested that the name signifies either a combination of the words ‘cucumber’ and ‘yogurt,’ ‘cumin’ and ‘yogurt’ or a combination of the owners’ names Curtis and Gurtrude (the owner’s names are a mystery to us, so we’ll just go with this),” Pollack writes.
It’s closure left L.A. in mourning as memorialized in a Twitter thread over the weekend. Los Feliz resident Andrew Woods started the chain tweeting, “RIP to a true original. An icon. RIP Cugurt,” which was posted alongside the below picture of the new Hot Chicko’s. Television writer Todd Levin quickly quipped back asking, “How did they find a business with an even worse name?” Lovebirds Actor Kumail Nanjiani apparently had given his wife Emily V. Gordon the nickname “Cugurt,” tweeting, “Well I guess I need a new nickname for Emily”.
As for the incoming Hot Chicko’s, the details are scarce. A barren website gives no clues and calls to the restaurant by WNLA went unanswered Sunday.
